Mind for high achievers
Time went very fast and before we knew it, with a goal in mind, we were working through the ‘Imaginaction’ technique. The thinking shared by our speaker Jennifer Edge, in the lead up helped us work through the process with a lot more ease. Whilst we cannot share the technique audio with you – as it requires some guidance prior to using – we can share with you what we learnt prior.
Jen works with professional and aspiring athletes to find and maintain symmetry of their physical and mental fitness, through mindset training, so they can reach their full potential and perform at their absolute peak. Whilst maintaining profound levels of self-worth and fulfillment.
Whilst we were starting the session Jen recommended that we leave everything that we currently know at the door. Come in with an empty cup. During the time, fill our cups with what resonates. And then on your way out, combined with what was in your cup prior to entering.
Mental training is often sporadic and hard to maintain. However, Mindset training allows you to tap into your full potential. This is not a one-off practice. It needs to be applied on a regular basis.
The objective of mindset training
- Help you focus
- Improve resilience
- Find balance
Having competed at a high level in sport, Jen found mindset training to help her better deal with uncontrolled emotions that comes with success and failure. In her own experience and what she sees others experience, winning can become un-enjoyable and the emotions that come with winning are not sustainable. You find yourself in a cycle where you are constantly looking for external motivators to keep you going.
A big part of mindset training is to love the journey. That’s what Jen believes is the true success of goal achievement.
5 signs of a weak mindset
- No clear path to your goals
- Self-acceptance based on external achievement
- Inconsistency in focus and performance
- Ineffective pre-race preparation (no ritual in place)
- Struggling to manage other areas of your life
Michael Jordan, the famous basketball player, says that to achieve your goals 80% is mental, 20% is physical. Reinforcing the importance of giving the ‘mind’ the adequate attention is required.
We have all heard train smarter not harder. This directly correlates with mental training.
The good, bad and ugly.
- Who is successful and what makes them successful. E.g. Roger Federer, Alisa Camplin Aerial Skier.
- Who isn’t as successful as they should be? They have the physical capabilities but cannot reach their potential peak performance, e.g. Sam Stosur
5 Steps to master your mindset for peak performance
- Goal setting & imagery
- Breaking down goals for a clear path to your outcome
- Gaining clarity on your goals
- Intuition and presence
- Having a focus
- What focus do I want to bring this event
- Stay present/in the moment
- Beliefs and values
- Values – what you make time for is what you value
- Think about value conflicts – nothing wrong with this. Something everyone experiences
- Breaking down limiting beliefs that are stopping you reaching your best
- Awareness and resilience
- Deal with anxiety
- Overcoming setbacks
- Using meditation – helps build awareness, and find emotional balance
- Time mastery (change the a and b to bullets)
- Managing time
- Knowing when to switch off
How do you imagine?
- Visual
- Auditory
- Auditory digital
- Kinesthetic
To help you understand how you imagine, close your eyes and imagine an elephant (for example). Describe what you seeing. How you describe this will help you better understand how you imagine. If you are more visual you will describe what you are seeing. If you are auditory, you will describe sounds that you hear.
‘Imaginaction’ (Permission for use given by Authentic Education Pty Ltd)
MRI studies of the brain show that whether you are imagining something or actually seeing it, the same part of the brain lights up.
Understand your stream of time (left to right, up and down, etc) – so what represents the past and future. This helps when you are using the Imaginaction technique.
BE + DO = HAVE
To achieve a goal ask yourself –
- Who do you need to be?
- What do you need to do?
How will you know you have achieved your goal?
Imaginaction technique by ‘Authentic Education’ –
- You in your own body living the goal
- Looking at yourself living the goal – as if filming yourself
- Your mentor living your goal
For those you came to the session, as mentioned by Jen, please feel free to give her a call to receive a recording of the Imaginaction technique.
Two key points to using the Imaginaction technique –
- Attach feelings to the journey
- Immerse yourself in the outcome
Tips for the everyday
- You can control how you choose to respond.
- Go after things in your life that you enjoy. Because you can still fail at something you don’t love.
- Meditate – even if it’s just for 5 minutes. It doesn’t need to be overcomplicated.
- Imaginaction technique. Work through this every day. It gets easier and helps you get to achieve your goals faster and love the journey along the way.
