High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset - 249: Why Talent Needs Trauma

Episode Date: May 7, 2019

“Be thankful for each challenge, because it will build your strength and character.” Anonymous High performers embrace challenges or trauma. They realize this helps them be their best self. They recognize failure is vital to success and remember is how they respond to the challenges that shapes their passion and grit. Phrase this Week: “I embrace challenges. These challenges help me be passionate, strong and gritty.”    

Welcome to High Performance Mindset with Dr. Sindra Kampoff. Do you want to reach your full potential, live a life of passion, go after your dreams? Each week we bring you strategies and interviews to help you ignite your mindset. Let's bring on Sindra. It's time this morning for High Performance Mindset with Dr. Sindra Kampoff. She's in studio with us today on a Monday. Good morning, Sindra. Good morning. It's great to be here. It is always great to have you here. Let's get going with the topic today, why talent needs trauma.

I feel like we're going to need to explain this one a little bit, but let's start with a quote as usual. This is an anonymous quote. Be thankful for each challenge because it will build your strength and character. All right. And the example you'll start with today? So one of our graduate students in our master's program here at Minnesota State, Jackson Judkins, actually did this cutting edge study this year where he interviewed professional athletes who had just retired about how they developed their grit. And one of the coolest things that he found, one of the most unique things that he's found

is that all of them, every single one of them had experienced a traumatic or difficult life changing event in their life that really helped them get to where they are. I want to talk about what you mean by trauma and how we're talking about this today. And then the grit thing. And what a cool study to do, by the way. I know. You have to go out and meet with pro athletes. I know. Bummer. That's awesome.

I know. Really cool. So what are we talking about today? So we're talking about how our grit, which is our passion for our goals, and sticking with this passion, sticking with our goals actually needs trauma. And what I mean by trauma is just a challenge. And trauma really is in the eye of the beholder. But really what I mean today is like anything that's disruptive in your life or a challenge

that really impacts you in a deep way. And trauma from your past actually helps you develop the drive and passion so that you don't give up today. All right. What are we basing this message on today then? So besides Jackson's study, there's another study done in researchers from England. And they found that the top performers who had relentless drive also experienced adversity and discomfort. They called it actually trauma. And it happened in their early years.

Like, for example, maybe their parents were divorced or they had a greater number of siblings. So they had to try to get their parents' attention. And they gave lots of other examples of life-changing events. But they called this talent needs trauma. So the point is that the people who got to the highest level actually had something that was challenging or seemed traumatic or like trauma in their early years. Like they faced some adversity of some sort. So how do you think this applies to us? I think it applies to us because to be our best self, we actually need challenges and failure and failure is vital to our success. And, you know, in order to encounter when we encounter challenges and failure, it actually helps develop our passion or grit. And this is what helps us bounce back, gives us the required excitement and hunger and drive to actually reach the next level. And I think that's the way that we can apply to all of us.

So what's your final point for us today? My final point is, you know, whatever challenge you're going through right now, I think just by reminding yourself that something better is going to come. And this challenge is really shaping you because it's really how we respond to these challenges and trauma that makes the difference. I always say, like, what am I supposed to learn from this? Exactly. That's a hard thing to say. It's really, especially when you're going through it. Right.

But that's what the best have done and the best do. And so, you know, we can see any challenge, any difficulty as a gift. And when we do that, when we think of it, how is this helping me? It actually gives us more energy and excitement to embrace the challenge and that, you know, this trauma can actually help us be successful. Lisa, you mentioned it's hard to do, but I think of that quote, it's fairly common nowadays where they say, sometimes you win, sometimes you learn. Yeah. And it's like, it's hard to kind of reframe that deal, but you got to know that not everybody that has become a champion just walked right up to the top of the podium.

They had to do something to get there. Absolutely. How do you summarize this today? So I'd say high performers, those people who are working to reach their greater potential, they embrace challenges or this trauma. They realize this helps them be their best self and they recognize failure is vital to success. Remembering that it's how they respond to the challenge that shapes their passion and grit. And what is our power phrase for today? I embrace challenges. These challenges

help me be passionate, strong, and gritty. Always good stuff on a Monday. And this is another good one to start the week with. If we want to connect with you and get some more details or just follow you on social media or get the podcasts, what's the best way to do that? Probably the best way is you can go over to Dr. Sindra, so D-R-C-I-N-D-R-A. My book covers some of what I talked about today. The book is called Beyond Grit, and you can get that there as well as the podcast. And the podcast can be found on iHeartRadio, iTunes, Stitcher Radio, all those places. Excellent. And of course, every Monday right here on The Country Club with TJ and Lisa, Dr. Sindra Kampoff with us today. Thank you very much. Thank you for having me. High Performance Mindset on Minnesota 93. Thank you for listening to High Performance Mindset.

If you like today's podcast, make a comment, share it with a friend and join the conversation on Twitter at Mentally Underscore Strong. For more inspiration and to receive Sindra's free weekly videos, check out DrSindra.com.