A Bit Of A Boost

If you've ever thought to yourself "I wish I'd been more confident!", or "I shouldn't have got so angry...", then being more intentional could help shake you out of your default reaction patterns.

In this short solo episode I share some of the ways that being intentional can help you show up as your best self more consistently, and improve the way that other people (and you!) experiences you.

We take abstract 'showing up words' and turn them into real world demonstrations of how you want to be, and look at a number of different scenarios where this technique can be helpful.

Being intentional is like an antidote to autopilot as it makes you more mindful and deliberate about the way you choose to respond. You won't always get it perfect, but being intentional vastly increases your chances!

20 years ago when I started out as a personal trainer answering the question of ‘what do you do?’ was an easy one.

Over the course of the last 2 decades the scope of my work has expanded to include what can be broadly described as 'wellbeing & performance', but what do these words actually mean?

There are many definitions depending on who you talk to, and although I don't claim to have the definitive answer I do believe that a part of it must include something that relates to the 'dynamic tension between a desire for progress and a contentment with the present'.

But rather than try to come up with the perfect definition, this episode drills into the 5 'pillars' that I believe make up the concept of wellbeing & performance:

1) Wellbeing

2) Drive

3) Mindset

4) Resilience

5) Connection

I break each of these down into smaller chunks as follows:

Wellbeing - DASH - PERMA - Stress & Energy - Emotions

Drive - Goals - Motivation - Confidence - Purpose

Mindset - Global Mindset - Beliefs & Values - Optimism - Self-Talk

Resilience - Grit - Bouncebackability - Change - Acceptance

Connection - Relationships - Support - Belonging - Self

And then finally identify some of the common blockers that stop us from doing and being more of what and who we want to do and be!

Blockers - Procrastination - Self-Sabotage - Confidence - Overwhelm - Defaults

Finally finally, all of this is wrapped in habits, systems, planning and evaluation processes that if you're not careful can quite easily suck out all the messy joy from life so be warned: this is just a model!

My intention for sharing this is to encourage you to ask yourself the question: how am I doing right now with my wellbeing & performance?

Try rating yourself on a scale of 1-10 and make a note of any scores that come out lower than you are happy with, and then start to make a plan for what you could do to nudge them up by +1.

These are also all topics that I speak about regularly, at conferences, corporate events and in training rooms both in the UK and Internationally.

If you want to find out more about how I work with my clients please get in touch via email: [email protected]

In 2014 I wrote the book 'Beginner's Luck Guide for Non-Runners' and since then it's helped thousands of complete beginners build the confidence to go out enjoy all of the benefits of running.

In today's episode I introduce 3 practical tips that many beginner runners seem to find useful, as well as 3 mindset tips and 3 common mistakes.

It's a bit of a niche episode and if running isn't your bag then you might want to skip over this one, but if you've secretly wanted to learn how to run for a while now, this could be just the start that you need!

NSDR, or Non-Sleep Deep Rest, is a relaxation technique where you bring your mind and body into a state of deep relaxation, somewhere between being awake and asleep.

NSDR is a term coined by Dr Andrew Huberman, professor of neurobiology and opthamology at Stanford University and it's similar to a form of yoga called Yoga Nidra.

It brings numerous benefits that I’ve been enjoying recently and I want to share it with you today.

NSDR is a powerful stress-buster as it activates your parasympathetic nervous system, which is the opposite to your fight and flight stress response. Any time you’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed out and you need to take a moment to reset yourself, this tool can be great way to accomplish that.

NSDR can also help clear your mind, opening you up to fresh ideas or inspiration. I sometimes do this in the mornings immediately before a bout of journaling, and always find that I can think much more clearly and have more ‘ah ha’ moments.

It also helps to embed new information as a part of the learning process, and this is another areas that I have found it to be particularly valuable.

If you struggle to get to sleep or fall back to sleep once you wake in the night, it can be a great help with this. Even though it’s called ‘Non-Sleep Deep Rest’, it will move you away from ruminating and dwelling on worries, and towards a state of relaxation that will help you get back to sleep again.

As you work through the 10 minute NSDR that I’m going to share with you today your brainwaves will slow down similar to how they would in a state of deep sleep, yet you remain conscious throughout. In fact I encourage you to set your intention to stay awake right at the start.

But that said, this is definitely not a podcast episode to listen to if you are driving, operating heavy machinery, or in water. You want to find yourself a quiet space where you won’t be disturbed for at least 10 minutes.

References:

Huberman Lab podcast: https://hubermanlab.com

Most of my interviews for this podcast are with subject matter experts, or inspirational individuals sharing their stories, and I have loads more of these lined up as well, but for the next few episodes I have a something slightly different.

Through my presenting and coaching work I get to speak to many really interesting people, many of whom are already doing some aspect of wellbeing and performance really well.

It’s like they’ve cracked part of the code and gained some crucial insights that have helped them through a successful career, and after one of these conversations I thought to myself, ‘I wish I’d recorded that it would have made an awesome episode for the podcast!’

So I’ve managed to pin a few of them down to do just that - talk about some aspect of wellbeing and performance, and share their approach, experiences or insights in a way that we can all learn from.

Today’s episode is the first of this series, and I get to speak to Maninder Randhawa, the UK, Ireland, Middle East & Africa Early Careers Leader at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, about a topic that’s come up a few times in the sessions he’s been on where I’ve been presenting - Imposter Syndrome.

He shares his own experiences and understanding of what it is, how it’s held him back in the past and how - even though it’s still present for him - he’s learned to manage it more effectively.

We talk about:

Comparing ourselves with other people

Why it's important to focus on our own unique skills beyond our technical expertise

How to build the mindset where you anticipate and embrace imposter syndrome

Why imposter syndrome is an indication of learning opportunities

The importance of a coach or mentor

Identifying a tendency to focus on the negatives and ignore the positive

Mindset strategies to counter holding back

This is a conversation that I know many people will relate to and I’ve had my own experiences with it as well, and if you would like to connect with Mani you can find him here on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/maninder-randhawa-88179552