ENDURE: June 13, 2014

What Does it Take to Win the Super Bowl?

Spoiler Summary: Success begets success? Yes, if we're willing to build better circuits.

I was invited to present at a meeting recently to a room full of folks who were celebrating a full year without an injury in their workplace. It was a real honor for me. Having been involved with workplace injury prevention efforts for many years, I have a deep admiration for what it means for a group to go that long without injury, and how many things have to go just right for it to occur.  It's not super complex - if everyone is focused on safety & health, the group gets through a day - but to string 365 days of such focus together in a row is DEFINITELY NOT easy, it's pretty OUTSTANDING!

So what was the magic? What is so special about this group? Their work hadn't gotten any easier. I'm sure there lives hadn't gotten any less busy, and beyond some minor changes and upgrades, their tools hadn't changed all that much; but these 50+ folks still made it 365 days or more without a serious injury, a feat they had not accomplished for many years...

So what was it that changed?

The truth is I don't know.....and I'm not sure who really does. Were they just lucky?  Possible I suppose, but not likely.  Were they all superhuman unbreakable fitness freaks, impermeable to the risks? Nope. Was the entire group under the age of 30 and therefore still "humans made of rubber" that can just bounce back? Of course not...

So what was the formula in this case? Dunno.  And unfortunately,that's a major barrier to making it sticky and contagious. One of the trickiest parts of any championship season is analyzing the success.  Not tricky because it's different, but tricky because we don't spend much time doing it. As a general rule we like to celebrate success, but it almost never seems to get the same level of scrutiny as a setback or failure. Coaches, analysts and armchair quarterbacks alike pick apart every angle of a blown game in the sports world. Similarly, those of us involved in injury review tend to do the same. We look at every detail of what went wrong, but not nearly as much time analyzing what went right.  It's not just sports and it's definitely not just safety.

Why?  Is it easier to figure out "what went wrong" than "what went right"?  Interestingly, the science says yes....and no.

Some very interesting research that blends the sciences of the brain & nervous system (neuroscience) with the sciences of the mind (psychology primarily) has shown that like any habit loop, the more we practice something, the more reinforced our "analysis habit" brain-circuitry becomes.  Eventually our most practiced pattern becomes the default circuit....the "old reliable" of neural circuits.....and therefore in the sense that it's more natural, it is actually easier.  However if all things were equal, it takes the same effort - so it's no harder in the absolute sense.  This is not a bad thing really, it's just a brain thing....standard operating procedure.  So the more we do it, the easier it becomes.

The good news is, like any neural circuit, if we practice a new loop we can literally rewire our brain. But why would we want to? Why do we care about analyzing the "good" as easy (or easier) than the "not-as-good"? Because that's where top performance lives.  Although I'm oversimplifying a lot of really amazing findings, people who are aware of and get good at recognizing "what went well?" (either personally or in a group) are far more likely to do it again....and again....and again.  Better actions become better habits becoming better performance automatically....in the moment.

After studying this simple exercise (write down 3 things each day that "went well" or that you are thankful for) in a variety of settings, researchers have shown higher performance and goal attainment in nearly every domain.

It's true, many many things have to go well to win a Super Bowl, or a Stanley Cup or a World Cup for that matter.  Just the same, many things have to go well to have an injury free day, week, month, year or lifetime.  The more we talk & learn about those many things, and the more we focus on them, the better we get at repeating them.

If, as social learners we're more likely to repeat what we see and talk about.....spending more time looking for and talking about those actions will increase our likelihood of success every time.  Good, bad or ugly - Practice doesn't make perfect....practice makes automatic.....and if each of our automatic-pilot was centered on health, safety and prevention it'd be a very good thing.  

So what went well today?

Have a great weekend,

Mike E.

MOVE: June 6, 2014

Catching the Wave of the "Here and Now"

Spoiler Summary: Operating "in the present" is not easy for everyone - but it might be one of the keys to unlocking your best work.

I'm not a surfer.....but I'm thinking maybe I should be.  Can you picture it? No? OK, me either. The idea of waiting patiently for a good wave (or patiently for anything), is a little cross-grain for me and would be a real challenge - I might just be the most uptight surfer on the planet.  Is that even allowed?

By nature, like many people, I tend to be a planner....a futurist.....someone who is always looking outward toward the next hurdle or future goal and putting time and effort into planning the steps needed to get there.  This of course is not entirely a bad thing....putting the time into understanding what the best next-steps are and steadily working to improve, develop new strengths and get over/around/through the barriers that stand in our way vastly increases our odds of long term success.  However, in a world of multitasking and 24-hour connectedness, where the threads of the storyline (family, career, hobby, etc) are so tightly woven that they often seem merged, the futurist runs a very real risk of never quite executing at their highest potential; they struggle to commit fully to any one project or task, they struggle to be fully in the moment because some energy (especially mental energy), however small the amount, is usually committed somewhere else.

Perhaps not ironically, this past week when I was looking into (a true planner) how to squeeze a little more performance out of myself as I prep for a big race that's quickly approaching, I ran into a bunch of research and information from the world of sports psychology that talked about one of my favorite topics - being "in the zone"....or in "flow" as it's sometimes referred.  Case after case of people achieving what seemed beyond their potential. The trick? Almost always it had to do with letting go and operating completely in the present.....diving into the moment so fully that time passes without even a thought. There were many surfing examples....but luckily for me there were examples from every domain: sport, art, work, life, etc. that demonstrated the flow pattern: challenge, then struggle, followed by letting-go, followed by entry into "the zone".

I fondly remember an experience with this. Although completely unintentional, it started with me getting off the plane at my sister-in-law's wedding (Hawaii) several years ago and being greeted by her (now) husband's family who lived locally there.  I had never met them before, but they laid an enormous bear-hug on me.  Talk about your challenge & struggle. My wife and I still laugh about it sometimes - because I was the ultimate stiff/uptight east-coast guy and here were these totally relaxed islanders welcoming me like some kind of long-lost brother.  I'm not a huge "hugger" to begin with.... but after the first 2 days there and no agenda, I just sort of let-go.  By the end of the week I had stopped wearing my watch (there was no point) and I found myself taking in the world around me a little more, not at all worried about time, but being genuinely in the moment; listening to the stories and experiencing the culture - it was awesome. Not only relaxing, but fulfilling. As I boarded the plane back to the mainland I gave them each a huge hug....like we'd known each other forever.

This week, I re-committed to practicing it.  As funny as it sounds - I actually included "letting go" in my training plan.... The struggle part is no problem for me - the nature of my sport comes with plenty of struggle - but actively letting-go will take effort.  I tried it yesterday during my swim workout.....working to find a steady pattern and focusing on the feel of water once I was into the workout.  Instead of focusing on my mechanics, I focused on my breathing and the feel of the water.  For about 20 minutes of the hour-long workout I had it.  The time flew, the effort seemed easier than usual and my pace was steady, but that was about the max of my concentration....far more work to do.  The key however was that I was able to achieve the same level of performance with a feeling of far less exertion.  I didn't feel taxed after the workout....I was tired....but in a good way, refreshed.

I found myself wondering if I could apply this same focus to other areas - parenting, work, being a colleague and friend.  I found myself wondering if, after planning it in and working at it for a while, I might get good at it; if it would come more automatically like habits do.  Let me know if you want to try the experiment too - it'd be great to have company on this leg of the journey.

Stay tuned....or even better yet - don't.....pop-up and try the ride.

Have a great weekend,

Mike E.

MOVE: May 30, 2014

Decoding ACHIEVEMENT: InPursuit, InSpire

Spoiler Summary: It's graduation season - but whether you're in-line for a diploma or not, the commencement address is talking to you!

48 hours ago I had no real idea who Howard Thurman was.  Although maybe not a total surprise that as a Hunterdon County, NJ "local" and product of the 80's/90's I wasn't super in-tune with the life and history of pacifist civil-rights leader who was born in 1899.....I heard a quote of his this week that made me want to learn more:

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come ALIVE....and go do it! Because what the world needs is people who have come alive"

Messages such as this: "love what you do", "chase your dreams", "follow your passion" seem to be everywhere this time of year as students of all levels prepare for graduation and the next phase of their journey, but in my opinion, Howard Thurman NAILED IT!  He managed, in less than 30 words, to capture something powerful and as pertinent today as ever.

Of course in the era of 140 character micro-blogging (Twitter) and the now ubiquitous "hashtag" - we've tried to reduce it to 9 characters (#InPursuit)....but the quote, 139 characters as written, in many ways explains what being InPursuit is and what the bigger picture of Human Achievement (health/well-being/prevention/performance) is all about.

Being awake and aware (alive) is only the start.....and it doesn't end there. He couldn't have meant alive, as in "having a pulse"....but ALIVE, as in, invigorated....passionate; but that's not all. He goes on to make a call to action (doing it).....not thinking, not talking.....doing. Despite the fears, despite the risk of failure, despite the naysayers, despite the effort required - getting over all of that and still doing it;  And then, some reassurance that since the world, whether the local community or the global community, is always a little short on passionate doers, coming alive and doing it is meaningful and worthy.

If only it were easy. It's pretty hard to MOVE ourselves to action without the right mix of FUEL. It's unlikely that we could possibly ENDURE the trials and setbacks that are a normal part of the process of being the best version of ourselves (the long road) if we don't make an active effort to RECOVER along the way when we need it....and, even if we did all of that....living "alive" as the quote suggests would never have the same impact in isolation as it does when we CONNECT with the world around us. Not easy.....but worth it.

In the last month we've seen some unbelievable moments of triumph, we've also seen some painful setbacks. We've seen efforts-rewarded and we've also seen some faith-in-effort tested.  We've seen some folks who found the deeper well of confidence and resilience needed to excel and others who needed to tap reserves that made them question whether it was "in them" in the first place.  There are simpler paths......and any one of us could probably figure out how to mindlessly stumble through some (or all) of the ride....but the world doesn't need more zombies.....the world needs people who have come alive.

Whether it be the competitor who is committed to finding (or pushing) their limits, the everyday-athlete who is working to deliver the very best result in the workplace, or the parent/colleague/friend who is willing to do the "juggle & struggle" so someone they care about has a better chance of success in their pursuit - getting to stand at the crossroads of "coming alive" and "doing" as often as we do is a real honor. In 32 Characters: Your #InPursuit is Our #InSpire.

I still don't know much about Howard Thurman (yet), but I think he was onto something. Whether you're well on your way to doing it, or just coming alive, there's a health or performance achievement with your name on it.....and we're ready to help when you need it.

Now, go do something extraordinary,

Mike Eisenhart, PT

Managing Partner, Pro-Activity

CONNECT: May 23, 2014

Take a Second.....Checkpoints

Spoiler Summary: A journey without checkpoints is just wandering.....but knowing which direction you're headed and where you're at might just be all you need to know to decide if you're still on track and when you're going to get "there".

Memorial Day weekend is here.....already.  No matter how fast life seems to go, I am always amazed that it seems to keep getting faster each and every year.  I used to think it was funny how people would say that.....but now I'm just amazed with how right they were.  Even on a year when the winter seemed like it would never end, it did, and here we are, at Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of the summer season.  I find myself using Memorial Day as a checkpoint to know where life is at, a chance to remember not only the brave men and women who have put themselves in harms-way protecting the security we all hold dear, people I feel deeply indebted to, but also as a chance to reflect on exactly where I'm standing, whether it's where I had hoped to be and, if not, what adjustments I need to make.

It seems like such a straightforward process doesn't it? Plot out where you want to be (goals) and then plan backward until you get to "today" and, once it's all planned, start moving milestone to milestone until you get "there". If the path wasn't so darn rocky and there weren't so many barriers that seem to come out of nowhere, it probably wouldn't be that bad.....but that's not real life is it? At least not the life most people are juggling.....life is inherently hard, lots of plot twists and unexpected circumstances.....so we try to build in some buffers and resilience, an ability to weather the storms, but that alone isn't enough...it's our checkpoints that allow us to know how far off course we've been blown.

For many this long weekend it'll be with a trip to Arlington or "The Wall" at the Vietnam memorial to pay respects. For others, it might as easily be during the planned home-project.....or with the amazing smell of a backyard BBQ going.  It could be as the local parade marches by, or on the sidelines of the kids' "big tournament"....for me, I'm hoping it's with slightly burning legs, many miles into a long training (cycling) ride.  Because, now is a great time of year to take a few minutes to "check-in" (that is, literally check inward) on where you're at......It doesn't matter when and where you do it, as long as you do it.  Are you happy with your health? Are you using all you've learned to work and live in a way that will put the odds of a long-healthy life in your favor?  Have you gotten the ball rolling on some of the areas you know need work?  Have you found a way to change any of the routines that are keeping you from the highest quality of life possible?  Even if only a small one, what change, if you start NOW could you stick with for 90 days?  What do the routines of the "best you" look like? Whose help do you need to pull it off? What's stopping you from asking?

We're almost 40% done with 2014 and the remaining 60% is sure to fly. Days that are formally dedicated to reflecting and remembering are pretty rare.....I hope you're able to make the very most of this one.

And to those who have family or friends who have made the ultimate sacrifice.....we thank you for their courage.....may we never lose sight of the price of our freedoms.

Have a great week,

Mike E.