Don't Just Show Up On The Good Days
Paul Lyons
Mental Toughness Expert | Helping athletes, coaches, leaders and their teams effectively measure, and develop mental toughness for a stronger, consistent performance
Several years ago I saw an AFL coach being interviewed post match about his team’s uninspiring performance and subsequent defeat. When asked if the poor state of the pitch was a factor he castigated the journalist, responding that his team should be able to play to a high standard on any surface, including the MCG car park if necessary. Whilst that would never happen it illustrated that in professional sport there really can be no excuses for poor performance.
Similarly, in the broader context of you and I in the real world, we should use our mental toughness to show up with a mindset to perform to our best, whatever the circumstances.
It is rare that we will feel 100% and that all the external environmental factors are perfectly aligned, but nevertheless we need to ‘get up, dress up and show up’ and give it our best even when everything feels against us and nothing appears to be going right.
It is about using the MTQ 4C’s Mental Toughness framework to develop a positive, resilient and persistent mindset to take control and focus on the next stage of the process, one moment at a time. In doing so you create some momentum and progression.
If instead you focus on the outcome rather than the activity it is easy to create a mental task that is too big with an internal narrative that creates excuses for non performance.
Reverting back to the footy, the Coach wanted his team to focus on their energetic execution of their game plan and not the adverse scoreboard which created lethargy and the sense of just giving up, hence his frustration.
So, next time that you are feeling less than 100% don't use it an an excuse for not achieving your goals. Instead redouble your efforts on focusing on your positive and resilient mindset and get moving with relevant activity.
Paul Lyons is an experienced CEO who coaches leaders to improve their performance and wellbeing by developing their mental toughness.
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Growth Strategy | Product & Market Development | Sales Leadership | Channel Partnerships
5 年Thanks Paul Lyons this is particularly true for the startup world where staff are thin on the ground and we don’t have the margins for error around execution enjoyed by larger companies. The other thought I had was that in startups you are so much closer to the outcome in every sense (elapsed time, role played, responsibility for result) that it is even more important to focus on process and “going again” when the outcome is poor, essentially that “fail fast” mentality without the associated despair.
VALORANT Global Group Creative Director
5 年Thanks for sharing this on a tough day
Helping leaders and teams do stress and communication better /Psychologist /ex-critical care nurse /Speaker/Author
5 年I like this reminder about where you focus is the catalyst the type of Performance you can experience
Partner - Interim Executive | Future Work Models | Longevity
5 年Another gem to round out the week thanks Paul Lyons !
Building The Next Generation of Events Experiences
5 年Paul Lyons?Great advice in this article?