Renowned high performance psychologist Dr. Michael Gervais says that you can only train 3 things. However, many people don’t have specific strategies for training in all these 3 areas.
We can only train our craft… our body… our mind.
I’ll go a step further, to actually get the most out of yourself, specific training in all 3 is mandatory.
Let’s look at each of these three critical training focuses for high performance.
Your Craft
Craft is simple what you do. For athletes, it’s pretty simple – the specific skills of their sport. Steph Curry, arguably one of the best shooters to play in the NBA, shoots 500 hundred shots each day. Golfers drill the nuance of a golf swing to dial it into perfection. NFL quarterbacks meticulously work on their footwork to give them milliseconds less time throwing the ball in games.
In business, you need to train the specific skill sets necessary to excel in your job. If you’re a leader of people, training in the specifics of leadership. In sales, the specific techniques of language, closing for the various customers that you encounter.
Each year I take training for aspects of my coaching so that I can continue to increase my skills. Over the years I’ve received a laundry list of certifications, each working on specific elements that I believe will elevate my craft.
What specific training, programs, coaching, etc. that directly help you get better at your specific craft? How are you continuously elevating?
Your body
If you’re an athlete, this is part of the sport. Even amateur athletes who want to get better know this. My partner Chris Suarez is an avid runner and does training programs outside of running – weightlifting, stretching even elements of his nutrition are designed to increase his speed & distance.
What if you’re a business leader? What effects does training your body have on your performance in your business? When you’re dialed into your exercise, nutrition & sleep – the building blocks of physical health & optimization – you have more energy use toward the challenges of your day.
Can you be effective in business without training your body? Sure. Yet, we see so often that the highest performers in business overwhelmingly also seemingly optimize their health. Mark Zuckerberg trains in mixed martial arts because it helps give him a mental break from work. He also ran a sub 20 minute 5K last year.
Here’s what Richard Branson says about how he has always trained his body and increased his nutrition a couple years ago: “I have long prioritized an all-round healthy lifestyle. I exercise daily in the form of tennis, kitesurfing, swimming, weights, and cycling (sometimes to my detriment!). I go to bed at 9 p.m. when possible, I have an incredible team around me to help manage stress and am blessed with the most incredible friends and family. And diet… is the final pillar to help realize full health potential.”
How are you specifically training your body to optimize your performance in the short & long term? Think about potential barriers to your daily performance and address it using nutrition, exercise & sleep.
Your mind
Your mind is the most overlooked of the three from specific training for high performance.
Frankly, we take it for granted and believe no work is unless we experience negative symptoms that actively debilitate us. Yes, we should work on things like overwhelm, burnout, self-doubt, self-worth, etc. when they get in the way.
However, most of us settle for good enough. Our good enough is usually REALLY good. And we’re selling ourselves short or being successful in spite of how we think – which will lead to overwhelm, burnout, loss of drive if not addressed.
We treat our mind today like we treated our health 50 years ago. Then, we only addressed problems with our health – going to a doctor to fix our illnesses. We didn’t look to optimize. Of the most successful gyms in the country only 2 were around 50 years ago. Like with our minds today, we were more reactive than proactive.
That’s the opportunity. We can optimize not just what we think, also HOW we think. Yes, getting rid of pesky thoughts & emotions is important. Just like going to the doctor if you have the flu. And like going to the gym to get physically stronger, we can create belief systems and emotional states that allow us to drive us to accomplish even more than we thought we had in us. And, we can be our best with more joy & fulfillment – which is what we all want at our core.
What do you do specifically to identify and overcome the negative beliefs that create a false ceiling or self-imposed challenges? How do you find and train the specific beliefs and emotions that will be the fuel to greater success & fulfillment?
We’re here to be the fullest expression of who we can be. To see what that is for you – be sure to listen to Michael Gervais – specifically train your craft, body & mind.
It’s why Chris & I created the Xperiential MBA group mentoring & coaching program, so that we train all three. It’s also why I work with high performers on how they think so that they push through the ceiling they thought was possible and build mental skills to have more wins & more joy doing it.
Link here: https://xperiencegrowth.com/the-xperiential-mba-2024/