Ground Fantasies in Reality

This is somewhat a continuation from the previous post where I ended with the question “Does that mean we should not set big goals and dream big?”

Conventional self-help literature teaches us that we can achieve anything by just thinking positively, and if we are going to think ahead, we might as well think positive and think big!

We are often taught to ignore the cynics, get rid of negative thinking, and to “Dream the Impossible”. Friends or associates who offer pragmatic advice are often labelled as “dream killers” or “haters”.

“The substituting of a kind of ”positive hypnotism” for a previous habit of “negative hypnotism” may appear at least to have short-range benefits, but I have always found that the honeymoon ends all too soon.” – Tim Gallwey, creator of The Inner Game

Ironically, from my experience working with athletes and numerous research studies, “positive thinking” is one of the main culprits that often hinders the progress and potential of athletes.

What the Science Tells us…

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Growth Mindset…Seriously?

No doubt, that the notion of the Growth Mindset has been steadily gaining popularity over the past decade. It’s also has made quite a difference – from improving grades, relationships and helping persons cope better with challenges and stressors.

But popularity has a price – people sometimes distort and oversimplify ideas, and the paybacks are substantially oversold! Not uncommon to hear motivational speakers and “success gurus” (over national radio no less!) spout BS such as anything is possible with the Growth Mindset””, and associating the idea of Growth Mindset to the pseudo-scientific idea of “positive thinking”. Ironically enough, some of these ideas are actually more aligned with the Fixed rather than the Growth Mindset!

“Nobody is going to fault you for not achieving the impossible right?”

Case in point: Many would assume that somebody who screams about Thinking Big and setting out to achieve the impossible as one who is aligned with the Growth Mindset. But let’s pause for a moment and consider this…

If I set an impossible goal and NOT achieve it vs. setting a realistic goal and NOT achieve it, which would make me look stupid?

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ICCE Global Coaches House 2018

A little late with this but better late than never right?

I was at the Global Coaches House at Gold Coast Australia (9th to 13th April). The event was organized by the International Council of Coaching Excellence (ICCE), and featured lectures and workshops by experts in the field of sport coaching and performance.

There were several common themes which would serve as great reminders for all coaches – the need to be Athlete Centered #athletecentered, to focus on the process #processfocused, you can’t do it alone… #collaboration, Resilience #Resilience, and Humility/Continuous Learning #CoachAsLearner.

I will attempt to share some of the key messages from a few lectures and workshops through a brief description and/or quotes by the speakers together with the associated hash tags.

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