When you experienced your most recent success—think back to how you were feeling leading up to that event.
Were you feeling skeptical, afraid, or tentative? Or were the feelings more like ‘confident, excited, anticipation’?
It might sound like a silly question. You might be thinking “well of course I was feeling good”.
Well, the next question is “How important were those feelings in creating those successes?”
This second question might be harder to answer, but in my experience, most people acknowledge that when you feel good and are thinking positive, good and positive things happen. Think to a time recently when you met with someone who was trying to influence you in some way (you shouldn’t need to think too hard, we are always trying to influence each other in same way), how did their energy (an outward projection of how they are feeling internally) affect how you felt about them and what they were communicating? Did it affect you? Of course it did. It always does. You tend to get a ‘feeling’ about someone or a concept. How much you tune into that feeling will vary from person to person, but there is always a level of subconscious intuition going on.
The same goes for you. How you feel and think affects how others feel about you and how they are influenced by what you are communicating. Whether you are working on developing a team member, or trying to put a deal together, how you feel in the moment has a massive impact.
One of the philosophies I train my clients on is this:
Your Results = (Your Skillset x Your Mindset x Your Activity Level) x Your Current State.
This overriding variable in results is how you are feeling in the moment. So here’s my question to you: How do you need to be feeling to maximise the chance for success? And how do you check on this and manage it to work for you?
Here’s how I do it:
Each morning and throughout the day, I ask myself the simple question ‘Am I feeling Dangerous or Defeated?’ These are obviously words that resonate with me, but you get the idea. If the answer to that question is not “Dangerous” (meaning I’m ready to blast through brick walls) then I’ve got a few rituals I use to get into that state. I’m not always looking for a 10/10 on Dangerous scale but I definitely want to be at an 8 or higher.
If I come back with a 7 or below, here are my go-to actions to boost me up a few notches:
- Revisit my vision and why I’m doing what I’m doing. This is by far the most powerful and sustaining of all the strategies. Keep in mind, this will only work for you if you are extremely clear on your vision (what you are working to create) and why you are doing it. See Simon Sinek’s TED talk ‘Start with WHY’ to learn more about this.
- Review my plan. Similar to the point above, but my plan is a shorter timeframe (3-12 months) vs. my vision, which is years out.
- Think about how I want to be remembered by my kids. This is another plan that is similar to the first point. It is a real motivator for me.
- Exercise. This can vary between a full workout or a 5 minute walk. Usually the secret is to get the blood moving and get out from in front of the computer screen.
- Listen to something inspiring or educational. I love listening to interviews with successful people. I also have some go-to audio books and books that lift me up a couple of notches. If you’d like some recommendations, comment below or email me [email protected]
- Coffee. Notice this one’s down on the list. For me, if I’m in a low mental state and I have coffee, sometimes it can just make the negative thoughts happen faster (not good), so this one is used more if my energy feels sluggish. Again, not one I aim to be dependent on.
If you’ve got some strategies to add here, I’d love to hear them. Comment below and share your own successes and strategies.
Make it a great day!
