Day 11: How to Feel Good... 3 Simple Steps

I'm seeing my mission is to have a wonderful experience in life, and help others do the same.

Holding my dad as he died a few years ago deepened my realization that whatever we say we want in sports or life, we want it because we want the experience with think it will give us. Ultimately, our experiences are all we have.

I like helping others have a great experience on and off the field because it makes me feel good.

Thus, this series of How to Feel Good emails to you (this is #11 of 21).

One tool that can be very helpful is to declare a segment, then "win" that segment.  

What does it mean to Declare a Segment, then win that segment?

You've no doubt heard of the power of the present moment.  That everything happens in the present moment.  All the power we have is in the present moment.  That peace and love and so on happen in the present moment.  

Peak performance happens in the.....  (yes!).

So the coaching is: Be present.  Be in the present moment.  

But that's easier said then done.  Our minds are designed to move forward and backward in time (in terms of our focus... "going forward and backward in time" is of course happening in the present moment).

The problem: we can't sustain "being present" for very long.

The Solution:  (Well, let's call it a power tool, it won't make you "present" all the time.)

Use this three-step process to get you present and feeling good:

1. Declare a segment.  Define for yourself a block of time, say, "write this email," "driving daughter to school," "the gym", "the meeting," "this pitch," etc.  It might be naturally occurring, such as a business meeting or class, or it might be something you make up, such as: "the next 15 minutes."

2. Define Winning: What's my target in this segment?  What do I want to have happen?  Include both the doing part (what you want to get done), and being part (waht you want to experience.)

3. Win!   Hit the targets you set.

This process does a lot of things -- it's very smart and powerful.  But writing more about it would take us both away from doing it, so let's go.

Regardless of what has happened, and regardless of what might happen, we can do these three steps and feel good (or at least gooder).

Declare.  Define.  Win. -- that's Playing Big.

Dr. Tom