This is an episode of Crush It Mondays.  Each week, I’ll bring to you an inspiring message, habit, or contemplation to get your week off to a powerful start.  In this week’s episode, I want to talk about how not to choke.  My research was primarily around different sports, but these tips can be applied to say, a meeting you're preparing for, test-taking, or any situation that challenges you.

Self-talk, the awareness around our perceptions, and mindfulness are woven into the main narrative of this podcast. The stories we tell ourselves and the words that we use affect our perception. Self-talk is an internal stimulus and drives our confidence in everything that we do. It especially effects the outcome of how we perform and even how much fun we have in challenging situations or conditions where we need to optimally perform.  Our inner experience effects the quality of our outer experience.

What to do:

Here are some techniques I like to keep your eye on crushing it instead of letting that constricted, nervous feeling take over.  Use this in sports, business, relationships- anywhere you are being challenged.

• Develop contextual awareness around your negative self-talk. When are you doing it, what circumstances cause it?
• Practice reworking your thoughts and rewiring your brain.  Replace negative thoughts with productive ones.  Even journaling daily will help.
• Focus on execution, not outcome.  Don't think about winning the game or the race, think about what you'll do to perform your best. Don't think of the test result, think of the work you put in to know your stuff.  Don't think about getting the promotion, think about communicating everything you've done well.  You catch my drift
• Positive Visualization:  For days or weeks leading up to your event, imagine what not only what success looks like, but try to imagine how it'll feel when you are doing everything perfectly for your execution.  You can even use negative visualization- how will you deal with potential hiccups? If this gives you anxiety, don't spend too much time on the negative parts.
• View stress as a positive, especially with stereotypical "nerve-wracking situations."  Instead of saying "I'm so nervous" or "I'm stressed", tell yourself that you're excited and you're amped.  Kelly McGonigal PhD has written a whole book on research surrounding how and why this works, and techniques you can use called The Upside of Stress.
• Pick a mantra.  Mantras can be really powerful.  Pick on that makes you feel good. Mantra: I got this.  I'm unstoppable. I'm confident. I'm ready.
• Relax: breath, routine

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Reggie Miller's tips on choking and performing under pressure.

First let me say, there is no such thing as “choking”, we all have at some point come up short at the biggest moments in our athletic endeavor.. But here’s how I approach pressure moments..

1. Act like you’ve been there. There’s a reason why you got up 3 hours earlier to get to the gym or football field or on a trail. Practice makes good, not perfect.. The more time you spend doing what you love, the less pressure it will feel like..

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The Grow the Good Podcast is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co.