With so much of our behaviour on autopilot each day, it’s important for high performers to develop awareness around moments of choice. Making decisions that are in alignment with our goals is often tough and uncomfortable.
From a brain training perspective, congruent decisions involve creating a new groove where none existed before. Change is a pain to the brain. Whether we are conscious of it or not, we feel a sense of safety from doing what we’ve always done even if those decisions have the potential to damage us in the long run.
Our brain also loves the path of least resistance because it takes less energy. This is what I see most often with my clients. When we are already feeling burned out it becomes very difficult to constantly call up our limited reserves of energy, focus, and time to think proactively about a situation and what choice we will make. The autopilot reaction takes almost nothing in terms of energy. This is why the brain will resist you with any new routine or habits and where we end up stuck with our excuses.
Knowing what we are up against in the process of change is why one of the skills we teach at Elite High Performance is the what and why of state. State refers to the mind-body connection. A key understanding is that our mental, emotional and physical states combine to create an internal experience that influences all the results that we are experiencing in our lives externally.
When we are in a high-quality state we feel strong, motivated, confident, and competent to make proactive decisions and go for what we want. If we are in a low-quality state we will feel fear, anxiety, frustration, and overwhelm and our decisions are more likely to be reactive and self-sabotaging. As a leader of your own life, the biggest factor impacting your ability to make high-quality decisions is your capacity to influence your state skillfully in the service of your goals.
-Coach Liane
