10-Minute Toughness

That’s really solid.

Combine that with some goal setting mojo and you have the basic structure of your 10-Minute workout. Check out the book for more specific details on all that.

For now, let’s have fun with some great Ideas!

6 + 2 + 7.

That’s the magic formula for a great centering breath. Let’s try it right now.

Inhale to 6.
Hold for 2.
Exhale to 7.

(Seriously. Take a deep breath or three right now!)

We’ve played with different rhythms of breathing in various Notes (such as Kelly McGonigal’s 4-6 from The Willpower Instinct; Mark Divine’s 5-5-5-5 box breathing from Unbeatable Mind).

I *really* like this one—both the timing and the fact that, by focusing on hitting 15 seconds via counting to 6 then 2 then 7 we simultaneously focus our minds (taking it OFF of whatever is stressing us out) while re-setting our nervous system with the truly deep breath.

This centering breath is Step #1 in Jason’s 10-Minute mental-training program. If we want to get our minds right, we need to start by getting our PHYSIOLOGY right.

And, there’s simply *no* better way to do that than via our breath. Period.

ALL the great teachers—whether we’re talking about sports psychologists, Buddhist meditation teachers or cognitive therapists—come back to this fact again and again and again.

It’s a super (!) powerful tool. Yet, for some reason we forget to do it. (Hah! And d’oh!)

The next time you’re in a pressure situation—whether that’s performing on Broadway or pitching at Fenway or giving a presentation in a board room or diffusing an argument at the dinner table—TAKE A DEEP CENTERING BREATH.

6 + 2 + 7 = Magic.

Thought replacement.

That’s another HUGE key to mental toughness. A few key points to reflect on here.

First, know that self-confidence is the fastest way to boost performance. One of the key drivers of self-confidence? Self-talk. We need to ensure our internal dialogue supports our highest performance.

Know this as well: Our minds cannot hold two different thoughts at any given time.
That’s an exciting fact.

And, if we’re committed to peak performance, it’s an invitation to REPLACE negative thoughts with positive ones. Quickly and consistently. Jason calls this “thought replacement.” It’s big.

Notice how often your mind drifts to thoughts of worst-case scenarios or the obstacles in your way to success (in any domain—whether it’s entrepreneurially or relationship-wise!). And DISCIPLINE yourself to focus on the outcomes you WANT rather than the things you think are getting in the way.

Part 2 of Jason’s Mental Toughness workout is repeating what he calls your “Performance Statement.” Jason says it “is a type of self-talk designed to help athletes zoom in on one specific thought to enhance performance consistency.”

Basically, a phrase that helps us stay focused on who we are when we’re most on.

Examples from his clients include a baseball pitcher who, rather than stressing out about how he hates pitching to left-handed batters, thinks: “Stay back, pitch for contact.” A hockey player struggling with his shot may say, “Relaxed and smooth; my shot is compact and powerful.”

I’m currently playing with: “Calm and confident. Breathe. Smile. Trust yourself and let it rip.”

How about you? What’s a little phrase that’ll help you perform at your best?!

P.S. You know the whole, “Don’t think of a pink elephant” thing? Once someone says that, it’s hard to get it out of your head, eh? But it’s easy to beat. If you don’t want to think about a pink elephant, just intensely focus on SOMETHING else—maybe a blue elephant or a green tree or the ocean or whatever!

You just need to replace one thought with another one. We can escort that pink elephant out of our minds. Just like we can usher out the negative thoughts! (Let’s do that!)

Jason has some really cool goal setting wisdom and exercises that are worth checking out.

If we want to be mentally tough, we need goals that inspire us and that are aligned with our highest vision for ourselves.

What are your goals?!

(We’re going to leave it at that for now. :)

Another key to mental toughness: We want to be solution focused—focused on what we want and what it will take to get there. NOT focused on all the things going wrong.

But not just kind-sorta 40% of the time. 100% of the time. We want to be RELENTLESSLY solution focused. As in ALL.THE.TIME.

Got a challenge in your life? As Jason advises, ALWAYS have a solution on the board!

He tells us to ask ourselves: “What is one thing I can do that could make this better?”

ONE thing! Not 72 or 389. Just one little thing.

Don’t allow yourself to say, “I don’t know what to do.” Come up with an answer to that question! It doesn’t have to be perfect—just one thing that moves you in the right direction.

So… Any challenges in your life? What’s one thing you could do to make it better?

Here’s to being relentlessly focused on solutions!

This is good.

Jason calls it “The +1 Concept.”

Basic idea: Take things one step at a time. Focus on small, incremental successes and KNOW that, OVER THE LONG RUN (!!!) those small successes will add up to excellence and outstanding results.

Reminds me of some gems from Darren Hardy’s The Compound Effect and Joe De Sena’s Spartan Up! (See Notes on both.)

Hardy’s formula? He tells us: “The Compound Effect is the principle of reaping huge rewards from a series of small, smart choices. What’s most interesting about this process to me is that, even though the results are massive, the steps, in the moment, don’t feel significant. Whether you’re using this strategy for improving your health, relationships, finances, or anything else for that matter, the changes are so subtle, they’re almost imperceptible. These small changes offer little or no immediate result, no big win, no obvious I-told-you-so payoff. So why bother?

Most people get tripped up by the simplicity of the Compound Effect. … What they don’t realize is that these small, seemingly insignificant steps completed consistently over time will create a radical difference.”

Formula → “Small, Smart Choices + Consistency + Time = RADICAL DIFFERENCE.”

And De Sena reminds us that if we focus on the enormity of our challenge, we’re going to paralyze ourselves. We need to focus on the next telephone pole. Genius wisdom: “The way to get through anything mentally painful is to take it a little at a time. The mind can’t handle dealing with a massive iceberg of pain in front of it, but it can deal with short nuggets that will come to an end. So instead of thinking, Ugh, I’ve got twenty-four miles to go, focus on making it to the next telephone pole in the distance. Whether you’re running twenty or one hundred and twenty miles at a time, the distance has to be tackled mentally and physically one mile at a time. The ability to compartmentalize pain into these small bite sizes is key.”

Remember: We’re not looking for leaps into perfection.

That’s an extraordinarily efficient way to paralyze ourselves. Just play the +1 Game. Focus on little successes.

“Improvement over perfection.”

Just get a little better. Take the next baby step. Knock over the next domino. Get to the next telephone pole. And then the next… And then the next… And then… EXCELLENCE! :)

Ready, fire, aim. Another really good one.

And, I love the fact that an Olympic gold medal SHOOTER provides the advice. (Hah!) Check out our Notes on Lanny’s OUTSTANDING book, With Winning in Mind for more goodness.

We come back to this a fair amount. Because it’s huge.

As I’ve mentioned before, I was first introduced to this idea by John Mackey, co-Founder + co-CEO of Whole Foods. When I interviewed him, he told me that he actually prefers “FIRE, Ready, Aim.” (Another Hah! Here’s the full interview + the snippet of that part of our chat.)

We can aim at the target allllllll day long. And never do *anything.* Much better to take a shot, see how we’re doing, adjust, and take another shot, eh?

Ready? Fire!

Love it.

Remember our key question: “What is the one thing I can do that could make this better?”