OH! Magazine - Australian Version December 2015 | Page 24

GREG
SELLAR

THE IMPORTANCE
OF AWARENESS
Greg Sellar explains the valuable impact of awareness.
hen we improve our awareness, we
give ourselves greater choices in
life. Our choices can either be paralysing
or mobilising depending on our mindset
and ability to read situations. It’s always
amazing to me how two people can read
the same situations completely differently,
and it does go a long way to explaining
why we get conflict and problems in the
gym, at home or in the workplace.

W

We have a choice to respond to any situation
that leads to, or away from success.
Feelings of fear and anxiety around scarcity
can lead to paralysing inaction and seeking
others to blame. That sense of panic takes
over as we think and act out irrationally.
This is when we see the worst in people as
they clutch at straws to reverse trends that
are only made worse by their behaviour.
Lose the faith of those around you and it’s
difficult to get it back.
Conversely, thinking, speaking and acting
in a calm, confident manner allows others
to recognise that there is a plan of action in
place and that the thinking that dominates

is from a point where there is no shortage of
opportunities – abundance. We’re operating
from a proactive rather than reactive
philosophy, providing mobilisation of
thoughts that are forward thinking and
positive. Gain the trust from those around
you and they will want to do the right thing
in working towards a common goal.
When people forget the ‘human capital’
that surrounds them on a daily basis, they
forget the ‘soft’ values like the motivations
of those who support them, their happiness
and feelings towards a sense of belonging.
They do so at the expense of ‘hard’ results
(i.e., the end goal, be it weight loss, fitness
gains or financial profit). But so often we
find that it’s the trainers who communicate,
displaying a sense of empathy with clients,
or the employers who look after their staff
and manage with a sense of fairness that
gets the best results. It’s time to abandon
conventional wisdom and get back to
dealing with, and managing people more
effectively. Interacting from a point of
calmness, confidence, abundance and
action will always give better results.

The question is then, how do you become
more aware? The challenge is that we
store memories according to our
experiences, so recalling them in an
objective way can be difficult.
It’s suggested you:
1. Remember you always have a choice:
most of our behaviour is purely reactionary
based on past similar events. To break a
cycle of habit, you need to keep in mind
there is always another way
2. Get a coach: this will give objective
‘feed-forward’ and strategy around goals.
It’s not about ‘advice’ – you already have
all the answers and know your role best
3. Write your goals down: on average,
you’re ten times more likely to achieve
something if you write it down. Sounds
simple, but no one ever does it. Trying to
recall events and emotions because “it’s
all stored up here” is useless, as thoughts
and memories change over time
4. Meditate or self-examine: it’s definitely
the fastest way to get to grips with your
thinking. If it’s sounds too ‘airy fairy’ for
you, then at least take small breaks in your
day to take stock of how you’re feeling and
how it’s affecting what you do and say.
This is not about being a person who is
walked all over or ‘wet’ in training or the
boardroom. This is about having a level of
emotional intelligence to recognise how
you see yourself and more importantly,
how others see you. To get the ‘hard’
results, allow yourself to get a little ‘soft’
with those around you. Your success
depends on it. So, how aware are you?

24

DECEMBER 2015 ( OH! MAGAZINE )

www.gregsellar.com

(Performance Coaching)