How"s Your Inner Game?
Although by the time you are reading this it may all be over for him, I have just watched Andy Murray complete an extraordinary comeback in his 4th round match at Wimbledon against Richard Gasquet.
Two sets and a service break down in the third it looked all but over for Murray, yet he dug deep and came back to win the match.
Not only did it provide me with some of the most exciting tennis I have seen in many years, but also I was utterly transfixed watching the 'Inner Game' of the two men.
This was in many ways much more a psychological battle than a physical one.
And it got me thinking again! How much attention do we pay to our own Inner Game of Business? We have within us the power to become our business' greatest asset, or its downfall and it can be a simple case of how we talk to ourselves.
Our minds are incredibly powerful and ultimately obedient and once you understand how to feed and nurture them, great things grow.
Wasn't it Henry Ford who famously said, 'Whether you believe you can or cannot, you are right.
' Your beliefs dictate your behaviour or action, and your behaviour or action dictates your success.
Therefore what you believe about yourself and your business are directly related to your success.
So here are 5 ideas I want to share with you to Boost Your Inner Game: Believe You Can, And You Will You have a choice, you can either get your mind to work for you or against you.
If you spend your time telling yourself why you won't succeed you will feed your negative inner voice or the 'devil on your shoulder'.
Your negative inner voice is completely obedient and will agree with you wholeheartedly whilst bringing forward more evidence from your memory of reasons that you will not succeed.
However, your positive inner voice or the 'angel' is equally as obedient and will generate the evidence to support your positive statements.
Give it a try! Tell yourself today is a rotten day - how does your negative inner voice react? Does it provide you with reasons that today will be rotten? It's too hot/cold? Sales are going to be down? Working for yourself is an uphill struggle? Now tell yourself this is a great day - watch how your angel springs into action to support your new decision with examples of why today is great and filled with opportunity.
Excuses Are Not An Option Most of suffer, at one time or another, with 'excusitis'.
We can make excuses about our lack of success about pretty much anything - intelligence, health, upbringing, luck, age.
The truth is that excusitis is, as coined by David J.
Schwartz, the 'failure disease'.
Challenge your excuses by taking a step back and looking to see if your excuse really is an obstacle that cannot be overcome in some way.
Feel The Fear, And Do It Anyway® This is the registered trade mark of Susan Jeffers, Ph.
D.
and is used with her permission Following on from the last point, our excuses are often developed to protect us from something that we fear.
Fear is an opportunity to learn something new and is almost always cured by - ACTION.
The thought of the fear is generally a lot more frightening than the actual fear itself and acting on it will reduce the fear.
Continuing to act on it will remove it completely.
Think BIG Set yourself big goals and stay focused on them, don't get bogged down in the petty details.
Use positive language at every opportunity, to yourself, to your colleagues, your friends, customers, suppliers.
Remember you are better than you think you are.
Concentrate on your assets and victories.
Practice 'Big Picture Thinking', stretch your vision as far as you can.
It is possible.
Remember to ask yourself, 'What's more important, X or Y?' whenever you need to get a clear perspective on something.
Snatch Victory From The Jaws Of Defeat How do you do it? Persistence.
Tenacity.
Never giving up.
The difference between those who fall and those who keep getting up is their attitude to 'failure'.
Those who keep getting up recognise that they are in a learning process and take everything they can from every experience to learn and propel them forwards.
Those who do not get up again believe they have failed.
Think about this.
Have you succeeded in your ultimate goal yet? If not, then you are still learning how to achieve it.
If you haven't done it before, how are you going to get there unless you learn how? What if we lacked such persistence as babies? We would never walk.
Ask anyone who you deem to be a success and ask them if it has been plain-sailing.
Most successful people have overcome many obstacles to get to where they are and it is their attitude towards these obstacles that makes them stronger each time.
Andy Murray certainly snatched victory from the jaws of defeat yesterday.
Going back to Andy Murray's defeat of Richard Gasquet, he could easily have 'settled' for going out in straight sets, that was certainly on the cards, however he chose to believe that he could do it and overcame every obstacle that his opponent put in his way to win.
Some of the shots that both men returned would have been deemed impossible in normal circumstances, but with the mental attitude and self-belief that they were exhibiting, the impossible was possible.
And it can be for you too.
Tips and Tricks - How To Improve Your Inner Game 1.
Become Aware - of your inner voice(s).
Which is loudest, the positive or the negative? 2.
Practice Positive Self-Talk- sometimes we find this uncomfortable, but rather than potentially sabotage your success, isn't it worth getting out of your comfort zone and practice building yourself up? 3.
Use Affirmations - affirmations are a great way to practice positive self-talk.
Think of all the things you would like to be that would bring you success - I want to be confident, I want to be full of energy, I want to believe that selling is easy, I want to know exactly where my business is going - and write them as if you already have them.
Then practice, at least twice a day, by reading your affirmations.
You'll be surprised at how quickly they are 'installed' in your mind and help to drown out the negative inner voice.
4.
Record Evidence - that's right, keep a note of all the things you have done that you are proud of and that make you feel good about yourself and you business.
Only write the positives and keep them somewhere you can easily refer to them if you need to.
5.
Feed the Positive, Fire the Negative - challenge yourself to practice listening more to the positive voice and add to what it tells you.
Then, once you know you can live without the voice bringing you down, fire it! You can choose who you listen to.
Two sets and a service break down in the third it looked all but over for Murray, yet he dug deep and came back to win the match.
Not only did it provide me with some of the most exciting tennis I have seen in many years, but also I was utterly transfixed watching the 'Inner Game' of the two men.
This was in many ways much more a psychological battle than a physical one.
And it got me thinking again! How much attention do we pay to our own Inner Game of Business? We have within us the power to become our business' greatest asset, or its downfall and it can be a simple case of how we talk to ourselves.
Our minds are incredibly powerful and ultimately obedient and once you understand how to feed and nurture them, great things grow.
Wasn't it Henry Ford who famously said, 'Whether you believe you can or cannot, you are right.
' Your beliefs dictate your behaviour or action, and your behaviour or action dictates your success.
Therefore what you believe about yourself and your business are directly related to your success.
So here are 5 ideas I want to share with you to Boost Your Inner Game: Believe You Can, And You Will You have a choice, you can either get your mind to work for you or against you.
If you spend your time telling yourself why you won't succeed you will feed your negative inner voice or the 'devil on your shoulder'.
Your negative inner voice is completely obedient and will agree with you wholeheartedly whilst bringing forward more evidence from your memory of reasons that you will not succeed.
However, your positive inner voice or the 'angel' is equally as obedient and will generate the evidence to support your positive statements.
Give it a try! Tell yourself today is a rotten day - how does your negative inner voice react? Does it provide you with reasons that today will be rotten? It's too hot/cold? Sales are going to be down? Working for yourself is an uphill struggle? Now tell yourself this is a great day - watch how your angel springs into action to support your new decision with examples of why today is great and filled with opportunity.
Excuses Are Not An Option Most of suffer, at one time or another, with 'excusitis'.
We can make excuses about our lack of success about pretty much anything - intelligence, health, upbringing, luck, age.
The truth is that excusitis is, as coined by David J.
Schwartz, the 'failure disease'.
Challenge your excuses by taking a step back and looking to see if your excuse really is an obstacle that cannot be overcome in some way.
Feel The Fear, And Do It Anyway® This is the registered trade mark of Susan Jeffers, Ph.
D.
and is used with her permission Following on from the last point, our excuses are often developed to protect us from something that we fear.
Fear is an opportunity to learn something new and is almost always cured by - ACTION.
The thought of the fear is generally a lot more frightening than the actual fear itself and acting on it will reduce the fear.
Continuing to act on it will remove it completely.
Think BIG Set yourself big goals and stay focused on them, don't get bogged down in the petty details.
Use positive language at every opportunity, to yourself, to your colleagues, your friends, customers, suppliers.
Remember you are better than you think you are.
Concentrate on your assets and victories.
Practice 'Big Picture Thinking', stretch your vision as far as you can.
It is possible.
Remember to ask yourself, 'What's more important, X or Y?' whenever you need to get a clear perspective on something.
Snatch Victory From The Jaws Of Defeat How do you do it? Persistence.
Tenacity.
Never giving up.
The difference between those who fall and those who keep getting up is their attitude to 'failure'.
Those who keep getting up recognise that they are in a learning process and take everything they can from every experience to learn and propel them forwards.
Those who do not get up again believe they have failed.
Think about this.
Have you succeeded in your ultimate goal yet? If not, then you are still learning how to achieve it.
If you haven't done it before, how are you going to get there unless you learn how? What if we lacked such persistence as babies? We would never walk.
Ask anyone who you deem to be a success and ask them if it has been plain-sailing.
Most successful people have overcome many obstacles to get to where they are and it is their attitude towards these obstacles that makes them stronger each time.
Andy Murray certainly snatched victory from the jaws of defeat yesterday.
Going back to Andy Murray's defeat of Richard Gasquet, he could easily have 'settled' for going out in straight sets, that was certainly on the cards, however he chose to believe that he could do it and overcame every obstacle that his opponent put in his way to win.
Some of the shots that both men returned would have been deemed impossible in normal circumstances, but with the mental attitude and self-belief that they were exhibiting, the impossible was possible.
And it can be for you too.
Tips and Tricks - How To Improve Your Inner Game 1.
Become Aware - of your inner voice(s).
Which is loudest, the positive or the negative? 2.
Practice Positive Self-Talk- sometimes we find this uncomfortable, but rather than potentially sabotage your success, isn't it worth getting out of your comfort zone and practice building yourself up? 3.
Use Affirmations - affirmations are a great way to practice positive self-talk.
Think of all the things you would like to be that would bring you success - I want to be confident, I want to be full of energy, I want to believe that selling is easy, I want to know exactly where my business is going - and write them as if you already have them.
Then practice, at least twice a day, by reading your affirmations.
You'll be surprised at how quickly they are 'installed' in your mind and help to drown out the negative inner voice.
4.
Record Evidence - that's right, keep a note of all the things you have done that you are proud of and that make you feel good about yourself and you business.
Only write the positives and keep them somewhere you can easily refer to them if you need to.
5.
Feed the Positive, Fire the Negative - challenge yourself to practice listening more to the positive voice and add to what it tells you.
Then, once you know you can live without the voice bringing you down, fire it! You can choose who you listen to.
