Teams are the vehicle through which we accomplish anything. This is true in sport, in business and organizations, in family, in just about any situation where we strive to get or do better.

It’s ok - when we avoid saying things that we want to happen, it doesn’t matter. It’s not the most important part. #BillsMafia

How do you keep your sh*t together when you’re busy?

I’ve been thinking about this lately since October is shaping up to be particularly busy for me. No complaints: it’s a great kind of busy. But I know that I need to keep my head in the game or I’ll feel like I’m falling behind and will be less productive/happy.

I also know what it’s like to need to keep yourself focused and stress levels low. In Olympic training and competition, you are constantly stressed - and I don’t mean the anxiety-type exactly. We looked at everything as stress to the “system”. Our system was our muscles, our nervous system, our psychological state, etc. And we examined stress so closely because high stress produces cortisol in your body, which has some specific negative outcomes for athletic performance.

We had a saying - “stress is stress is stress.”

That meant that often…

When I was training for the Olympics, we didn’t get to choose our team, but once it was formed, we all recognized it was special and we were all-in. 

Word to the wise, though - be careful to who you tell your goals. Research tells us that it can be a double-edged sword.

Did I want to fly an F-16? Um, yeah. I did… and I learned how to communicate going Mach-1.

At the heart of Growth Mindset is the understanding that anything is overcome-able. There’s nothing that we can’t get better at. There’s no “I’m just not good at that”. There’s always, “I’m just not good at that, yet.”

You’re great, you’re great, you’re great, you suck at this thing, you’re great, you’re great.

“I once talked to another principal who was very successful. She told me, ‘it isn’t about you, but it is about you. As a leader, your work is not about you — you have to focus on the people you’re there to lead and serve. But as a leader, you do set the tone. So in a way, your work IS about you’.”

A few weeks ago I was reminded that the parts of life that we sometimes think aren’t measurable - you know, the “squishy” things - actually are measurable and are often the ones that matter the most.

For me, half the fun in life is being among different people, learning from them, debating with them, and expanding one’s own point of view out of it.

Principle 3: Be willing to see what others won’t. The embodiment of this principle can be seen in the story of former Navy SEAL Dan Cnossen.

You don’t get what you don’t ask for, and you don’t get what you don’t pursue. 

When I think of the words “athlete mindset” it might surprise you to know that I don’t immediately think of athletics.  I don’t picture the gym, or bobsled, or the track, or the podium. In fact, what comes to mind is a thick, black leather chair in a mental health counselor's office. 

It’s a good time to consider which things we want to keep in our lives/work, which problems we want to commit to solving, and which things it’s time to kick to the curb.

The standards in that little tiny niche within that tiny niche are really, really high.