EP104: Self-Aware Leader: The Magic of a Prepared Mindset
PREPARATION IS KEY
Don’t forget to prep your mindset - it makes all the difference in the results that you create!
Enjoy!
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(The notes below are only a brief summary of what is discussed in the podcast. Be sure to listen to get all of the goodness! If you would like a full transcription of the episode, please send an email request to: angie@angie-robinson.com. We’d be happy to provide that!)
When you are getting ready for some type of event or initiative (i.e. planning a trip, getting ready for a medical appointment, giving a presentation, running a meeting, having a conversation with an employee, etc.) - you are likely doing some type of prep work, right? You might create a list of things to do, things to gather or things to say. You might even do a dry run if you are in presenting/conversation mode.
One thing that often isn't on that preparation to-do list is prepping your brain. If you really want to minimize the buildup of stress and anxiety, this part of preparation is absolutely key.
What do I mean by prepping your brain and preparing your mindset?
I mean getting clear on what is going on with your thoughts and cleaning up what needs to be cleaned up so you can create the results you want to create.
It's really bringing light to what thoughts might be getting in the way, making things muddy and creating feelings that aren't helpful. It is deciding how you want to feel and what thoughts will help you get there. It's not pretending that everything is sunshine and roses. And it's also not shaming yourself for being unsure or nervous.
But what if we give airtime to what's going on in our brain?
It gives us more agency and control. That awareness is the preparation. There are lots of other benefits to preparing our minds in addition to the control that we gain when we have this awareness.
When we clear some of the clutter, we can really improve our focus and our concentration.
When we have a clear focus, we can:
make better decisions.
be more present.
actively listen and actively engage with the people we're interacting with.
handle stress better.
Preparing Your Brain
Know the why. Why are you doing the thing? When our thoughts get out of control a little bit - our brain wants to protect us. It’s just doing its job! But then the situation can take on a life of its own. Knowing our why can ground us - it helps to quiet or minimize the unhelpful thoughts or the lizard brain that might kick in.
Understand your thoughts. Identify the thoughts you are having about you, about the situation and about the other people. You could be having some unhelpful thoughts that are barriers to you getting the results that you want to get. Get those thoughts out of your had by writing them down (from a non-judgmental place). When you do this, you can look at these thoughts and see what is not useful.
Decide how you will overcome the barrier thoughts. You can choose new thoughts - - or you can decide ahead of time how you want to feel. When you do that - you can then choose a thought that will create that feeling. You can also think about how you hope the other person(s) will feel at the end of the interaction. Of course, you can actually control how people feel and what they think, but you can control how you show up with the intent of people feeling a certain way.
After the situation, assess how it went. What did you notice? What thoughts helped you? Did you create the result you wanted to? Did you feel the way that you want it to feel? If not, why? What were the thoughts that were getting in your way?
You can have the best training courses in the world and super amazing skills. But this skill of preparing your brain and preparing your mindset is what really is going to get you to that effective and impactful place that you want to be. This is the missing link. This is the thing that is really going to level you up.
What Do You Think?
How do you prep your mindset?
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