- š§ Potencia Mind Newsletter
- Posts
- Digital Distraction, Talent Hotbeds, Brazil Football Secret & How To Boost Confidence (1)
Digital Distraction, Talent Hotbeds, Brazil Football Secret & How To Boost Confidence (1)
Potencia Education
July 24, 2024
acc
The newsletter which curates & delivers the best mind hacks, mental health tips & high performance strategies to you every single week.
āš LEARNING HACK
The Highly-Counterintuitive (Almost Backwards) Approach To Skill Acquisition That Leads To Rapidly Better Results!
Just as there are specific geographic locations (at specific points in history) that were more innovative/creative than others (think Florence during the Renaissance or classic Athens)...
...or there are specific places (known as 'blue zones') where people live longer than others (like Okinawa, Japan or Sardinia, Italy)...
...or even places where the population is a lot wealthier than in other placed (think Silicon Valley, New York, Dubai, or Monaco)...
...there are also specific places (often referred to as 'talent hotbeds') where much higher percentages of people become world-class at something...
In the book 'The Talent Code', Daniel Coyle studies & shares the secrets of these ātalent hotbedsāā¦
And we're going to share one of the biggest secrets of these places to kickstart this week's newsletter...
To do that, let us paint some context first:
There seems to be a shared belief that high achievers flourish when it matters most; that they 'rise to the occasion', whatever that occasion may be...
When often, itās actually the contrary...
Champions donāt rise to the occasion as much as they, as Archilochus once said, they sink (fall) to the level of their prior training...
Meaning: they will push harder, work harder & perform better in training than they ever will when it matters...
They will tend to dip from that highest level of performance to a level thatās still better than anybody elseās during a competition, test, assessment, or career-defining moment...
In other wordsā¦
Champions train hard in training (behind the scenes) to make competitions, performances, tests or assessments much, much easier later on.
While others, on the other hand, train lightly (donāt push themselves during training) & hope that they will somehow 'rise to the occasion'...
For example, a school might teach high-school-level math for years & then expect students to flourish at college-level mathematics...
When they should, in fact, challenge students far beyond where they need to get to in order to make exams easy later on...
The goal is to make training incredibly difficult & challenging; harder than the competition would ever be...
That way, it will be easier & better when it matters most.
For example, the harder you push yourself during your marathon training, the easier the actual marathon will be ā few people ever consider this fact š¤
Or, the harder you push yourself during your guitar training, the easier performing on stage with your band will be...
By making training harder, youāre making success easier...
And this just happens to be one of the few things that all studied ātalent hotbedsā tend to have in common...
A good example of this came from tiny locations in Brazil which were producing far more football (soccer) stars than any other place in the world of the same (or sometimes, substantially larger) size or population...
After research, it showed their progress & skill acquisition was radically accelerated because instead of training football as we know it...
That is, on a big grassy pitch...
Instead, they were training it in a very compressed space...
Because of that, in the same amount of game time as normal football training, each player was getting far more touches of the ball, with far less space to pass or move with the ball, making each player think faster & play better.
They call this sport āfutsalā (or, street football)ā¦
And itās largely responsible for many of the world-class football stars that have come out of Brazil, as well as similar regions that also trained like this / in similar conditions (like Argentina)...
Playing 'futsal' leads the players to train with much greater difficulty...
They were forced to think faster, dribble better, control the ball better, aim better & overall, play better, tighter & more rigorous football...
And when these players went from playing futsal to playing actual football (soccer) on a normal-sized football pitch, the amount of space they had in comparison to move and pass the ball was huge, allowing them to flourish (& do so with ease)
Thatās because they had trained themselves to control, pass, move & aim the ball in a much smaller space so much so that playing actual football become so much easier. And, they thrived!
The distinction is this:
Train hard to ease execution later on.
These Brazilian footballers were, unknowingly, training harder than they would ever be expected to perform thanks to the nature of futsal...
And this is a lesson that we can all take into our own learning & skill development, irrelevant of the topic or skill that we are developing...
Donāt train easy expecting to flourish when the time comes...
Donāt expect to ārise to the occasionā...
Instead, make training overly-difficult & challenging - more challenging than any teacher or coach would ever be expecting you to complete - so that the end result becomes easier to achieve!
Train under those difficult circumstances & youāll be pleasantly surprised at how good you are when this extra difficulty is removed later on.
For example, let's say that you are training your skill of sales...
Instead of training your presenting & closing to people who don't challenge you with objections or challenges, start training with champion intensity (greater difficulty!)
Get your training buddies to flood you with objections... (plus: harder & tougher objections than you would ever expect to experience for real!)
That way, when you do step out into the real world, & youāre presenting to real business prospects, objection handling will be much easier...
If you're training public speaking, you can actually put distractions into the training. Add a boo soundtrack or random sound effects designed to distract you into your training protocol so that you learn how to deliver a flawless presentation no matter what's happening in the room around you!
A crying baby or someone with a mean look on their face isn't going to throw you off if you're purposefully trained to handle total chaos during your prior training behind closed doors!
So put this into practice & structure your own learning & skill acquisition efforts in such a way that you train harder & thrive (instead of choke or crumble) when it matters most!
And if you'd like to learn more strategies like this with more examples & specifics, to start learning faster, developing your skills up to 500% faster & becoming extraordinary at anything you set your mind to... then be sure to check out our book on the topic called:
Inside you'll learn how to start soaking in new information like a sponge & activate your brainās full potential to achieve your goals faster & thrive in todayās rapidly-changing new worldā¦
(even if you think you're a "slow learner", have a "bad memory", "low IQ" or lack "natural talent")
šÆ FOCUS HACK
Optimize Your Digital Environment To Reduce Distraction & Boost Productivity!
In the previous newsletter, we covered 'location anchoring' & the broader strategy of optimizing your physical environment so that it automatically primes you to be better, make smarter choices & play out good habits...
Building on that further, you can also do the same with your digital environment ā that is, your smartphone, tablet, laptop, etc.
Habit research shows that we are more likely to check or engage in activities that are closest/most convenient & the same applies to the digital workspacesā¦
Just as if there are plenty of sweets, snacks, or alcohol readily available at home, we are more likely to consume them rather than going through the inconvenience of going to the store...
If you open your smartphone & home screen & itās covered with distracting social media or gaming apps (e.g. Instagram, TikTok, etc), you're more likely to check those automatically without thinking about it...
Meanwhile, if you were to delete those apps from your phone (bigger step) or at least hide those apps away from your home page (put them somewhere on page 5 so it take a few scrolls to get to them) you're a little less likely to check them now...
What you can do instead is put the apps you want to use (maybe a reading app, audiobook, or meditation app ā just some examples) on your home page instead!
This way you're less likely to check the distracting ones & more likely to use the ones that improve your mental health & wellbeing over the long-term š§
ā RECOMMENDATION
2x More Amazing Content For Free!
If you havenāt subscribed yet, check out our other, companion newsletter, called:
That right, weāre going to do the heavy lifting & boring work ā of sifting through the latest scientific research, research journals & studies ā for you...
...& as part of this 'Mighty Habits' newsletter, we will identify, curate & deliver you a detailed breakdown of these very best habits that you can build...
(the ones scientifically-proven to make the biggest difference for you; also as practices by the world's most successful people!)...
...to help you transform your health, fitness, mental health, income, relationships with others & happiness in life!
š QUOTE OF THE WEEK
āVery little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinkingā
š MENTAL HEALTH TIP
How To Apply The 'That's Like Me' Positive Reinforcement Strategy For Boosting Self-Esteem, Confidence & Performance!
In the realm of personal growth, we often draw inspiration from various sources...
We started this newsletter drawing inspiration from 'talent hotbeds' such as small Brazilian towns producing some of the historyās greatest ever football players...
To wrap up this week, we're drawing inspiration from an individualā¦
Lanny Bassham ā an Olympic gold-medal-winning world champion in the sport of shooting.
Lanny story & insights, as shared in his book "With Winning In Mind", go beyond the shooting range, offering a valuable strategy for boosting self-esteem, confidence & improving performance.
It's called the "That's like me" positive-reinforcement strategyā¦
Lanny recounts his own experience using this method:
"Back in the 1970s, I was shooting good kneeling scores and began approaching the national record of 396/400. I wanted to set the record at 400, a perfect score. But I had never actually fired a 400, even in training.
Nonetheless, I vividly rehearsed shooting the first 100, then another and another. I visualized each of the last ten shots building toward the record. I rehearsed what I knew would happen at that point: I would realize that I was above the record.
Next, I rehearsed hearing a voice say, 'Thatās OK. I do this all the time.' Then I imagined shooting the final ten easily and saying to myself, 'Another 400, thatās like me.'
I rehearsed this sequence several times a day for two months.
In my first competition since beginning the rehearsal, I started with a 100 kneeling. My next two targets were also 100s. I began my last series with ten, ten, ten, ten, ten. Only five more to go. Ten. Ten. Ten.
Then reality set in. I was above the record. I heard an internal voice say, 'Thatās OK, I do this all the time.' I shot two additional tens, setting the national record at a perfect 400."
Lanny's approach is brilliant for two main reasons:
Harnessing the Power of Visualization: Lanny effectively utilized the power of visualization and mental rehearsal to elevate his performance - we'll cover this more in a future newsletter.
Positive Self-Reinforcement: After each successful attempt, whether in his mind or in reality, he would immediately reinforce his actions with statements like "That's like me" or "That's OK, I do this all the time."
This simple yet potent practice provided positive feedback to his brain, ultimately rewiring it for a higher standard of performance & enhancing his self-image...
Our recommendation for you is to use this technique.
Start positively reinforcing your own efforts, progress, and results, just as Lanny did to excel in his shooting, earn Olympic gold, & set records.
The next time you excel in any endeavor for example, whether it's giving a speech, creating something innovative, offering valuable advice, or even completing daily tasks... pause & acknowledge yourself with a hearty "That's like me - I do this really well!"
When you achieve a personal goal, don't instantly rush ahead to the next one...
Take a moment to celebrate your accomplishment. Pat yourself on the back, share your success with others, and truly recognize & reinforce it.
By doing so, you will not only boost your self-esteem and well-being, recognizing that self-approval is often the most significant approval we seek, but you will also enhance your future performance & consistently hit your targets.
Practice this "That's like me" strategy - it's beautifully simple yet profoundly powerful.
What did you think of this newsletter?We would love to hear from you... Click to rate this week's newsletter: |
Reply