Wendel Abel - I AM WHAT I THINKDO YOU want to win more often? Trying hard and not achieving the desired results? Do you want to reach your maximum potential? Do you want to improve grades or job performance? Here are some tips for high performance living.
1. Set goals. Set goals realistically. Be specific about your goals and state them in positive terms. If you have several goals, give each a priority. Make your goals specific and measurable. It is important that you set goals over which you have control. Setting goals based on situations over which you have no control, sets you up for failure. People who fail to plan, plan to fail.
2. Have a personal vision. It is always good to have a vision of where you want to be. It is the vision of where you want to be and to go that drives your goals. Without vision the people perish.
3. Change negative thinking. 'I will never succeed.' 'I will never complete this.' 'I will never be good at what I do.' These are examples of negative thinking. Many persons fail to achieve because they harbour negative thinking. These may come to us automatically or they may be reinforced by others around us. They soon become self-fulfilling prophecies.
4. Use positive affirmations. An affirmation is a statement or belief. Affirmations are effective in reducing negative thinking. 'I am successful.' 'I have passed my exams.' 'I am a great athlete.' Everyday, whether it is the beginning of the day, before a study or practice session, find a quiet location and close your eyes. Relax your body and imagine yourself achieving your goals. Then repeat your affirmations. Do it everyday. Soon it will become automatic.
'Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great people make you feel that you, too, can become great' (Mark Twain).
5. Practise. Practise. Practise. You can not succeed at anything unless you work hard at it. You have to study, attend training sessions or rehearsals.
'The heights of great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight. But they, while their companions slept, were toiling upwards in the night' (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow).
6. Keep focused. The footballer is told to keep his eyes on the ball. It is important to keep focused on your goals. Avoid the distractions of life which are many and varied. Distractions may be due to someone you love and are trying to impress, frustrations, past mistakes and failures and criticisms you constantly receive.
7. Strike a balance. Peak performance is based on being able to concentrate well, being alert at all times and being relaxed under the most challenging situations. It is therefore important that you are in good physical and mental form. Exercise, eat well, sleep well and pause to enjoy life in the process.
8. Do not be deterred by failure. It is OK to fail. We learn a lot from these experiences. 'What is defeat? Nothing but education; Nothing but the first step to something better" (Richard Sheridan).
9. Having the right mental attitude is critical to achieving success.
'Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude'
(Thomas Jefferson).
Dr. Wendel Abel is a consultant psychiatrist and senior lecturer, University of the West Indies; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.
