( Performance Coaching )
THE TRUTH ABOUT
GREG SELLAR
YOUR POTENTIAL
Greg Sellar provides this reality check to help you be your best .
t ’ s true . We all have the potential
I to do more and be more , but it ’ s
not going to happen until we hack our ‘ interferences ’.
Performance in our personal lives and careers is greatly affected by ‘ stuff ’ that gets in the way . Our stuff is either physical or mental and typically stops us from doing better and succeeding faster . Just as you might have back pain that affects your physical performance , you can have any range of mental interferences such as anxiety , depression , fear of failure or low self-esteem that stops us from realising our potential . It ’ s kind of like trying to drive a car with the handbrake on – you can push the accelerator harder to try and move forward , but in doing so , you may be doing more harm than good ; it ’ s a drag that slows us down and unless it ’ s addressed , it eventually causes a complete halt with severe motor overload .
John Wooden once said , ‘ Don ’ t let what you can ’ t do , interfere with what you can do .’ I think we spend way too much time devoted to over-analysing and worrying about the things we generally suck at , setting up a vicious cycle of fear , selfdoubt , lapses in focus and limiting beliefs . Any or all of these combine to block us moving forward towards higher levels of performance . The better you perform , the closer you are to reaching your potential .
Timothy Gallwey in his 1972 book The Inner Game of Tennis proposed a simple equation where ‘ P ’ refers to performance , ‘ Po ’ stands for potential and ‘ I ’ is for interference :
P = Po – I
Gallwey suggests that , ‘ the opponent within your own head is more daunting than the one on the other side of the net .’
Our performance in life is the result of two halves ( i . e . the brain and the body ). Usually the brain commands and the body responds , but the problem comes when the brain commands the body to do things it inherently already knows to do . In this instance , we can sometimes get in the way of ourselves by over-thinking and making assumptions that lead to poor performance .
What Tim found in his coaching was that the difference between potential and actual ‘ in-game ’ performance often lies in what occurs during the chain of communication between the brain and the body . He commented , ‘ Performance rarely equals potential . A little self-doubt , an erroneous assumption , the fear of failure – that ’ s all it takes to greatly diminish performance .’
I don ’ t think we ’ ve taken enough time to ask ourselves the tough questions ; to figure out what our own interferences are .
For some , this may be poor time management , an overly critical nature , fixed mindsets , or the idea that you can ’ t do something when you know others can do it .
The truth is , you ’ re always going to be confined by the walls you build yourself . I have homework for you : spend time today listing what your biggest interferences are . Then identify an action you can take when one of your interferences strikes . This will be an anchor to remind you to kick the habit . Keep that behaviour going for the rest of the week and see if there ’ s any difference in your day . Keep it going for the rest of the month until the next edition is released , and enjoy watching the gap close between your current performance levels and your future potential .
For more inspiration and tips to hack the status quo visit www . gregsellar . com
YOU CAN CONTACT GREG VIA : Web : gregsellar . com Facebook : greg . sellar Twitter : @ gregsellar Instagram : @ gregsellar
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! MAGAZINE ( APRIL 2017 ) 23