By Jonathan Davenport, CSCS, TSAC-F, CCC, CPT
Training your mindset to increase performance and to succeed in changing bad habits.
Welcome to the world of mental performance, where building an elite mindset is the key to unlocking your full potential. The way you think about yourself and your abilities can either limit or enhance your performance in all areas of life. This is where the concept of mindset comes in, with two different types of mindsets determining how we approach change – growth and fixed mindsets. A growth mindset is one in which the individual believes that they can grow and change with practice and training. Where as, a fixed mindset is one in which the individual believes that you are how you are and there is nothing you can do about it. The mindset you adopt will determine your success, whether you persevere in the face of adversity or give up at the first sign of difficulty.
The 3-Step Process to Changing Your Bad Habits
- Awareness: Without awareness, we cannot identify the habits we want to change, understand why we have those habits, and recognize the triggers that cause us to engage in those habits.
- Strategy: Strategy is the next step once you are aware of the issue(s). Here are a few strategies you can using start today:
- 1. BFS, or body language, focus & self talk. Analyzing how you are when you are at your best and your worst can provide you with a blueprint on what you need to do to change your mindset to a growth mindset.
- 2. Self-talk Test. How you encourage yourself matters. For example, if you consistently told yourself you were “smooth and easy” the training would be easier. Where as, if you were consistently saying, ” I cannot do this, it’s too hard, I am weak,” than your training would not be as effective. It would be harder. This rule is applicable to all facets of life.
- 3. Visual Reminders. Write down your goals on sheet and put it somewhere where it will be visible daily, so you can consistently remind yourself of what you are working towards. This is your Why!
- Watch for more motivation: “What’s Your Why?”
- 4. One-word Focus. Find a word that resonates with you and use it as fuel. A word that you will live by and will give you the best chance for success when you think about it.
- Watch for more motivation: “GOOD”
- 5. The Rubber Band Method. Use a rubber band or bracelet that you can snap on your wrist every time you find yourself doing something you’d like to stop. This method makes you aware and also negatively reinforces the problem making you associate that habit with a negative. Thus, helping you to stop.
- Action: Lastly, you must act on the strategy you have chosen. Without adhering to the strategy you will not see change. Action can also be choosing a support and an accountability system that will aid you in achieving the desired results. For example, hiring a coach, having an accountability partner, or making for each day.
Summary
Ultimately, the process of changing habits is slow and non-linear, but if you follow these steps and think about pursuing that goal of yours each and every day then you will ultimately achieve the desired results. These journeys are constant wins and losses with wins outweighing the losses by battling for change. I often encourage my clients to “Win the Day” every time we meet, as I believe that consistent daily victories can lead to significant changes at the end of the year. By focusing on achieving small wins each day, we can build momentum and make progress towards our long-term goals.