High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset - 54: Believe in the Best-Case Scenerio

Episode Date: June 23, 2016

“Don’t spend a lot of time imaging the worst-case scenario. It rarely goes down as you imagine it will, and if by some fluke it does, you will have lived it twice.” Michael J. Fox Neurologists have found that when your brain expects something to happen, it works to achieve it at a subconscious level. Your expectation creates it. Your brain takes over the job of accomplishing what you see – what you expect. If you expect the worst, you will get the worst. If you expect the best, you are more likely to get the best. In this podcast, we talk about what to do instead when you think about the worst-case scenario and how to turn your attention to the best-case scenario or what Cindra calls the my-case scenario. This week's affirmation: I focus on what I want to happen. I CREATE IT IN MY MIND FIRST, AND THEN I MAKE IT HAPPEN. I think like a high performer and believe the sky is the limit for me.  

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. Welcome to the High Performance Mindset Podcast. This is your host, Sindra Kampoff. And today I'm grateful that you're here, ready to listen to a message about believing in the best case scenario. And I'm going to start with a quote by Michael J. Fox, the actor. He said this,

don't spend a lot of time imagining the worst case scenario. It rarely goes down as you imagine it will and if by some fluke it does you will have lived it twice. Wow, wise words by Michael J Fox and they're spot-on today. And today we're talking about believing in the best case scenario or what I describe is the my case scenario, or what I describe is the my case scenario, and I'm going to describe what that means today. And this message and this topic is really important because neurologists have found that when your brain expects something to happen, it works to achieve it at a subconscious level.

Your expectation creates it, and your brain takes over the job of accomplishing what you see or what you expect. So if you expect the worst, you're more likely to get the worst. If you expect the best, you're more likely to get the best. You know, our life is a collection of self-fulfilling prophecies. And what I really mean by that is a self-fulfilling prophecy is a negative or positive expectation that you have. And the expectation impacts what you do, which causes it to happen. And sometimes we can develop self-fulfilling prophecies actually without knowing it. So let me give you a few examples.

If you believe your employees or your spouse is disloyal, you're going to treat them in a way that results in the response that you expect. If you believe you can't make the team, for example, or can't get the job of your dreams, you're not going to stay gritty and develop your ability and your skills to do so. And if you're a coach or a leader, and if you think that someone on your staff or an athlete on your team doesn't have the skills to be successful, you're going to treat them that way. You might ignore them or not give them the feedback so they can develop their skills. So today's topic is really important because we need to examine our self-fulfilling prophecies

and notice when we are thinking about the worst case scenario. So the key is really to focus on what you want to happen, not what you don't want to happen. And instead think, the sky is the limit for me, or I'm a champion in the making, or my success will continue. Instead of, oh crap, here we go again, or I'm never going to amount to anything Or, geez, something bad is about to happen. Because when we focus on thinking like a high performer, and what I mean by that is those who are working to reach their greater potential, high performance is more likely to happen. So the first step is believing it can happen for you, and then putting a plan in place to make it happen for you. So today I want to give you a strategy that I'm hopeful will be helpful for you.

And this exercise or the strategy that I'm going to share with you today, I've described as the my case scenario. And so next time you think about the worst case scenario, what I encourage you to do is think about what you want to happen instead so you can shift your attention away from the worst case scenario and focus on the best case scenario or the my case scenario and the my case is what you plan to create and what you can create the my case scenario is really under your complete control it focuses on the moment or the process and it's really focused on your attitude, your preparation, your effort. And I want to give

you an example of how you can use this. So this weekend I ran my 13th marathon. I ran grandma's marathon in Duluth, Minnesota and it was an incredibly gorgeous course along Lake Superior and it was amazing. But the race started and it was 75 degrees with 90% humidity. So it was really a tough race. There were a lot of people dropping out and a lot of people really struggling. And for me what happened was I did really well, really on pace to my personal best until about mile 18. And I was running with somebody and they kind of took off and put a big surge in and I couldn't stay. I couldn't stay with them. So I felt pretty miserable, had a lot of

negative self-talk from about mile 18, 19, 20. And I was really focused on the worst case scenario. This is what I was thinking. Oh, here we go again, Cinderella. You know, you're going to crash and burn just like you crashed and burned in your other two grandma's marathons. And that's what happened to me the last couple of times I ran this particular race about mile 18, 19, 20, I just fall apart. But there's been other times that I've really, really pushed at the end. And so I had to catch myself. So my mind automatically went to the worst case. And then I started thinking about the best case. And I was like, you know what, Sandra, you can still run a personal best time. You know,

you can do this because gosh, this is the most prepared you've ever been for a marathon and I started reminding myself of all the miles that I put in all my preparation but then that sometimes created a little anxiety for me because it was really outcome based what I mean by that you know is still focusing on my personal best time and it created some anxiety so then I moved it to the my case scenario and I really focused on what I could do at that moment. And so I kept on saying, I'm going to continue to run my heart out. I'm going to stay gritty, keep going. And then all this positive, amazing self-talk happened.

And I was thinking, I was born to run marathons. I was thinking, this is how I dominate. I dominate the last six miles. I'm incredibly mentally strong. I have what it takes. I have everything I need inside me to continue to go and push and really be at my best. And when I started thinking of the my case scenario, all of these positive thoughts and positive emotions just flooded me. And then at the same time, you know, my pace improved because I was continually thinking about the things I could control in the moment. And I'm kind of thinking like, I'm born to do this.

This is what I was meant to do. I can push even when I'm tired and just got faster and faster and faster. So as a result of changing my mindset from the worst case scenario, which can be sort of like our automatic response to the best case scenario or my case scenario, I had a lot more energy and excitement and I could remind myself that I could control my effort, my attitude in the race, which was most important. And it's pretty sweet. My last couple of miles were my fastest, even though it was a tough race. And I ran, I tied my personal best, which was a three hours and five minutes. So although my goal is to get a little under that, I was so proud

and so just happy that I was really working hard mentally and physically in the race. So let me give you another example, because you might not be a runner or an athlete. And this other example I want to give you is an example in business. And so let's say you followed your passion and you started your own consulting company. And you just finished your full-time job and now you're all in developing your company. You're all in. And you worked really hard to develop your client list, but you're still overcome with a lot of fear. And gosh, you're not sure that you can build a successful company. You're not sure if you can make it happen.

So your worst case scenario goes to this. Now my business will never be successful. I won't get the clients that I need and I'm not going to make this thing work. And this is going to be a financial disaster for my family and my friends and in my business. And you can think about when you think in the worst case scenario, you're overcome with fear and anxiety. So it's one of the reasons you've really got to catch yourself. So instead, this person could say, the best case scenario is I build a thriving business that meets the needs of my family. I'm going to develop a plan today to reach my yearly goal, and I'm going to stay gritty every single day. And then I want you to think about what you can do in this moment, which is the my

case. And the my case is I am in control of my attitude and my preparation and my effort. I will stay gritty and keep positive, and I will develop this into a thriving business because I know that I can when I focus on what I can do today and what I can do in this moment. So as a result of thinking of the best case scenario and my case scenario, you put a plan into place to go after your dream clients, and instead of giving up on your goal and your passion, you find a way. Because this is so important, my friends, because high performers are those who work to reach their greater potential. They focus on what they want to happen, not what they don't want to happen. And they know their life is a

collection of self-fulfilling prophecies. They believe in the best case scenario. They focus on the moment in the my case scenario so they can stay excited and gritty about their future. So I hope this message is helpful today. I hope that you can find some way to use this the next time you're thinking of the worst case scenario that you change your attention to the best case scenario or my case scenario something that you can really focus on in the moment and I'm excited to deliver this message because this chapter is part of my new book that I'm finishing up right now I think it's chapter 32 so there's over 50 chapters, 50 strategies, and I can't wait to share it with you. So be a lookout for that. It's going to be published this fall.

And, of course, I'd love to hear what you think about this message. And you can shoot me an email at cindra at cindracampoff.com. I always love hearing from you. And I am on Twitter. And you can also send me a tweet or send me a message there at mentally underscore strong. And if you haven't subscribed to the podcast, I encourage you to do so on iTunes or Stitcher radio. Thank you so much, my friends. We're going to end with an affirmation that really hits home at today's message.

It goes like this. I focus on what I want to happen. I create it in my mind first and then I make it happen. I think like a high performer and believe the sky is a limit for me. Make it an outstanding day, my friends, and be mentally strong. 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.