Photo by Will Shaddock Photography 5 Oct 2015 View image
Resilience is what we need to control our brains and talk ourselves into doing things we'd rather not do. In athletes mental strength is more important than physical strength, so how does that work? I found out at a fascinating lecture given by Juan Coto.
So what is the key to Peak Performance?
I went to a great lecture by Juan Coto on Resilience: The Key to Peak Performance. Juan has not only worked corporately at a high level, he is also a tennis player and has coached elite athletes in the mental aspects of sport.
Now, my attitude to sports has always been faddy, I love to try the next big thing, always have. I’m not really good at anything but love to take part and the only two things I have consistently done (in a faddy way) is swimming and running, which has always interested me because they are solo sports. When I have analysed this for myself, the conclusion I draw is that it’s because it’s a head thing.
I tend to turn to sports either when I’m stressed or fat (usually one follows the other very quickly) and I just need to dig in and get something done. When I wrote my book, I realised both of these repetitive in nature, solo sports, gave me the 'Aha' moment, which is also a head thing.
In my time I have run a few races, even a marathon (pretty slowly admittedly) and there is no doubt that at that level it is wholly a head thing. The inner head is amazing, it talks us in and out of what we want to do with ease and if we can’t control it, we just can’t win; it is as simple as that.
Resilience is our ability to manage the thoughts and emotions while maintaining peak performance in a very demanding environment.
What Juan did in his lecture was compare what happens in the world of sport with what happens in the corporate world and it was mesmerising. Of course the pace of change is increasing and we know that physiologically and neurologically the brain doesn’t like change. It takes a lot of energy because our brains hold a lot of deep head assumptions, i.e. Emotions, thoughts, images, memories, beliefs, values and identity and they are all whirring away on the inside, while we try and maintain external delivery of results and behaviour that everyone wants to see. It’s exhausting.
Resilience is our ability to manage the thoughts and emotions while maintaining peak performance in a very demanding environment. That demanding environment of constant change will inevitably include a significant amount of setbacks.
That’s why in sports, it’s widely acknowledged that mental strength is more important than physical.
This was the bit in Juan’s presentation that made me smile; the comparison of performance and preparation between an athlete and an executive. Let’s have a look:
- Training: Athlete:90% Executive:????
- Performance: Athlete: 10% Executive:8-12 hours a day
- Recovery: Athlete: Long periods. Executive: Minimum
- Lifestyle: Athlete: Eating, sleeping, focus. Executive: ????
- Career span: Athlete: 5-10 years. Executive: 30-40 years
- Off-season: Athlete: 2-5 months. Executive: 3-4 weeks
- Support: Athlete: Coaching team. Executive: Coach?
What is really going to happen if you don’t go to the gym today?
We had a conversation about how crazy “badge of honour” language is used in the corporate world. How are you? An average daily question, normally answered with “exhausted”, “sleep deprived”, “burning the candle at both ends” as if it’s the right thing to say, yet we know that peak performance comes from being:
- Energised
- Committed
- Focused
- Confident
- Carefree
There has never been so much information about how we should get enough sleep, eat regularly and healthily, don’t miss breakfast, cut down on sugar as an energy fix, drink plenty of water, exercise and take regular breaks from work.
So, why don’t we do it?
It seems the brain only has so much willpower, it loves habit and usually there is no immediate consequence of us not doing something. What is really going to happen if you don’t go to the gym today?
Of course the immediate consequence isn’t the issue; it’s the power of compounding. The problem is we generally think about the immediate consequence, when really we should be thinking about the difference this is going to make over a period of time. I don’t go to the gym today and eat this bar of chocolate, today I’m fine. If I do that every day then I can’t fasten my jeans, have a tantrum, refuse to go out and then realise I have no choice but to go to the gym.
Sound familiar?
Thankfully there is a better cycle of events. We train our brains to be more resilient, something that athletes do as a matter of course and we in the corporate world read about while we are snacking at our desks.
It’s not easy or we would all be doing it but after listening to Juan, I did come out thinking it was something that I really needed to invest in. Here are the simple tips:
- Get some perspective and a purpose which is long term and factors in the compounding effect i.e. think beyond the immediate consequence and think about how you want to grow, versus getting something done and what journey you will take, rather than an outcome you want to deliver.
- Create your own charter, a picture, a map, a list, whatever drives you, to show what your priorities are and what your thing is (your it, your why)
- Be clear about what values you have to make decisions and treat other people, don’t hide from this.
- Work on this with honesty, it’s for you, no point lying as no-one else cares, resilience training is just for you.
- Be your own coach or get a coach to help. You need to ensure that your expectations are realistic, you are focusing on strengths, you are confident and are using internal control and you are hopeful about what is going to happen. So important that you can visualise this, self-image is very important in making it happen.
- Don’t listen to the negative voices in your head that will reoccur, Juan calls these “the internal terrorist” they will be looking for perfection, will be self-critical and you will lose control.
- Fight those terrorists by challenging the evidence for yourself, relax, visualise what you set out to do, tell yourself it is going to be great and let the positive vibe take over.
The more you do this consciously the easier and less processed it feels. In my experience it gives you a real sense of internal power that is very liberating.
The battles in your head are yours forever; take some time to understand them, train yourself to be more resilient and don’t put it off till tomorrow.
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