Corporate Olympians
Get Your Head In the Game.
I couldn’t do your job; I haven’t trained for it. You’ve been striving to reach this point for a long time.
I sometimes look at hardworking folks and wish they could see what I see. From the line cook who makes a perfectly cooked burger every time to the woman at the DMV who explains what line to get and which tax form to have ready, they make my day better by being good at their jobs.
You didn’t magically show up knowing what you know and doing what you do. Think about where you are in your career. You’ve put in the work: years of study, certifications, experience, and hard work have brought you to where you are today.
That’s a good perspective to keep in mind when we work hard and miss our targets or when we face tough times. Often, we question our training and our path forward when things get tough or don’t go as planned. We can become fixated on the how-tos and what-ifs, and that is when we allow doubt to creep in.
So as we hit the half way point of this year, if things aren’t ‘perfect’, we need to be confident in our abilities and stay focused on the end goal. That’s how we will make things happen.
I’ve been watching the Olympic Trials the past few weeks and I got to thinking about doubting our abilities. Like an athlete, the things we have trained for that we do every day have become second nature.
Remember when Olympic gymnast Simone Biles got the ‘twisties’ at the last Olympics? She was vaulting and got lost in the air, unable to get her bearings. She had to pull out of the competition. The world was talking about the ‘twisties’. They are a sudden loss of air awareness, making an athlete unable to perform skills they’ve mastered. It’s devastating because once doubt sets in, it creates a mental block that’s tough to overcome. The athlete remains physically the same, it’s all in their head. In golf or baseball a mental block is called the Yips.
Having been an elite gymnast, I experienced the ‘twisties’ as a teenager, and it was horrifying. My coach was even unnerved when they hit me because I hit him! I was doing a double-twisting backflip, which I had done for years, literally, thousands of times, it was my last tumbling pass in my floor routine. My coach was spotting me to save my ankles (catching me at the end to take some weight off the landing) and I opened mid-air. My knee smashed into the side of his head and almost knocked him out. We were both lucky not to be seriously injured.
In that moment, I had no idea where I was, where the ground was or what I was doing. I hadn’t really ‘thought’ about where was in the air in years, the skill was just a natural movement that my brain knew and my body performed.
Having your brain work against you leaves you shaken and uncertain, feeling a little scared and frustrated with the world around you. I’ve been thinking that some folks in corporate America who I think may have the ‘corporate twisties’ right now. Maybe they are brought on by the stress of post-pandemic changes, or politics, or rapidly advancing technologies, or global connectivity 24/7. I am not certain of the root cause, but the symptoms seem to be feelings of anxiety, stress and uncertainty about the work they’re doing. They are ‘in the air’ and uncertain where the ground is. They don’t trust themselves or the course they are on.
I like this analogy. I think I am seeing a version of the ‘corporate twisties’ in smart, hard-working, career-minded high achievers across the country. As I’ve spoken at corporate events these last few months, I’ve heard more and more people express frustration with where they are. They feel uncertain about their work, their industry, or their career path. I think they have the corporate twisties or maybe it’s career twisties.
They’ve done so much work and are experts at the top of their game, yet a moment of feeling lost makes them question their entire life trajectory.
Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast of all time and arguably the best athlete on the planet, will compete in the Paris Olympics. She’s even better than she was before. She got help, did the work, and is stronger and more prepared than ever, both physically and mentally. She trusts her brain and her body.
Use her as inspiration if you’re feeling a bit ‘lost in the air’ these days. You can get your head back in the right place and make this year a winning year. Like a great athlete, focus on two things: your mindset and your self-talk.
“The words in your head - come out of your mouth - and they become your story.” – Nina Sossamon-Pogue. Yep, quoting myself, because sometimes, we can be the villain in our own story.
The mindset:
When things aren’t working for you, what words do you say? What are your go-tos? We need to shift away from the word frustration every time something doesn’t go as planned… and variants of it – (irritated, disappointed, aggravated) – and lean into the word resilience.
Frustrated - expressing distress and annoyance due to an inability to change or achieve something.
Resilient - the ability to learn, grow stronger, and adapt in a positive way to challenges in our lives.
Look at the definitions of those words. You choose which one pops into your head when things aren’t going your way. Do you want to be frustrated or resilient? How you respond to something not going your way is completely within your control.
We don't live in a static world, things change. And things don’t always go our way. We all face changes and challenges. Choose to face them with resilience, not frustration.
The language:
Next, think about this: You wouldn’t want to hang out with the person who is always complaining that things are frustrating, always finding what’s wrong and why things won’t work, and talking negatively about their work, their company, and even themselves. That person would not be inspiring, affirming, or encouraging. Right?
You know who you do hang out with all the time? Yourself! So don’t be that frustrated person. You have a choice to be inspiring, affirming, and encouraging for yourself.
As you watch the Paris Olympics, look closely. You’ll see athletes mouthing affirmations and building themselves up. That’s what the best of the best do. While most of us are not facing a once-in-a-lifetime Olympic moment, we are working hard in our own ways, and we can choose to get our head in the game like an Olympic athlete, so we can win.
You can come up with your own affirmations. Here are six that Chat GPT came up with for you:
I attract success like a magnet.
I thrive under pressure and love the hustle.
I am a master of my craft and a leader in my field.
I am a deal-making dynamo.
I radiate confidence and inspire those around me.
I am unstoppable and destined for greatness
Ok, those were a bit cheesy, but thanks, Chat GPT.
I want to talk about what these Olympic athletes are NOT saying – and what you should not be saying to yourself.
Let’s check in on some of the self-sabotaging language that so many of us use. Myself included, I am always editing the words in my head. Here are six types of self-sabotaging language:
Negative Self-Talk: "I can't do this," "I'm not good enough."
Overgeneralization: "This always happens to me," "I always screw this up."
Catastrophizing: "Everything is ruined," "This will never work."
All-or-Nothing Thinking: "If it’s not perfect, it's a complete failure."
Belaboring: "If only ___," or "I wish that I had ___."
Discounting the Positive: "Anyone could have done that," or "It was just luck, not my skills."
There you have it. Don’t let your brain be the villain in your story. To be the hero of your story, switch your mindset from feeling frustrated to feeling resilient, and get a handle on the self-sabotaging language in your head.
It’s halftime here in the year 2024. Get your head in the game. Decide to make the rest of the year the best of the year! Go do that!