June Mental Fitness Workouts

Highlights:

• Delaying your intuition
• Becoming more like Aaron Donald

I wanted to come up with a clever statement about summer being a time to get a beach brain, but I couldn’t get there. So instead, here’s what you can do to start getting more mentally fit this summer.

Workout #1: 3-Breath Pause

There’s real merit to the idea of taking a deep breath before you react or make a decision - it’s what Nobel Prize-winning psychologist and behavioral economist Daniel Kahneman calls “delaying your intuition.”

In his usage, he really means something closer to “sleep on it,” but the same principle applies to the heat of the moment.

If we can pause, and give ourselves just a moment to reflect and notice how we’re feeling, what our instinct tells us, and what our predisposition suggests we should do, we can then make a clearer, more conscious choice about how to best proceed with full awareness of the factors influencing our decision.

So, next time you’re in the heat of a confrontation or a big decision, practice pausing and taking 3 deep breaths before you move forward.

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You can practice this skill any time, really:

• Before you speak in a meeting
• Before a big pitch you have
• Before responding to your kid
• Before giving feedback on the field

The 3 deep breaths can be enough to give you the distance you need to make a better decision. Once you’ve delayed your intuition, you’re more likely to arrive at an approach that gives you the best chance of succeeding.

Workout #2: Practice Positive Self-Talk

I had a number of people reach out to me about self-talk after last week’s article about the power of the voice in our heads. I was glad the article resonated, but one theme kept coming up over and over…

How can I be more like Aaron Donald?

Genetics aside, much of what we watched in the video was the result of practice.

Practice talking to himself productively.

Practice motivating himself.

Practice being positive with himself.

The end result is a masterclass in what it means to use your inner voice to your full advantage.

So for June, I want to encourage you to do the same.

Every day, practice saying at least 3 positive, true things to yourself. These can be reminders of hard work you’ve put in, things you’ve done well, or just general things you like about yourself.

The more you practice, the closer you’ll be to Aaron Donald status.