Being a successful business leader all starts in the mind.
That’s because our mental state influences our decision-making process and how we perceive challenges and opportunities.
As much as we want to maintain a level of professionalism and objectivity – we’re still human. This means that our emotions inevitably affect our actions and reactions. That’s why your mental state directly affects your output, process and impact.
So, are you taking control of your mental state or is it taking control of you?
The effects of your mental state on your business
In competitive sport, there’s a critical factor that separates the top players from the rest: mental focus.
While every single tennis player knows how to serve and may have the training and the techniques to ace a game, it’s that mental discipline that sets the legends apart. As they take full control of their mindset, they also gain full control of their reactions and subsequently, the game.
The same goes for you and your business. Your mental state greatly affects your decisions and consequently, your operations. As a business leader, getting in the right state of mind will help you make decisions that will not only increase your productivity but will also help you effectively guide your organisation.
What, then, can you do to be in the right state to improve your performance?
First, we have to understand that thoughts direct your energy
Think about how you begin your day.
Do you exercise? Start with a hearty breakfast?
However you do it, what matters is that you make a deliberate choice to begin the day right – because your morning sets the tone for the whole day. So, get into the zone by establishing a strong routine that will help you prepare for the day ahead. For instance, instead of snoozing your alarm and getting stressed by checking your already crowded inbox, get up fresh, go for a run, have a shower, meditate, have breakfast, then begin. Once you do this, you’ll be more in control of your mindset for the rest of the day.
It also helps to know how your brain works
Our brain produces waves of varying frequencies and each frequency has a different function. This happens when the neurons in the brain communicate with each other using electrical signals.
The following are the types of brain waves and their corresponding functions:
- Gamma – these are associated with higher brain functions like a person’s reasoning and problem-solving abilities.
- Beta – are waves used when you go about the day making decisions.
- Alpha – these are waves that occur when you are calm and relaxed and you tap into the creative part of your brain.
- Theta – these waves put you in a meditation state, where you can access memories and intuition
- Delta – are the slowest types of waves and they are observed when you’re resting or asleep.
Knowing this will help you get into the right state to boost your performance as a business leader.
The ultimate mental state for performance
You might think that the key to achieving your full potential for productivity is by allowing your brain to be as active as possible – such as in gamma or beta.
However, that’s not the case. For optimum performance, you need a blend of all of them. The problem is, most business professionals sit permanently in gamma and neglect the rest, resulting in eventual burnout and a lack of creativity.
As a professional Business Coach, I encourage my clients to try and focus more on introducing the alpha brain waves state into their day. This triggers what famous author and psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, defines as “Flow”.
In the state of flow, you’re slightly challenged but not too pressured to complete a task or make a decision. In this state, you’re not aware of time nor space. In the Flowtime Technique, you can stay focussed for as long as you like, keeping you free from any kind of distraction. After staying focused for quite some time, you can reward yourself with breaks.
As peak performance happens here, allotting 4-5 hours of work in this state per week will help you get the same amount of tasks done in 40 hours of unfocused work. On top of maximising productivity, your output is most likely ten times better when this method is used.
Just make sure you rest after flow! As you need to recuperate after riding that super-focused state.
I can help you get into the right mental state to boost your performance
With the distracting buzz of our fast-paced environment, eliminating distractions and getting into the right mind to maximise your productivity and performance is not easy – but it is necessary.
So, if you need an experienced and professional business coach to help guide you towards the right mental state to help you and your organisation, then let’s start an initial discussion.
Simply schedule an initial discovery call today with me.
Stephen O’Sullivan
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