If you’re like me you are essentially a professional thinker first and foremost. It’s likely you’re something else too. In my previous role focused on organizational transformation I was primarily a professional thinker and communicator. In previous lives as a developer I was a thinking and implementer. I’ve been a thinker, organizer, and communicator as the leader of a development organization. The thing that remains constant is the idea that I’ve primarily been a thinker. If you’re reading this it’s likely you’re primarily a thinker too. If you consider yourself a problem solver, strategic, visionary, or even simply a leader you are primarily a thinker at work. Since you’re primarily a thinker for a profession you, and I, are essentially Professional Mental Athletes. We exercise our mental capabilities as a profession. The comparison to professional athletes though leads us to some stark differences that are startling though…
Professional athletes almost all train more than they play. There are some greats like Allen Iverson who might not need to practice like everyone else (see video if you’re unfamiliar), but most professional athletes spend more time focused on training and practice than they do in the game. However, us Professional Mental Athletes go to our game everyday in the form of work. We then go home and live life. We don’t practice or train nearly as much as professional athletes. We don’t take care of ourselves the way they do with the game in mind. We all know that the best thing a professional athlete can do to be better at their job and be successful doesn’t happen in the game. It happens outside of the game. So then why are we so focused on work (our game) as the way to succeed at work (our game)? We need to focus more on ourselves outside of work with the direct goal of being better at work.
For me this idea boils down to Inside Out, Outside In. Focus on your inner self first to positively impact your life. Then focus outside of work to do better in work. Put in simpler terms… it starts with you and grows from there.
Outside In
Saying that you should focus outside of work and train similar to an athlete and doing it are two different thing. Typically the biggest hurdle here is time…
What if my work and life are crazy and I don’t have time? I would suggest that it’s even more important. This is really easy to state from where I sit looking out my window typing in my own free time, but it’s harder to implement. Here’s the way I think about it… typically if you’re super busy and don’t have time it’s because you believe what you’re doing is valuable and important. If you’re super busy and don’t think what you’re doing is valuable and important stop reading and figure out how to do something else. Move on. Assuming your job meets this criteria it means that you fit into at least 1 of the following buckets.
- There are simply a lot of things to do
- The work is so complex it takes time to work through
- The level of necessary communication is super high and it takes a lot of time
- There is a lot of coordination required
- There is simply a (real) crisis. This is not to be confused with a contrived fire drill
What do each of these things have in common? They require you to think. They require you to act. There is no single right answer. There might be a single deadline with a single scope, but how you get there is every shade of gray that exists. That means you have to think your way through. That means you have to find a path. Even if the path is in front of you and there are simply too many things to do you need your own mind and energy to make sure you do them. It’s also highly unlikely that those things have a specified sequence. It’s likely those things can be done in many different orders and some ways are better than others. No one can make time for you. You have to do that for yourself. I’m simply offering a view that if you don’t have time to recharge your brain it’s likely you need to make time more than most.
If you take this to heart and can actually find some time the next big hurdle is figuring out what the best thing to do is. The options are vast here, but if your goal is to be more successful at work I think there’s really only one path forward. That’s to focus inside out.
Inside Out
Defining and achieving success is really a journey of 1. That means everyone has to define success for themselves, and they have to figure out how to get there themself. There are certainly replacatable patterns and strategies to follow, but it’s still a journey of 1. Take the idea of losing weight or getting into shape. There are tons of strategies that work… it’s grown to a giant industry. However, each person must take their own journey through it. Since this is journey of 1 it’s crucial to start with that 1. It’s important to look inside first.
Looking inside has a very soft connotation. However, here it’s not about ideas like finding yourself, or understanding the meaning of life. Here it’s about simply putting attention and energy toward you the same way you would something externally. We’ve all had tough problems to solve at work, and in life. need to look at ourselves in a similar way… not that we’re problems, but there’s something to figure out. There are two reasons this is so critical in context of your job…
- People are mostly the same. Understand you to understand them
- The Observer Effect
This first statement may seem a bit controversial given the divisive nature of some conversations today. However, here most means >50%. I believe most people are similar at their core. They want things like happiness, security, and growth. Even though we’re mostly the same everyone is nuanced. If you want all 3 of these things you’re likely unique (nuanced) in what they mean to you, and how you get there (journey of 1). This is where the idea of inside starts. Understanding you is a great way to understand others.
The second important aspect is the Observer Effect which states “Simply observing a situation or phenomenon necessarily changes that phenomenon.” Looking inward helps you observe the good, the bad, and the ugly. If you’re reading this it means you likely have an underlying desire to change for the better. This desire combined with the Observer Effect is enough to drive you to change and grow without a lot of perceived effort. As we think about coming to terms with some bad behaviors doubt immediately creeps in. What if I don’t like what I see? What if I look back on my life and see that I could have behaved better? GOOD. GREAT. That’s what you want. If you look inward and see things you don’t like that’s ok. If you look backward and see things you don’t like that’s great. The reality as you sit and read this is that if you have things you don’t like about yourself they’re there whether you see them or not. This is where the Observer Effect works in your favor. If you see it you’ll do something different. You may not know it. You may not feel it right away, but you’ll do it.
These 2 things alone are worth the price of admission.
What’s Worked For Me?
This is a large topic that I plan to write about in more length in the future, but I’ll share for now I’ll share the 2 most impactful things. These 2 things really aren’t habits and may not work for everyone. However, they are at the core of how I solve this problem.
- Framing everything I do around 1 idea/goal
- Continuous experimentation
The first item is truly the most helpful for me in guiding all of my decisions. My idea/goal is represented in a single question… “What can I bring into my life now that will make my 40s amazing?” I’m in my early 30s so I’m looking at a 10-20 year horizon. This guidepost forces me to frame everything, including work, into a single context. I use it constantly to filter things like new opportunities or new habits I want to build. This guidepost helps bring clarity to my mind and decisions everyday in a way that helps me tremendously at work. What’s interesting is that this goal wasn’t about work alone. However, I found as I pursued this goal I was able to do more at work.
While the idea of goal setting is relatively universal the idea of experimenting with your life is a little less common. This is more about style than substance. I enjoy new things, and I get bored with the same pattern pretty quickly. So I find that the best way for me to get better is a never ending series of experiments. The goal is simply to try something. Maybe it sticks. Maybe it doesn’t. In 2018 alone I experimented with Crossfit, yoga, running, and lifting for exercise. I’d done some of these before, but they found their way back into the rotation. I also experimented with several diets: intermittent fasting, keto, all meat (yes ALL meat no veggies), Whole 30, and a few I dreamt up on my own. Sure sticking with 1 thing might give me better long term results, but it’s not exciting for me. This works better. Since this isn’t universal I’d encourage you to find what works for you here, but don’t rule non-traditional things out. If you need to try something new every week and that works great!
Wrapping Up
Professional athletes spend an inordinate amount of time taking care of themselves. We are simply a mental version of that same thing, and we need to do so as well. I’ve seen this pay dividends in my own life, and it lines up with countless other stories. Take care of yourself and your mind. It’ll be the big difference in your work.
If you don’t agree with some or all of this I’d love to talk. Message me or email me and we can talk more.