Category Archives: Optimal Performance

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How To Prevent Your Team from Beating Themselves

No one likes to lose. And yet, in the 64 team bracket that makes up the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament known affectionately as March Madness, 63 teams go home defeated. Or do they?

While conversing with my father-in-law as the Wichita State Shockers took on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the round of 16, I was reminded of a truth I’ve encountered many times in sport: sometimes you lose and sometimes you get beaten. Casey Stengel, a big leaguer, said, “most ball games are lost, not won.” Let’s take a deeper look at that statement.

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How to Help Your Team Keep Their Heads in the Game

In competition, athletes often get distracted by thoughts, fears and forecasts. This creates added stress and takes focus and concentration away from the current play. Performance plummets, mistakes are made and the player struggles to get his or her head back in the game. What if you could help athletes stay focused in the present? 

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Highlights from 2014

Thank you for making 2014 an amazing year for me and The Excelling Edge. On December 31st, 2013, I introduced this blog for the first time. I am honored and grateful that you chose to read my blog and share your time with me.

As we close out 2014 and look eagerly into the new year, I’m reminded how important it is to take my own medicine. I encourage others to dedicate time to rest, rejuvenate and build connection with family and friends. Therefore, I’m taking some time to follow my own advice, to enjoy the Christmas season and to prepare myself for 2015. To close out the year, rather than a new post, I’d like to share some of this year’s highlights. 

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Think Smarter, Play Harder, Be Better: Sleep

Are you getting enough sleep? How long have you been getting less than your optimal amount of sleep and blaming it on being busy? Do you think your performance isn’t effected by your lack of sleep?

On the whole, people in the America today don’t get enough sleep. Dr. Daniel Amen, author of Making a Good Brain Great, notes the hours for an average night’s sleep have plummeted. At the turn of the 20th century, Americans got 9 hours of sleep, on average. In 1975, they averaged 7 and a half. By 2008, an average night’s sleep plunged to 6 hours!

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3 Keys to Skyrocket Your Way To Repeated Successes

SUCCESS

What separates the most successful people from those who are simply good at what they do? It’s not talent. It’s not even skill or ability. The true mark of great performers is that they consistently learn from and build on successes.  Anyone, whether you lead meetings, serve customers, cook dinner or coach rec. league soccer, can learn to do the same. Doing so leads to consistently better performance. Who doesn’t want that?

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How Can You Get Into The Zone More Consistently?

We’ve all heard of it, many of us have experienced it and all of us want more of it. I’m talking about “the zone.” Other terms for this are flow, peak performance, etc. Regardless, athletes refer to it in an illusive, mythical sense. Often, it seems we stumble into that special state, during which time stands still, our performance feels effortless, we are fully composed and our confidence is unshakable. Then, the instant we realize we’re in the zone, like the eye of a tornado, it’s gone. The good news is, it doesn’t have to be that way.