High Performance Mindset | Learn from World-Class Leaders, Consultants, Athletes & Coaches about Mindset - 89: How to Think Powerfully

Episode Date: February 11, 2017

“If you think you can or think you can't, you're right.” Henry Ford. High performers choose powerful, possibility-oriented, process focused and positive thoughts regardless of the situation and what is happening around them. They know this type of thinking leads to success. High performers address weak, negative, restrictive and outcome-focused thinking which does not lead to reaching their greater potential. My High Performance Affirmation: I make a commitment to not believe everything I think! I talk to myself not listen.

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 for High Performance Mindset this morning with Dr. Sindra Kampoff in studio. Good morning, Sindra. It's great to be here. All right. So today's topic is how to talk to yourself, not listen. I'm a little bit confused, so I'm interested in this topic.

I don't know if we've discussed it before, but you have an example to start with and a quote, first of all. Quote by Henry Ford. If you think you can or think you can't, you're right. And so the example I want to give, if you're watching the game last night, I'm going to give the example of Tom Brady. And Tom Brady, after the Patriots lost the AFC Championship last year and they missed the chance to play in the Super Bowl, he went home and he installed a Super Bowl countdown clock in his home gym. And he's been visualizing this goal for obviously nearly a year now, a little over a year.

And I think what's powerful about that is, you know, every day he was looking at that clock as he was working out and you could see the relentlessness yesterday in the game and his grit and just his drive to get things done. And so what what my point of this story is, is that he had a lot of grit. He moved. They scored 19 points in the fourth quarter last night, I mean, and they won in overtime. And he could have easily even during the game thought, well, gosh, you know, this is not going to happen. This isn't going to work.

We're down by so many points. You know, this isn't going to be our year. But he talked to himself instead of listening. He definitely looked like, and I'm sure there was a lot going on in his head, but it didn't look like a lot phased him. He wasn't letting it get to him. So he wasn't letting any self-talk bother him at all. Why is our thinking and what's going on with us so important to our success and the result

we're looking for? The most successful athletes, leaders, and business people will tell you that they've mastered their thinking. What I mean by that is it takes deliberate energy and practice to master the six inches between your ears. And our ability to master our thinking isn't something we're born with. And so what I mean by that, training your mind and training your thinking takes consistent and daily effort. It's not automatic. And maybe yesterday you really worked

to control your thinking, but today, you know, is a new day. And so our ability is we can learn how to take control of our thinking. It seems like a lot of times we talk about talking to ourselves, saying the positive things, you know, and repeating them and really kind of making them happen and come true, so to speak.

So the whole talk to yourself, not listen thing confuses me a little bit. What do you mean by that? You bet. Okay. So when you listen to that voice inside your head, what I'm saying is like you're listening to the ants. And we've talked about this before. Ants really mean just your automatic negative thinking.

And what the most successful people do is they don't believe everything they think. Instead, they talk to themselves. And when we just listen, you know, those ants can be weak and restrictive and just reactive. They can be negative. An example last night during the game is, as you were watching, you heard that no team has ever overcome that kind of deficit in the Super Bowl. And so if you were one of the Patriots players, you might have been thinking, this isn't going to work. There's no way we can do it. But when you talk to yourself, you're intentional with your self-talk, and you talk to yourself in a really powerful way. Today we're talking about P4 way, so four words that start with P. All right. So what is P4?

So it's powerful thoughts instead of defeating thoughts. Thoughts about the possibilities of things that you can do instead of restrictive thoughts, focused on the process instead of the outcome, and they're positive, not negative. So powerful, possibility oriented, process and positive. All right. So give us some examples. What do you mean by powerful thoughts? So I mean high performers, those people who are working to reach their greater potential, they choose thoughts that make them want to do something, that make them want to move

forward. And these powerful thoughts lead to powerful body language and just excitement, enthusiasm for their day and for their team and for their life. So let me give you an example. I can do anything I put my mind to. Or today I will set a new standard for my business or my team. Or I'm pumped to go to work today. Those are all powerful thoughts.

Instead of I can't do that, I'm just not important to my team or my family or my business. Those are defeating thoughts. Kind of like today is a new day. Today is a new day. Let's make the best of it. Let's have an awesome day. I got this. I got this. Yeah, there we go. There we go. Possibility oriented instead of restrictive. So they focus on all the possibilities for them and for their team and for their family to keep them excited and passionate about their work and their life.

They choose to dream about their future. So here are some examples. Anything is possible for me and my team with enough determination and grit. Or the possibilities for my life are endless. Instead of, you know, there's no way that he can do that. Or there's no way that she can do that. Or there's no way I can do that. You know, that's impossible. Or no one has ever done that before.

That's not going to work for me. Or even if you're facing something you haven't been successful at before, you're like, maybe I have another opportunity to do this. Absolutely. And you're always dreaming about the future and thinking of the possibilities. Okay. So what do you mean by process focused rather than outcome focused? So I mean that their attention is on the process or the how, and that helps them stay in the present. So they are focused on things that they can control. So a great example of the Patriots last night, if they were just thinking about the score, it would have actually created a lot of anxiety. So instead, you know, take it, you've heard of people on the podcast say like one play

at a time or one meeting at a time or one hour at a time instead of just focusing on the outcome. So the process examples would be, you know, I can make this deadline today by focusing on these three things, these three steps. Or I'm going to play fast and powerfully today when play at a time. Instead of, you know, meeting this deadline is never going to happen. Or I must win today no matter what. Those are examples of outcome thoughts. And you might hear, I hear my kids say that.

Yeah. I know just a lot hear my kids say that. Yeah. I know just a lot about the outcome. Sure. Yeah. And you try not to worry about that, but what to do to get there. Exactly. So what do you mean by positive? Now, you talked about positive versus negative.

So I mean that, you know, they don't focus on like words like don't or can't. So a great example is like a golfer. If you're a golfer and you say, don't hit it in the water, you're likely to hit it in the water. You are destined to hit it in the water. So high performers focus on what they want to happen instead of what they want to avoid. So here's an example of a positive thought. I'm going to crush my presentation today. I will be and play the best I can today. Instead of, you know, don't crash under the pressure, don't drop the ball or don't freeze when it really matters today. So what I'd encourage

people to do is what I think is really helpful when you learn to talk to yourself instead of listen is to plan a thought that you want to have for the day. Because I think then when you hear the ants, the automatic negative thinking, you can talk back to yourself. So think of a statement that you want to say to yourself today. And so I'll give you an example of mine today. Okay. I make a difference in the world.

There you go. I like that. So what's a thought you want to have today to crush those ants? I'm totally putting you both on the spot. Well, I got this That I said earlier Yeah that's good That's kind of what I was thinking

On the funnier side of things I was thinking I'm going to sweat so much today Because I ate so much yesterday And I'm going to love it Nice To get the opportunity to sweat I get to go out

And sweat it out today Yeah Instead of have to I like it Instead of have to Yeah I look forward to it It's going to be a nice day Good day to get outside

So What about you, Lisa? You're on the spot. No, I was kind of actually thinking along the same lines because both of us were just like, oh. Sort of a gluttonous day, Super Bowl Sunday in America. Yeah, like back on track. Back on track. Today's back on track.

Awesome. There you go. So how do we summarize this whole thing today? This is good stuff and stuff we should really take into, you know, not just our sports or athletic endeavors, but you can take it right to the workplace with you today. Absolutely. So high performers, those who are working to reach their greater potential, they choose powerful thoughts that are focused on the possibilities and the process, and they're positive. So powerful, possibility, process, and positive, regardless of the situation and what's happening around them because they know this type of thinking leads to success and they talk to themselves, not listen.

All right. Well, I know that this is all great stuff that we're going to be able to get when the book becomes available. Yes. But podcasts, as you mentioned, are a great way to learn some of this stuff as the podcasts appear online. The website is also a good place to go get all the Syndra Kampoff info you need. Before we get into that what

is the affirmation that will be sent out today as well i make a commitment to not believe everything i think i talk to myself not listen all right that's a good one today uh if we want to follow along and learn more um the best place to go is the website right start there yep you can go to drsyndra.com that's d-r-c-i-n-D-R-A. And you can watch some videos there, podcasts. And that's where you can sign up to learn more about when my book's going to come out. And it's on its way. Awesome. So pretty exciting.

That is exciting. And just a fine example with the Super Bowl yesterday in the talk-to-yourself-not-listen deal. Right. Staying in it and not quitting until it is over. Don't give up. Stay with it. Look what could happen. I think the Atlanta Falcons, they say,

had a 98.9% chance of winning that game statistically when they were up and New England only had three points and New England came back and won it in the first Super Bowl overtime ever. So that's pretty gritty. Gotta say, it's pretty gritty. Pretty gritty. Dr. Cinder Kampoff with us today for High Performance Mindset.

Thank you very much. Thanks for having me. 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 Cinder's free weekly videos, check out DrCindra.com.