Peak Performance 360

The Conscious Athlete: Mental Health in Sport.

8/1/2019

As a professional athlete one tend to go through so much, it can be a roller coaster of emotions because on one day the results may be great but the next day, the results may not be so good. Most fans do not really know what an athlete has to go through in order to give their best out there. The fan base only accepts perfection and days when you are not so perfect you will get all the hate propagated towards you on how you are useless and not so good. As human’s awful words tend to get to us no matter how strong we are. At times we are told to ignore the hate but it is often not as easy to ignore as it may seem. There are various athletes that have had to shed tears because of the hate thrown towards them. In order to succeed in sports, mental health is quite of great importance and that is why there are mental health coach who exist to help you cope with this.
Athletes are prone to many things that may be detrimental to their mental health state these include: pursuit as well as the price of success, the sporting lifestyle considering how athletes leave quite flashy lifestyle, abuse on pitch and changing room and finally injuries that may be so severe affecting one’s comeback (Samuel Lovett). Many people will think that an athlete only needs to be physically fit and this is probably why most athletes are often subjected to medical examination just to ensure they are fit. Am not disputing that physical fitness is not important but rather all am saying is an athlete will not give his best if up there he is not completely okay. A mental health coach is there to train the mind to be healthy thus optimizing the athlete’s performance.

Performance of an athlete is not likely to remain constant and may vary from day to day. No single athlete will tell you they have never had low moments in their careers. A mental coach acts as a motivator trying to help find the triggers that may affect the athlete and then strengthening the will. A mental coach will be important in also helping out in both the pre and post-game pressures help stimulate one’s concentration thus ensuring they are completely ready for the game and also creating a winning mentality. According to psychologist when one has positive thoughts i.e. they are going to win a match or a game then they are highly likely to win the game. As an athlete optimism is of great importance even when some games really seem to be hard or challenging, an optimist mind is likely to overcome all obstacles.
A mental health coach does not have tricks to use in order to help their client win but rather they have a plan on the real needs of their clients and actual measures to take. For example, someone who has suffered trauma such as injury in the field, they need help in recovering from the trauma and training the mind that they can come through of anything and still be great. They need constant reassurance to be optimistic that after coming out of their injury they can still be good at what they used to do. Stress plays quite an important role in ensuring one succeed. There are two types of stress that exists. The first is called eustress which is a positive kind of stress while the second is distress which has negative impacts. Eustress is an important kind of stress to athletes as it gives them pressure in trying to ensure they end the match while being the best. A mental health coach will try ensure that an athlete is able to handle both kinds of stress accordingly.
There are several pro-athletes that have accredited their success to using mental health coaches. They include Russell Wilson who suffered a devastating loss in the Super Bowl History that greatly affected his mind. Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan are also basketball players who have relied on the help of mental health in order to be successful in their careers. Others include Tom Brady, Aaron Judge, Nick Faldo, Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony. This shows that over the years many professional athletes have come to the realization of importance of mental health coaching. In getting the right mental coach it is important to do your research well. As an athlete, one may need to talk to other athletes as well as coaches. Sports psychologist who also act as mental health coaches are also certified by the Association for Applied Sports psychology.
Generally, sports can be said to be a game that exhibits who has the best physical health, however, mental health is a defining factor that separates athletes that are good from those that are great. Many people in the sports industry have embraced the fact that sport is no longer a game of being physically superior but also who can be able to dominate all the opponents mentally. All sports need to now ensure that their players have the best mental health coaching in order to ensure maximum performance, players can deal with stress while on and off the pitch, players can handle hate and discrimination while in the field and above all the players can be able to enjoy sports.

Works Cited
Lovett, Samuel. “The Sporting Mind: Introducing Our Series on Mental Health in Sport.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 29 July 2019, www.independent.co.uk/sport/the-sporting-mind-series-mental-health-sport-latest-a8941816.html.

Using NLP to Formutale Your Goals.

3/27/2019

Well defined and clear goals are a prerequisite in most areas of life. Although it is a reality, most people, unfortunately, do not plan or set goals for their lives. Goals have to be specific, measurable, realistic, attainable and time-bound. The NLP Well-formed Outcome is a goal setting process that programmes the mind into achieving the desired set goal. With clearly defined goals, people tend to become more motivated and successful in achieving their goals.

The brain is dependent on the sensory system for functioning. The NLP Well-formed Outcome ensures that the brain is programmed towards attaining the set goal as it sets up the RAS. The Reticular Activating System. The RAS is the reason you buy a new car and then start seeing your make everywhere. It’s why you can tune out a crowd full of talking people, yet immediately snap to attention when someone says your name.
Your RAS takes what you focus on and creates a filter for it. It then acts as an antenna and presents only the important pieces. All of this happens without you noticing, of course. The RAS programs itself to work in your favor without you actively doing anything. Pretty cool, right? This basically means that if you set Well-formed goals, your RAS will reveal the people, information and opportunities that help you achieve them.
In NLP coaching, one is made to question their current situation and to compare it with the ultimate objective. It makes one question where he or she is now, what he or she wants. After that, the individual asks what they want to achieve and what they are doing to meet their desired objectives.The process further makes one ascertain what they will see, hear or feel when they have their outcome

NLP ensures that a person engages their senses and helps them break the goal down into do-able chunks. It provides that the broken down goals are not overwhelming. It ensures that a person runs a quality control check to ascertain whether the desired goal is appropriate in all spectrums of life. And it makes a person determine whether the purpose affects personal relationships and what the opportunity cost for adopting that goal is.

It is imperative to determine whether the goal can be self-initiated and maintained. NLP coaching makes a person question whether it is in their mandate to adopt that goal. It enables one to determine whether it is within personal control. The rationale is to ensure that it is not dependent on other people because for the goal to be practical; it has to be directly affected by the individual.

Also, it is crucial to be aware of the resources needed to meet the goal. The crux is to ensure that the goals are attainable without any hindrances. NLP coaching makes a person plan the resources required and how to allocate them effectively. It strives to ascertain what might impede an individual from achieving set goals.

NLP coaching helps in formulating goals as it incorporates both the conscious and subconscious mind. The flexibility of NLP coaching makes it easy for individuals to change their lives until they achieve their desired goals. It enables an individual to work towards achieving a set objective since it is specific and straightforward. It offers consistency since it forces a person to envision a productive and compelling future.

NLP coaching boosts motivation since it gives a person a sense of direction and clarity. In goal setting, it is vital to define the purpose. It is inspiring to work towards a set goal with beneficial returns. The return on investment for an individual with clearly formulated goals is higher than that of those who do not plan for their future. NLP boosts an individual’s dare-to-dream phase. It makes an individual more ambitious. The result is that once a person has achieved these set objectives, they derive satisfaction from it and become fulfilled.

Give us a call if you are interested in our NLP coaching and NLP courses. Including: NLP Practitioner, NLP Business Practitioner and NLP for Athletes.

Investing in people over technology will enable Peak Performance at work.

3/20/2019

At the turn of the 21st century, technology was at the forefront of business trends. Companies were beginning to realize how technology could provide a formidable edge and boost profits. The concept of working smarter versus harder made much sense, and with that companies began to engage in a sort of technological arms race. As technology advanced further, trends came and went, some companies won while others lost. And in all the confusion of the race for advantageous technology, most companies completely lost sight of their most valuable asset…their employees!

However, there is one company above all who while keeping the latest trends at the forefront, never forgot about the people operating that technology, and that was Google LLC. You see, Google knew some of the greatest secrets of maximizing profits, which will be revealed in this article.

                                               The Cost of Job Stress
The average company has an attrition rate of roughly 20%. That means around 2 out of every 10 workers are leaving the company due to negligent management, poor working conditions, large workloads, and ultimately, dissatisfaction with the company’s method of compensation. In other words, there’s a gap between the work they put in, and the rewards they’re receiving. The fact of the matter is, this attrition rate of only 20% really doesn’t cost the company that much money, in fact, it might even be a good thing! The reason being, an unhappy worker is an underperformer, so the small turnover rate is worth it to get someone else in that’s a little more enthusiastic. The problem with this mentality, is it makes perfect logical sense, it’s true, but as Google already discovered, it loses sight of the bigger picture…

                                              A happy worker, is a harder worker
Global companies like Google knew from the start that keeping the turnover rate as low as possible was only the beginning, for companies to really see a difference in gross profits, production had to increase on a comprehensive scale, and that could only occur if the employees were happy.

Other companies understood this concept on a basic level, but they got it all wrong on a much grander level. Most companies increased the salaries of their employees, falsely believing this would make them happier, but it actually contributed to their dissatisfaction. The difference was in the company’s culture, not in the bank accounts.

                                                      Innovative Ideas
Industrial/Organizational psychologists have conducted numerous studies that show employees are motivated to work harder, not by their monetary compensation, but by the emotional rewards they received. One study showed that ‘employee of the month’ plaques actually increased competitiveness and production amongst employees more than just simply raising their salaries! Emotional validation motivates employees to work harder than simply throwing more money at them—it’s a psychological fact.

                                             Getting back to the 20% attrition rate
In a situation like where 2 out of 10 employees walked away from the company due to dissatisfaction, the turnover rate isn’t the problem, the dissatisfaction is the problem. Because if the 20% of the employees were dissatisfied, then what about the other 80%? Chances are, dissatisfaction is high amongst them as well, they just didn’t leave, and that may be because they probably feel that they have no other place to go. So managerial personal in this case are looking at the turnover rate and wondering how much it’s costing the company, but the money the company is losing in the attrition rate is frail in comparison to the money they’re losing in loss of production due to widespread dissatisfaction.

                                  Google started with changing the workplace culture

Google is famous for being one of the best companies in the world to work for, but that isn’t because of the competitive compensation package, it’s because of the way they manage their employees! For starters, Google has a daycare at the office! The days of hiring a babysitter was long gone! Employees could bring their children to work and spend time with them on their breaks and lunches! Furthermore, Google employees are actually allowed to take naps at work! In addition to this, Google also offers ride-sharing services to employees to both pick them up to go to work and drop them off at home. All of this was done to prevent stress, which Google knew not only took a toll on employee health and satisfaction, but more importantly, it minimized productivity.

But that was only the beginning. You see, Google discovered that even with the aforementioned job perks, employees still had stress in their lives, and it still impacted productivity. In response to this, Google hired consultants to teach relaxation and mindfulness techniques to their managerial staff and other employees, and the difference was huge! Employees who engaged in this training were healthier, happier, and exceeded other workers in task performance significantly! The idea was simple, you can never remove the stress, but you can teach how to manage it better!

Soon after that, Apple launched the same program that yielded similar results. Employees who received stress reduction training outperformed employees who did not. Not only were these employees’ better workers, but they came to believe in the company, and gave it their all every single day! Moreover, studies also showed that the impact this training has on one person greatly affects the atmosphere at work, which impacted other employees. In other words, this type of positive energy from only one employee, affected the whole team! There’s a new trend amongst competitive companies like Google and Apple, where the focus has shifted from technology to people, where the new formidable edge lies not in the companies technology, but in the people they employ.

At Peak Performance 360 we provide resilience programs and resilience workshops that support a company's well-being culture. When employees participate in our resilience programs they are better equipped to deal with the stresses of such a fast pace working environment. Employees who engage in this form of training are healthier happier and perform better. Take a moment now to look at our resilience workshops and see how we can support your employees.

The effects of job-related stress on employee health.

3/13/2019

Did you know that job-related stress is one of the most prevalent causes of life-threatening illnesses and medical emergencies? In addition to the harmful effects job-related stress has on individual health, did you know that job-related stress costs companies billions of dollars every year due to employee medical and stress leave, sick time, turnover rates, and poor production outputs?

Recent psychological research has shown that stress causes residual detrimental effects on mental and physical health. These findings have been supported by medical studies into the psychophysiological effects of stress, specifically how it effects the immune system.

These studies have concluded that job-related stress can cause psychological conditions such as depression, anxiety, panic disorder, and relational issues which eventually lead to physiological disorders such as weakened immune system, gastrointestinal problems, high-blood pressure, atherosclerosis, and heart disease.

It is important to understand that as the employee’s psychological and physiological health declines, his or her job performance will also decline, leading to poor production, employee replacements, and company losses.

Job-related stress and how it impacts the body
General Adaption Syndrome (GAS) is a multiphasic model that describes how the body reacts to stress. General Adaption Syndrome occurs in 3 stages, Alarm, Resistance, and Exhaustion. During the Alarm stage, the body activates the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) which releases chemicals designed to prepare the body for “Fight or Flight”.

In the resistance stage, the body activates the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) to release chemicals designed to bring the body down from the “Fight or Flight” state. In the exhaustion phase, the stressors continue beyond the body’s ability to cope with the stress, and illness or death may occur.

Recurring Stress Phenomenon
It is important to understand that when an employee suffers an emotional stressor, they don’t just suffer one time, they suffer repeatedly. This occurs because people don’t just have a negative experience and then forget about it, they tend to think about the negative experience repeatedly, and this recurring trauma leads to long-term stress and the corresponding health problems. When people are in a stressful state, they usually look for ways to avoid the stress or cope with it. Coping behaviors are either healthy or unhealthy. Healthy coping behaviors lead to reduced stress and resilience, whereas unhealthy coping behaviors lead to more stress and reduced resilience.

Job-related stress, job performance, and productivity

When employees are not well due to stress and illness, this has a negative impact on their ability to perform their job functions. Most people attempt to cope with their problems and perform their duties to the best of their abilities, but their reduced resilience makes them prone to stressful responses, emotional crisis, and unhealthy coping behaviors. They eventually reach a point where they cannot perform their job functions any further, and they’re facing possible disciplinary action and even termination.

Some employees will recognize these negative consequences, and may possibly obtain sick leave or stress-related disability. Sick leave alone costs employers an estimated $44 billion annually, and that’s not even taking into account lost profits due to the declined productivity.

Learning stress management techniques are critical to the prevention or mitigation of job-related stress and illness. Employees who learn healthy coping behaviors develop increased resilience to stress and are not only healthier and happier, but they tend to perform their jobs well for increased productivity.

Other benefits of stress management training include, but are not limited to…

Increased positive energy in the workplace
Better employee relations
Increased productivity
Reduced turnover rate
Reduced sick leave
Increased annual profits

Lean more about our resilience workshops and stress management tools from our courses. Resilience Training

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Check out our blog

The Conscious Athlete: Mental Health in Sport.

Using NLP to Formutale Your Goals.

Investing in people over technology will enable Peak Performance at work.

The effects of job-related stress on employee health.