Finish Line - just ahead

Finish Line - Just Ahead

Benjamin Franklin's inspirational words still hold true today " By failing
to prepare,  you are preparing to fail."

It is never too late to start studying, but there is also a lot of other
valuable mental and physical preparation you can do to reach the finishing
line.  A student approachingfinal exams can be compared to an Olympic
athlete approaching the Olympic Games.  A skill and knowledge base needs to
be complimented by a student being mentally and physically prepared for a
peak performance.

1. "I can do this" - Reward yourself for the preparation you have done -
don't focus too much on what you haven't done, there is a lot to be said for
the power of positivity.  Back yourself that you are doing the very best you
can with what you have at the present moment.
2. Spend some time reviewing the topics and subjects that you find
challenging, instead of putting all your energy into reviewing stuff you are
familiar with. An athlete will spend more time on what needs to be improved
than what comes naturally.
3. Find a balance between study and lifestyle - make a study timetable that
includes breaks, exercise, leisure, catching up with friends and rewards and
treats; this will help you feel empowered and in charge of your study.
Athletes don't train 24/7, a student can't be expected to study 24/7.  
4. "Hands Up" - Be prepared to reach out and get some help -  personal and
emotional support as well as educational support.
5.  "We are all part of a team"  Don't expect to do this all on your own, it
is best to surround yourself with a great team of people - teachers, tutors,
other students, family, counsellors, mentors.  
5. Look after yourself, just like an athlete does - eat well, keep hydrated,
listen to your body - if it needs sleep - sleep, be aware of your breath -
it helps to calm the body and mind.
6. Declutter - clear out all the clutter in your mind - meditation is a
great tool.  Just like the lead up to the Olympics put a ban on social media
make sure there are no interruptions and distractions so you can focus on
your outcomes.

Don't put your energy into worrying about what mark you are going to get,
instead concentrate on knowing you have prepared well to reach your best
outcome possible.

This is your event: when you are getting close to the finishing line,
remember that with a good foundation, it is not only about what you have
studied, but how well you have maintained yourself.

Good Luck.
Mick Miller

Mick Miller Presentations

Motivating And Inspiring You And Your Team To Success

www.mickmiller.com.au

Mindful Surrendering

Surrendering is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of liberation and it is
a tool we can use to move forward in business, in life and in relationships.

We are not talking about military or political surrender more psychological
and spiritual surrender.  Instead of constantly pushing against what is
going on around you, when you surrender you are able to accept what is and
let go of all the things you really don't need in your life -  fear, anxiety
and stress which leads to being truly authentic and content.

A simple analogy here is the weather: you can't control the weather, we are
often attached to what we want the weather to be or living in fear of what
the weather might be "What if it rains?".  If you surrender you remove any
attachment to what you want or expect the weather to be and just accept what
the weather is.  

Surrendering has got some amazing horse power, it helps you live in the
current moment, living a fulfilled, authentic, pure and truthful life. You
are not living in the past, you are not living in the future, you are living
in the present not controlled by ego or building up resentment, not being
childlike if you don't get what you want.  Surrendering allows you to live
in an authentic, adult and present moment.

Who should surrender? Anyone living in the past or living in the future
should surrender.

Why should you surrender? Surrendering it is not doing nothing its working
with what you have got and allows you to have a clear runway and use your
time more effectively.

What are the benefits? There has been a lot of psychological research done
on the benefits of mindful surrendering - increased self-esteem,
self-acceptance, self-reliance, inner peace, happiness and positive
feelings.  Developing those character traits we all admire of patience,
humility, tolerance, adaptability, resilience, compassion.  In a business
sense itcan be amazing how when one person surrenders and accepts - that
energy can often shift the behaviour and attitudes of others around them.

How do you surrender?  It is very simple.  To surrender you need to be
brave, know who you are, what you are and what you want to achieve, you need
to be able to let go of what doesn't serve you anymore (even people) then
you need to be able to reward yourself along the way, through the process of
surrendering.
Opportunities to surrender are all around us but we often miss these
opportunities because our lives are so chaotic, there is lots of clutter -
emails, social media, stress.  

Surrendering is acceptance of what is, what you have got, not what you
haven't got; not what was, what could have been or what could be in the
future.  Surrendering unshackles us from attachment, fears and expectations.

Mick Miller Presentations 

Motivating and Inspiring You and Your Team to Success 

www.mickmiller.com.au

Surround Yourself With The Right People.........

Team Cohesion

I caught up with a really close friend the other day who has been very successful in reaching his outcomes in a major sporting event and was very satisfied with how it all came together. We were discussing how basically it was the people around him that allowed him to achieve the outcomes that he and the team wanted and then in turn reached. We both discussed our journeys over the past 12 months and as different as our journeys have been, we were both adamant about how important it is to surround yourself with the right people.

There is no I in team

You hear this time and time again, but if you are surrounded by people and you know that everyone of those is focussed and passionate about what they do and what they deliver; regardless of how big or small their contribution, are willing to learn and grow to be able to deliver more to themselves and to the campaign, you will be able to reach your outcomes with so much more ease.

I had an incredible personal journey or you could call it a campaign in 2013 and I was surrounded by an incredible team. There were 33 people on my immediate medical team.  Every single one of them came to work every single day, 100% passionate, 100% with purpose, 100% striving to learn more and 100% giving. I could feel the energy of such a cohesive and authentic team around me every day. I knew that I had an awesome team, ticking all the boxes along the way, doing their utmost to basically keep me alive.

Surround yourself with the right people

In my friend’s case, his team was doing their utmost in allowing him to just steer his boat as fast as he could, thus reaching the outcome he wanted. To put this into some context that you can use in your everyday life, let’s say you are faced with a task that you don’t know much about; are you able to delegate that task to the right person who is passionate about what they do and has purpose to deliver what they want to deliver?

By having the right people supporting you and supporting those right people at the right time, you will find that they will deliver so much more than you will ever expect out of them. They will keep on delivering especially if you support them and nurture them. You will be able to reach your outcomes and they will in turn reach their outcomes.

Mick Miller Presentations 

Motivating and Inspiring You and Your Team to Success 

www.mickmiller.com.au

Pressure……Does it own you or do you own it ?

Mick Miller Presentations

Motivating and Inspiring You and Your Team to Success

www.mickmiller.com.au

Pressure……Does it own you or do you own it ?

 

Pressure – Is it something that actually happens or something we create in our own minds?

 

Why do some individuals thrive under pressure and others crumble?

 

Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances and is your body’s way of dealing with these circumstances.  Stress hormones such as cortisol are released by the body which result in increased blood pressure, heart rate and breathing rate and can in turn shut down the body’s metabolic processes which are things like digestion, immunity, growth of new cells and storage of energy. We all find ourselves in situations at work and in everyday life, where we feel under pressure and become stressed.  Exposure to high levels of stress has been linked to burnout, depression, stroke and even cancer.

 

Other negative outcomes of pressure and stress can be:

·         Poor decision making.

·         Lack of concentration.

·         Feeling s of anxiety, frustration and fear.

·         Lack of clarity.

·         And the list goes on.

There are many simple things we can do to enhance our performance and decision making when we are in a “pressure” environment.

Pressure can be a positive state if managed effectively.

 

Learning how to recognise the changes that occur in our bodies - for example increased heart rate, rapid breathing and tightening of muscles and being aware of how and when these changes start to occur is paramount in priming ourselves to perform well under pressure.  For example by simply focussing on your breathing you can send messages to your brain that everything is ok and you will soon feel your anxiety levels start to wane.

As a performance coach for over 25 years I have supported elite athletes and teams in their search for greatness.   Many experiences and lessons learnt in different sporting environments from Olympic Sailing and Rowing Campaigns, NRL Rugby League games and world and national championship events, can be transferred to the corporate arena. 

“In a rowing boat if you keep thinking about the past stroke, then you are not going to be focused on the present moment.  If you are able to keep yourself present, then the boat is going to be able to move really effectively and efficiently through the water.”

 

Imagine in any situation, being able to look at the tasks you have and breaking them down and simplifying them.  Asking yourself - what do I need to focus on?  Being able to pull back, get present and focus on the task at hand, minus all the clutter, it sounds simple but can be very challenging.

Another important tool is to learn how to maintain belief in yourself and know, not just think but know that you have the right tools and resources to function at a higher level in challenging situations.  Control of our thoughts as well as our physical responses, is vital to peak performance.  Practices such as mindfulness, positive self-talk, acceptance and gratitude all have a part to play in performing well under pressure. 

If we are aware we can all learn to thrive under pressure.

Mick Miller Presentations 

Motivating and Inspiring You and Your Team to Success 

www.mickmiller.com.au

 

My interview with the ABC

Here's an interview I did with Robbie Buck on 702 Breakfast, ABC Sydney.