BE YOURSELF
We live in a world of playing the WWTTOM game (What Will They Think Of Me), which is a form of performance paralysis. Worrying about what people will think. Will people judge? Yes. Do you go out of your way to impress? No. I believe (only my opinion) but when you are yourself in sports, business and life you are communicating from your core. The REAL you, not the mask or shell identity. Everyone has these two identities. Which one do you take to your arena? The classroom, the boardroom, the course or the training pitch?
It’s hard to be yourself if you don’t know the difference between the shell and the core identity. I am running a course in London in the next month that will explore these identities. It will be a small group. What will free you from the shackles of your performances. I the context of business when you are communicating from your REAL self, you feel an empathy with the person on the other side of the table. A connection that isn't forced or trying.
LIVING EVERY LITRE (the new goal getting with a difference)
I just watched a great online documentary called produced in association with HONDA called LIVE EVERY LITRE. 13 people who went on a road trip that involved them ticking something off on their 100 things to do before they die.
It brings up the question of……”The road or the destination. Which to you is more important?” Have a look anyway. It may inspire you to do something. www.liveeverylitre.com
ROLLING BACK THE YEARS
One of the reasons why I have stepped back on a basketball court (temporary hiccup) at least…I have a LEL moment for next year 2011 that I will share in a future post. It involves playing with a true legend of the game. In order to do that I have to be in great shape and actually start playing again. In May on a trip to Atlanta I thought nothing of turning up at a local gym to play some ball. For the past few months my invitation to play has come from former teammate Jason Swaine who conveniently plays at Rishworth School through the summer. I haven’t had chance to get there on a Wednesday or Thursday night with travelling. This was going to be the “break me in session” after 10 years. But instead I walk through the doors of LA Fitness in Covington, Atlanta and look at what looked like the basketball version of the 100m finals. I swore I saw Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay, in fact they were all a blur. And to top it off I was looking along the sidelines and what looked like spectators was another 25 athletes waiting impatiently for the losers to come off.
SO THIS IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE
And for 30 seconds I had that feeling that my clients describe when they are going to an event and not being certain about their skills or themselves.
“Why did I choose Atlanta as the reintroduction to the game?” Actually a very good question. Why not Rishworth, Yorkshire because that was definitely the easy option. Yet I thought of Don Bradman making practice more difficult than the real game. Play out here with these gazelles and the Memorial game will be so much easier.
PERFORMANCE IS NOTHING BUT REMEMBERING
I have said it before and I will say it again. For many in sports, business and life the resources are there in talent, knowledge, ability and so on. The challenge for most is getting out of their own way and get help with certain triggers.
Playing in the Pete Jacques Memorial Game was always going to be a mixed emotional experience for me personally. Those who have trained with me over the years have heard the story of the negative ones that were associated with being injured in Doncaster. No surprise there as I am lay here with my leg in plaster.
My over excitement and rolling back the years was helped on by the combination of the reunion and domino effects.
1. REUNIONS: Just like if you see an old friend, or play at a stadium you enjoyed good performances at or played against people who you had in your pocket so to speak. The people I saw at the Dome in Doncaster were all giving me the reunion effect. In fact I wanted to cry when I saw some of the club staff who 18 years before had every Saturday followed the team up and down the country. Those good feelings started to come back.
Well, until a young fan said “Jamie, you looked so much taller when I was 9 years old!” and laughed with commentator Mike Shaft. (www.mikeshaft.com for pictures)
2. THE DOMINO EFFECT: For me this is the main trigger because if you start the first trigger it will lead to the next and like a complex pattern of dominoes it will then just take on it’s own momentum. Which is why we have routines or rituals. So you can perform on autopilot. When you know what the sequence is or was to your best performances in sports or in the business world then you can recreate them and or get very close to how you felt before.
3. FEEL GOOD FIRST…There was no chance I was going to hope to perform after 10 years and then feel good. Flip it. Feel good, find or remember what you were like before. GREAT QUESTION TO ASK: Have you ever played well? As I type this I have answered it already in my mind. By this time the domino will be on its way.
At this point I hadn’t even got out of the car and my domino had already started. The walk to the entrance, a certain pace and though I had Kobe with me I had raced off in game mode. The walk into the main arena and greeting the same people after 18 years had triggered the same feelings…it was game day. The changing rooms, my warm up jogging across the halfway line.
HOW DID I END UP IN HOSPITAL?
I had to remember to lighten up a little, it wasn’t the cup final but the sequences or patterns were all the same. That’s how I ended up in hospital. I was back in the zone or in the groove, it was all coming back.
UTILIZATION: It is one thing getting into the zone in business or life it’s another being able to use the state in the appropriate places. Fear is an appropriate emotion, in the right place, at the right time. Likewise so is anger. In the right context and the right time and with the right people.
What can you do to set up triggers in your environment that can start the domino effect consciously at first and then with some training, unconsciously?
What are those environmental triggers that you can notice that inspire you at the start of the day? What are the conscious triggers that you use? Do you use them daily?
Talk Soon,
Jamie
p.s. I am now in doing a limited number of sessions in London also for those who have thought about " individual coaching". To book or discuss call 0207 125 0027.
