In my last two blog posts we’ve looked at Alan fine’ s GROW method for performance enhancement. Alan began his career as an athletic coach and realized that the same strategies he used for athletes worked in any performance situation. So far, we’ve covered G regarding Goal setting and vision, and R, regarding taking stock of Reality. Let’s take a look at the O which stands for Options.
Options means thinking about what how you might go about achieving the goal you have set. Asking ourselves questions and the and waiting for answers is a great way to think through options.
It helps to get outside and pretend you are looking at another person going through this process. Imagine they are trying to figure out how to go about achieving the same goal you have. What would you recommend for them? What suggestions would you have for them? If you were other people, what would you see and hear that would get your attention.
I think this last question is very interesting, because it helps us figure out what to focus our attention on. When Alan talks about helping athletes get into a flow state he often talks about blocking out the noise of intrusive thoughts. This can be accomplished by figuring out what to focus on on. One tennis player answered this question by answering “I would tell the person to focus on the seeing the spin of the lines on the ball.” This point of focus, this discreet thing to pay attention to helped this person stop over thinking. They already had enough knowledge, they simply had to find something relevant to pay focused attention to. When they focused on the “seeing” the lines on the ball spinning, they were hyper focused on the ball and this helped them avoid the chatter of intrusive thoughts. For them that ball spin was the perfect focal point to capture their attention and allow their body and practiced skill to naturally emerge. This focus helped them achieve a flow state. I think this is really cool!
Whatever our goal is, as yourself “what is the one thing that if I focused on would immerse me into the process of achieving that goal?” Good question, let it sit and see if you get an answer. Then try it out!
Attention is key; if you were watching someone thinking about Their “Options” for tackling a goal or a habit, what would you recommend to them as the focal point of attention?
When I do my sprints I focus on the top window of a house in the back ground and run towards it with all my might. When I write this blog, I focus on what will be a helpful bit of information for someone I care about, and what do I need to hear? Point is, you have options, use your imagination and fantasize about how you might go about achieving your goal, be wide open. Then ask yourself are any of the ideas generated interesting enough to explore further?
Find your focal point and use it to get into a flow state. Next blog I’ll discuss the last part of GROW, the W, which stands for Way Forward.
Ben Wagner (142)
Member The 365 Commitment
