You have a morning routine that prepares you for the day ahead. You brush your teeth. You brush your hair. You tend to your arm pits. Everyone does similar daily external preparations. What about your internal preparation? Is it possible that your brain would benefit from similar attention? Is it possible to brush your brain? Figuratively speaking, it is.
Effective mental hygiene practices have been proven to lead to breakthrough results. But internal improvements are invisible. So most people ignore their importance. So allow me to share more about the benefits of….
With all its incredible capacity to collect and retain information, the brain is an inherently gullible organ. Your brain will believe whatever it’s told about yourself and your world. Your sub-conscience isn’t wired to filter things. Simply stated, you can either consciously control and manage what goes in. Or, you can allow external influences to do it for you. You can be reactive by allowing the outside world unlimited access to your gullible organ. Or you can choose to take control of your brain’s programming by maintaining your mental hygiene. Figuratively speaking, you’ll be much more effective as you learn to brush your brain. You don’t need to take just my word for it. The practice is strongly endorsed by a new sports celebrity who used Mindset Maintenance to take him…
Pro Golfer Rory McIlroy is only 22 years old. After he dominated the field of the world’s best golfers at June’s US Open, some are billing him as The Next Tiger Woods. What a difference two months can make! In April, young Mr. McIlroy abruptly fell from potential glory while competing in The Masters. He had a comfortable 8 stroke lead before the final round. With the entire golf world watching, he faltered so badly on the final 9 holes that he fell from 1st to 15th place. The media characterized the event as an epic implosion.
If you’ve ever attempted playing golf, you know that mental discipline is the most important component of success. After his Masters meltdown, many wondered if McIlroy’s mental scars would haunt his career. He wouldn’t have been the first person to be affected by past performance demons. How many times have you seen professionals from any field adversely affected by a major public failure?
On the day after his Masters Implosion, Rory McIlroy used his Twitter account to share his turnaround tactic with the world by quoting another legendary athlete. Rory tweeted:
“It’s repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. & once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.” -Muhammad Ali
With that proclamation, the young golfer continued to brush his brain and address the mindset that enabled his loss of composure. True to Muhammed Ali’s quote, things did “begin to happen“. In the next major tournament, the US Open, Rory went from the outhouse (his Masters failure) to the penthouse in historic fashion. In completing his record breaking performance, Rory maintained his composure in the final round to win in runaway fashion by 8 strokes.
As Rory McIlroy walked triumphantly up the 18th fairway, NBC’s commentators discussed his tweet and his subsequent transformation through his use of affirmation.
by DUP Photos
We might take that four syllable word and boil it down to two: self talk. When used effectively, self talk serves to assure us what we know can be true about ourselves in times of stress or uncertainty. As you seek to acquire an attribute that will make you more successful or help you to overcome self-destructive negative attitudes, you can use self talk to help develop your internal mindset.
This is not an instant gratification gimmick. It requires patience, discipline and persistence.
Most of us learned the concept of positive self-talk as youngsters from the book, The Little Engine That Could. For whatever reason, many of us grow to believe we’ve outgrown the need to enhance our belief system and brush our brains. Or we’ve never learned about the…
Golf is only one example of how our inner attitudes effect our ability to perform. We all have those little voices in our head that drive our behaviors for better or worse. The strategic use of affirmations allows us to control what those voices are saying. You may have a fear of public speaking or cold calling. Perhaps you seek to change a bad habit like interrupting, tardiness or over eating. Have you lacked the courage or persistence to pursue your most important goals? Through methodical use, affirmations can address your most significant behavioral obstacles.
I am certain that Rory McIlroy has a coach/sports psychologist who helped him with strategic affirmations specifically designed to reinforce his composure. I’m equally certain he still uses them daily as if his career success depends on it. He’s become my poster child for the magic of mindset maintenance
As a occasional hacker, my biggest obstacle with golf is a devilish voice from inside me that speaks just as I complete my back swing. It shouts “kill it!” And when it does, I usually have an ugly, out-of-control swing that reduces my likelihood for accurately striking the ball. Occasionally I do successfully connect with a “kill-it” swing and that little voice is validated. So I keep listening.
Knowing the damage that that little voice does to my game, I decided to experiment with a strategic affirmation. In advance of playing and before each swing I deliberately recited: “I always take a smooth and balanced golf swing.” I shot my best round in years. Even my putting improved. While results from affirmations don’t usually happen so quickly, they did on that day as I was able to adopt and maintain a smooth tempo and silence that voice on most of my shots.
I’ve learned to use a similar strategic approach to affirmations for both my own development and with coaching clients. In both cases they’ve eventually led to performance breakthroughs. Upon discovering attitude related obstacles, we create affirmations targeted to combat the specific obstructive attitudes. With consistent application, improvement and results follow. Is it 100% fool proof? I’m afraid not. Success with this tool requires an initial leap of faith to get started. Without both buy-in and persistent use, results from positive change are unlikely. So allow me to ask: Do you believe you’re too smart to benefit from repetitive self talk?
No matter how intelligent or accomplished you might be, I assure you that your brain isn’t smart enough to filter things for you. So if you’re reading this and thinking: “that fuzzy. self-talk crap would never work for me“. Or, “I’m not hearing any little voices!” That’s the little voice I’m talking about! As you learn to listen to it, you can begin to discover the beliefs and attitudes that are really getting in your way.
Muhammad Ali’s public affirmation “I am the greatest” served him really well, fair to say? If you’re not brushing your brain regularly, why not?
Affirmations address your invisible obstacles.
Allow me to repeat, if not re-Tweet:
“It’s repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. & once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.”
What do you want to happen? Are you willing to develop the discipline to habitually brush your brain?
Tom Lemanski helps accomplished leaders unlock potential, solve complex challenges, and amplify their impact.
Effective leadership is the key to driving meaningful, lasting success in a fast-changing world.
Tom’s focus on innovative strategies and self-awareness creates transformative results for leaders striving for the next level.
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