We received a bunch of emails on this article, When You Must Smash It, basically asking the same thing—
How can I better do this for myself?
Great question.
Let’s smash it!
Perfect Practice
It’s often said that practice makes perfect, but this is wrong.
Practice makes permanent.
Perfect practice makes perfect.
Of course in these articles and even my Masterclasses it’s near impossible to convey how to perfectly use these methods.
Reading even 100 top books on boxing is likely far less valuable than one hour training with a pro.
And the same is true with what we can do here together.
That’s said, let’s Smash It further.
Be Hulk Too
“How can I be more like Hulk too?” Was one question.
Well, there’s plenty of nuances here, but let’s go deeper on it.
This notion of The Character my clients know well and some of you have heard in my Masterclasses.
It’s all about, who, specifically, must you be to drive top performance?
There’s tons of great stuff out there on self-image, becoming the best version of ourselves, etc.—such as this great book—but in my book all that matters is how you actually do it.
For this I built a top performance tool called The Four Step Protocol.
Which is a top performance routine akin to a pro athlete best preparing on GameDay—
- Intent: This means, get REAL CLEAR on your goal in this task.
- The Character: Who must you be to win at this? Really, what is the version of you that drives the results you want? (e.g. The Hulk as we’ll get to)
- State: What energy must you be in to drive top performance? Like a pro athlete, energies like confidence, certainty, in the zone, etc.
- Tools: The tools you use for delivering your best? e.g. in the context of a meeting it might be agreement frames, storytelling, etc.
OK. So, again, I get this is vague, but I’ll share with you a version of the Four Step Protocol at some point.
For now, let’s hone in on Step 2, The Character.
Being The Hulk
Or whoever your Character is.
Comes down to recognizing that how you see yourself and feel yourself to be ENTIRELY governs who you show up as.
So, if you were to imagine a version of you as The Hulk (or Wonder Woman, Superman, or any person you think embodies how you want to be).
Well, how are you different?
How does being this way drive top performance and the results you want?
How is this Character different to who you were being a moment ago?
Or perhaps compared to how you’ve been in the past, even at your worst or best?
Are you imagining being this Character in a specific context, such as a meeting or sports?
If you are being this Character instead of those other ways of being, what is different for you now?
Do you see what we’re doing here?
Playing around with seeing, well, you can be any other way, or you can be your ideal way, this way we’re calling The Character.
Every moment you get to choose.
Here’s three steps for making this choice more real for you.
1. See “It” Over There
What I mean by this is…
You’re not imagining yourself standing here looking like The Hulk or whoever your Character is.
You’re seeing him or her over there.
Now, a nuance to this is knowing it’s not about getting a real lifelike image, coz many of us aren’t that good at visualizing.
That matters a whole lot less.
What matters MUCH MUCH MORE is that you can imagine the feeling of you being this way.
I mean, really imagine what it’s like to be that version of you.
See them there.
How do they look?
What are they doing?
What is it about being this Character that has you smashing your goal?
Now, really hone in on the quality of what you’re seeing.
Is it a picture? A movie? Color? How big is it?
Notice what makes it feel more real inside you.
If you make it brighter or more colorful, does it bring it more alive?
You might make it absolutely massive, like 60 stories tall massive.
Or bring it in real close to you so it’s over there, but it feels right over here in front of you.
And again, come back to the feeling of what it’s like to see yourself as this you.
Now, what you want to do is run this movie or see this image over and over and over and over and over.
Every time, like Michael Jordan imagining himself shooting perfect hoop after hoop, seeing yourself as this version of you driving the results you want.
Do you see what you’re doing here?
You’re seeing this is you.
And being this version, you are driving the results you want.
Over and over and over and over and over….
2. Transition To It
Now, I’m going to share with you a way of doing this that makes this much more real.
I don’t know if I can do it clearly here in writing, but I’m now thinking I might do an entire Masterclass on this.
See, often even really good top performance experts might say…
OK. Now imagine now being here this way…
And that can be powerful.
But what we’re doing here is a far deeper level of change, which hopefully will make sense to you.
First, seeing that version of you over there…
Begin right here feeling like a total loser.
I mean, REALLY, as much of a loser as you can feel.
I know you know how to do this because we all have moments like that, don’t we?
Playing small. Feeling deflated. Telling ourselves bad stories in our heads like how much we suck or how little is possible for us, etc.
How do you feel as this total loser? 🙂
Now, you’ve really felt this, take one step closer to The Hulk or whoever your Character is over there.
This time feel like you are one step beyond that total loser version of you.
And feel frustrated.
Like, screw that. You’re sick of not being the greatest version of you, and now you’re ready to be this.
Again, really get this feeling.
As much as you can really feel frustrated that you’re not there yet.
Your Character is right over there, that loser is behind you, and you know you deserve this.
Now, once again take one more step closer.
And feel what it’s like when you’re right here.
So close you can feel it. It’s just around the corner, the words on the tip of your tongue.
This greatest version of you and your goals right within reach.
REALLY feel this now.
You can taste it. You’re right here. Feel it coming to you.
And now get ready for the final step, well, actually, leap.
OK. Now JUMP.
Literally, take that final leap.
REALLY JUMP into that Hulk or whoever your Character is.
And feel yourself now standing inside them.
3. REALLY Feeling It
I mean REALLY feeling it.
Really.
How does The Hulk or your Character feel?
Words can be weak compared to feeling strong.
Or confident. Or bigger. Happier. More alive. Like you smash it.
But whatever your words are, really feel yourself here as this version of you.
And I mean, REALLY!
In your Character, you imagined it before.
You saw them over here looking all that, doing all that.
And now it’s you being this, fully experiencing this is you.
Bathing in it.
Like bathing in all your glory.
And now see the scene around you that you were seeing before over there (or a different one if it now feels right to you).
You’re here now. This is your reality.
And now like you did before seeing it over and over and over and over again…
Rehearse it.
In your head see it around you. Really being in it.
And again I mean REALLY.
Even if you can’t visualize so well, really feel what it’s like to be here in this.
Again I mean really really feeling it.
Not to get XXX here, but like this article, if you are really making love, REALLY, how does it feel inside?
Be here now in your mind.
And also rehearsing it physically.
Like if Jordan was watching himself shoot hoops before, now he’s imagining being on the court doing it, and actually jumping and shooting with his hands physically doing it.
If for you, as it was for our client, a meeting.
Really feel yourself here.
Perhaps stepping in shaking hands, sitting down in Character, speaking, being this way all the way through.
If it’s your Crazy Job interview, for instance, be yourself at your best, living this movie all the way through to them handing you the job, and even your first days, weeks, months on the job.
Make this so real.
That in every way you are this person…
Coz this person is you.
And these are the results you’ve driven.
Now Live As This Person
See, from here you can see that old loser version…
Well, that was just some past version of you, right?
So too was the old frustrated you.
Or the one that felt so close.
They are just ways of being you, which are less amazing than being this Hulk or greatest version of you, right?
So, why would you ever go back to being those old ways?
When all day every day you can practice this exercise being who you choose.
Here’s some more ideas on Performance Tools from Track 7 of the Building Your Limitless Mind Masterclass:
P.S. You can listen to previously published tracks from this Masterclass here.
P.P.S. You can read here more mindset articles.