A Review of “The Art of Learning” by Josh Waitzkin

By Art Carden
https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/a-review-of-the-art-of-learning.html

Josh Waitzkin has led a full life as a chess master and international martial arts champion, and as of this writing he isn’t yet 35.  The Art of Learning chronicles his journey from chess prodigy (and the subject of the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer) to world championship Tai Chi Chuan with important lessons identified and explained along the way.  Marketing expert Seth Godin has written and said that one should resolve to change three things as a result of reading a business book; the reader will find many lessons in Waitzkin’s volume.  Waitzkin has a list of principles that appear throughout the book, but it isn’t always clear exactly what the principles are and how they tie together.  This doesn’t really hurt the book’s readability, though, and it is at best a minor inconvenience.  There are many lessons for the educator or leader, and as one who teaches college, was president of the chess club in middle school, and who started studying martial arts about two years ago, I found the book engaging, edifying, and instructive.

Waitzkin’s chess career began among the hustlers of New York’s Washington Square, and he learned how to concentrate among the noise and distractions this brings. This experience taught him the ins and outs of aggressive chess-playing as well as the importance of endurance from the cagey players with whom he interacted.  He was discovered in Washington Square by chess teacher Bruce Pandolfini, who became his first coach and developed him from a prodigious talent into one of the best young players in the world.

The book presents Waitzkin’s life as a study in contrasts; perhaps this is
intentional given Waitzkin’s admitted fascination with eastern philosophy.  Among the most useful lessons concern the aggression of the park chess players and young prodigies who brought their queens into the action early or who set elaborate traps and then pounced on opponents’ mistakes.  These are excellent ways to rapidly dispatch weaker players, but it does not build endurance or skill.  He contrasts these approaches with the attention to detail that leads to genuine mastery over the long run.

According to Waitzkin, an unfortunate reality in chess and martial arts—and
perhaps by extension in education—is that people learn many superficial and sometimes impressive tricks and techniques without developing a subtle, nuanced command of the fundamental principles.  Tricks and traps can impress (or vanquish) the credulous, but they are of limited usefulness against someone who really knows what he or she is doing. Strategies that rely on quick checkmates are likely to falter against players who can deflect attacks and get one into a long middle-game.  Smashing inferior players with four-move checkmates is superficially satisfying, but it does little to better one’s game.

He offers one child as an anecdote who won many games against inferior opposition but who refused to embrace real challenges, settling for a long string of victories over clearly inferior players (pp. 36-37).  This reminds me of advice I got from a friend recently: always try to make sure you’re the dumbest person in the room so that you’re always learning.  Many of us, though, draw our self-worth from being big fish in small ponds.

Waitzkin’s discussions cast chess as an intellectual boxing match, and they are
particularly apt given his discussion of martial arts later in the book.  Those familiar with boxing will remember Muhammad Ali’s strategy against George Foreman in the 1970s: Foreman was a heavy hitter, but he had never been in a long bout before.  Ali won with his “rope-a-dope” strategy, patiently absorbing Foreman’s blows and waiting for Foreman to exhaust himself.  His lesson from chess is apt (p. 34-36) as he discusses promising young players who focused more intensely on winning fast rather than developing their games.

Click on the link below to read the rest of the article:

https://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/a-review-of-the-art-of-learning.html

The Self-Talk Struggle Is Real: How To Win At Work With Sports Psychology

By Amy Rigby
https://blog.trello.com/negative-self-talk?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=trello-nov2018_newsletter2
October 19, 2018

In the 1998 NBA Finals, down by one point and with only 18 seconds left in the game, Michael Jordan tore the ball away from the opponent and made the winning shot of his last game with the Chicago Bulls.

That pivotal moment would go down as one of the greatest in sports history, but the remarkable thing, besides the observable aspect, is what was going on behind the scenes—more specifically, inside Jordan’s mind.

“When I got that rebound, my thoughts were very positive,” Jordan reported later, according to the book The Mindful Athlete by George Mumford, his sports psychologist at the time. Years before that championship game, Jordan and his entire team had been working with Mumford on mastering mindfulness, including harnessing the power of self-talk.

What Is Self-Talk?

Self-talk is anything you say to yourself, whether in your head or out loud. It can consist of positive statements, such as “I can do this” or “I’m going to win,” or negative ones, such as “I always mess up” or “I’m going to fail.”

Self-talk is quite natural, but ignorance of its effects can hinder your performance. Mastering self-talk is already a major part of the sports world. Why do star athletes such as Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, and Tiger Woods work with sports psychologists and mental coaches to train their brains to respond better to stress? Because they know that a huge part of winning the game is mental.

And if an athlete’s inner dialog affects their performance on the court or field, why wouldn’t your self-talk also affect your performance in the office?

How Does Negative Self-Talk Affect You?

1. It can make you feel depressed.

Therapists know that one of the main things to look for in a client who may be depressed is the amount of negative self-talk the patient uses. In fact, nurse Jaclene Zauszniewski developed an eight-item survey for healthcare providers to use to detect when someone is in a downward spiral toward clinical depression. One of the biggest predictors? Excessive negative thinking.

2. It can make you feel anxious.

One study of children 8 to 18 years of age showed that negative thoughts were among the strongest predictors of anxiety. Another study of counselor trainees found that high negative self-talk was correlated with high anxiety levels and that lower negative self-talk was associated with lower anxiety levels and improved performances in video-taped counseling interviews.

3. It can make you lose.

In a tennis study, researchers watched 24 tennis players in tournament matches and recorded their observable self-talk, gestures, and match scores. Afterward, players also reported the thoughts that were going on while they were competing. These researchers found that negative self-talk was associated with losing, and the tennis players who believed positive self-talk was useful scored more points than the players who didn’t think it was useful.

Further, a study of elite wrestlers vying for spots on the Canadian World Wrestling teams found that those who ended up qualifying had fewer negative self-thoughts one hour before competition than those who did not end up qualifying.

So if negative self-talk is so detrimental, is positive self-talk helpful? Let’s see what science has to say.

The Power of Positive Self-Talk

While negative self-talk is linked to depression, anxiety, and losing, positive self-talk, on the other hand, is associated with improvements in your performance and mood. And while it may sound hokey to “talk nicely” to yourself, the supporting evidence from scientific research might have you singing a different tune.

1. It can improve your health.

One study of elementary school children found that positive self-talk was positively related to self-esteem. And a study in Denmark found that heart disease patients with a positive attitude were more likely to be alive five years later, which might be because optimistic patients are more likely to exercise.

If you’re in the habit of constantly telling yourself “I’m incompetent” or “I’m going to get fired,” then feelings of worthlessness are soon to follow, impacting your mental health and your work performance. As you saw earlier, negative self-talk can lead to depression. And in the workplace, depression costs us an estimated $44 billion a year in lost productivity.

Reframing your perspective with self-talk such as “you’re going to get better” and “look how far you’ve come compared to last year” makes for a more optimistic view that might encourage you to seek opportunities to improve.

2. It can boost your performance.

In a review of the literature on self-talk and mental imagery, researchers from Arizona State University proposed that constructive thought management, which includes positive self-talk, can improve employee and organizational performance.

In a water polo study, two experiments tested very specific kinds of self-talk: instructional versus motivational. Experiment one had the participants complete a precision task of throwing the ball at a target, while experiment two had them complete a power task of throwing the ball for distance. Researchers found that when precision was needed, instructional self-talk (“elbow high” and “hand follow the ball”) helped the most. But when power was needed, motivational self-talk (“I can”) worked best.

So if you’re, say, pitching a business idea to potential investors and feel nervous about your performance, telling yourself, “deep breaths” and “remember the talking points you practiced” are instructional self-talk examples that will help you do your best. But if you’re doing a task that doesn’t require much thought and you just need to power through it, such as organizing files or entering data, simply telling yourself “I can do this” should do the trick.

3. It can help you land a job.

A study conducted on unemployed managers divided them into two groups: One group received training on monitoring their functional versus dysfunctional self-talk, while the control group received no training. Nine months later, 50 percent of those who had been trained to increase their functional self-talk had found jobs, versus just one percent of the control group.

Bottom line: positive self-talk can help to boost your confidence and give you that extra drive needed to land your dream job.

Click on the link below to read the rest of the article:

https://blog.trello.com/negative-self-talk?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=trello-nov2018_newsletter2

2018 READING LIST: 36 (Short) Lessons From 36 Books

By Ben Kissam

https://coachk.co/blog/

December 27, 2018

I've always enjoyed reading but didn’t make it a priority until 2017. Last year, I set a goal to read 12 books (about one per month).

Like my annual “3-Word Memoir“, the point of this post is to shorten each book down to one big takeaway, quote or lesson. This way I can look back years from now and remember where (or from whom) I learned things.

I hope you enjoy and also learn something! And if you use it, follow me on GoodReads.

Ben Kissam’s 2018 Reading List

In 2018, I read 36 books divided up into categories like psychology/mind (7), personal development (7), coaching (3), business (4), science (3), history (1), biography (1),comedy (1), and other (9).

Each book is listed below. At the bottom, you’ll find my top five books for 2018.

Psychology/Mind

Mindset by Carol Dweck- “In short, when people believe in fixed traits, they are always in danger of being measured by a failure.”

When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink- The age that most people run their first marathon at usually ends in a “9” (29, 39, etc.). A reminder that even when we don’t think about it, we’re keeping track of time. Endings to things naturally motivate us to do stuff we wouldn’t normally do.

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink- The core of this book is what I’ll remember most–humans are naturally motivated to do good work. When you believe this, motivation becomes more about the environment you cultivate for yourself or others to do their work in.

He: Understanding Masculine Psychology by Robert A. Johnson- Every man suffers from a “Fisher King Wound”. Most men, according to Jungian psychology, spend their lives trying to fix this wound by searching for external remedies to heal it. According to Jung, though, the solution is inside of each man, in the same way that a fish does not need to search for water because it is already in water. We already have what we need.

Two other gems:

• “If one thinks that something or somebody will fill the Grail hunger (read: void) in him, no cost is too high.”
• “A man creates out of his restlessness; a woman creates by knowing what always was.”

Games People Play by Eric Berne- I created my own crude psychology model for theHaters article from this book. Like Newton’s third law, human behavior has an opposite and equal reaction to the amount of vitriol you hold onto.

Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki- “And we should not hoard knowledge; we should be free from our knowledge. If you collect various pieces of knowledge, as a collection it may be very good, but this is not our way. We should not try to surprise people by our wonderful treasures. We should not be interested in something special. If you want to appreciate something fully, you should forget yourself. You should accept it like lightning flashing in the utter darkness of the sky.”

Example: Rich Froning describes how he got serious about CrossFit when he started serving Christ and stopped doing it for himself. I’ve come across many other examples. It’s interesting how high-performing people almost exclusively drive from a place that exists outside of themselves.

The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey- Self 1 and Self 2. Self 1 instructs, Self 2 acts. When we shut off the waterfall of Self 1 and trust in Self 2’s abilities, we become more capable of learning and performing. I’ve read this book three times and take more from it each subsequent time through. If you coach or instruct, I can’t recommend it enough.

Click on the link below to read the rest of the article:

https://coachk.co/2018-reading-list/?fbclid=IwAR0AYgGr_6dajuqCMwQXB-tuiZF35vIpawFbNUvF8WqkuEjCm3RIuY7pPW8

The Mindset of Confidence

By Lindsey Wilson
https://www.positiveperformancetraining.com/blog/the-mindset-of-confidence?fbclid=IwAR3D3R45UC-ftFldpka_YTDkxvvv3ROFcxY3YN3SLAdkbxDDosjA25awy2c


Madi Bugg, Stanford

"Confidence is simply that spiritual space where you feel free to focus on only those things you can control.” - Jerry Lynch, The Way of a Champion

When I was a younger athlete, I believed that my accomplishments would lead to confidence.  That if I did this or accomplished that, I’d walk around with confidence all the time. I remember looking at college athletes, and later, Olympic athletes and thinking, “Wow, they must never doubt themselves or get nervous in a game. They must not mess up during a play they’ve done correctly 1,000 times in practice.” I assumed that if you were ‘that good’ or had accomplished ‘that much’ you were past having to struggle with confidence.

But it’s not that way at all.

What I’ve learned from playing with and against some of the best players in the world, and also from being around multiple high-level athletes from several Olympic sports, is that your confidence will always be tested. There will never be a point when you’ll ‘arrive’ and have it all figured out. One of the beautiful things about sports is that you’re constantly going through ups and downs of a season or a game, and every day you have opportunities to choose how to respond to all types of situations, good or bad.

I’ve learned that when you train your brain in a way that helps you cultivate confidence, the challenges you face become really fun, and your successful experiences become even richer.  The cool part is that your brain is a muscle and you can train it like any other muscle in your body – If you want to build confidence, you can do it with intention, repetition, and with a relentless approach, because change is never easy.

In the end, confidence isn’t something that happens to us, it’s something we choose to invest in.

Here are a few ways that have helped me train myself to play with more confidence.

Click on the link below to read the rest of the article:

https://www.positiveperformancetraining.com/blog/the-mindset-of-confidence?fbclid=IwAR3D3R45UC-ftFldpka_YTDkxvvv3ROFcxY3YN3SLAdkbxDDosjA25awy2c

The Best Sports Books of 2018

By John O'Sullivan
https://changingthegameproject.com/the-best-sports-books-of-2018/
November 26, 2018

Yes, it is that time of year again, time for our favorite books of 2018, and time to get the coaches, parents and athletes in our lives some good holiday reading material. The Changing the Game Project team is always reading, always listening, and always learning, in order to help you take your coaching, parenting, and performance up a notch. This year is no different, as we read and listened to so many great books. As a bonus, we were able to interview almost every author on this list on our podcast, and I have provided a link to the interview as well. Ready to go? Just click on the title or image and you will be transported to Amazon (these are affiliate links, it is the same price for you but we make a few cents per book which helps keep the doors open). Happy holidays!

Our 2018 Book of the Year:

Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones by James Clear

Ever since I read this book, my morning routine has changed. I had the honor of meeting James Clear a few years back when we spoke at the same event, and since then his is one of two weekly blogs that I ALWAYS read each week. He has finally compiled his best stuff into a book, and it is incredible (we also interviewed him for our podcast here). There is a reason this book resides on the NY Times Bestseller list, and it has profoundly influenced my own behaviors. Whether you are an athlete, parent, or coach looking to build some better habits and break some bad ones (aren’t we all?) this book is for you. It is also a great book to listen to on Audible (its free if you have never tried Audible before) so click here to check it out.)

Our 2018 Runner-Up:

What Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen by Kate Fagan

I could not put this book down. As a parent of two almost teenagers, and as a coach of teenagers for over two decades, I believe I have a front row seat into the lives and struggles of today’s kids. But this book opened my eyes even further. It details the tragic story of collegiate runner Maddy Holleran, who took her own life in January 2014 by leaping off a 9-story parking garage in downtown Philadelphia. How could a young woman who seemingly has it all – sports star, academic success, popularity, good looks, you name it – take her own life. Author Kate Fagan was given access to all of Maddy’s emails, texts, social media posts, and more, as she attempted to reconstruct the life, and last days of Maddy. This book was un-put-downable. It is incredibly sad, and incredibly relevant to anyone working with today’s kids. (Click here for the audiobook)

Click on the link below to read the rest of the article:

https://changingthegameproject.com/the-best-sports-books-of-2018/

The Best Bosses Are Humble Bosses

By Sue Shellenbarger

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-best-bosses-are-humble-bosses-1539092123

October 9, 2018

After decades of screening potential leaders for charm and charisma, some employers are realizing they’ve been missing one of the most important traits of all: humility.

In an era when hubris is rewarded on social media and in business and politics, researchers and employment experts say turning the limelight on humble people might yield better results.

Humility is a core quality of leaders who inspire close teamwork, rapid learning and high performance in their teams, according to several studies in the past three years. Humble people tend to be aware of their own weaknesses, eager to improve themselves, appreciative of others’ strengths and focused on goals beyond their own self-interest.

Among employees, it’s linked to lower turnover and absenteeism. These strengths are often overlooked because humble people tend to fly under the radar, making outsiders think it’s their teams doing all the work.

More companies are taking humility into account in making hiring and promotion decisions. Researchers are developing new methods of tracking this low-key trait.

Hogan Assessments, a leading maker of workplace personality tests, plans to unveil a new 20-item scale early in 2019 designed to measure humility in job seekers and candidates for leadership posts, says Ryne Sherman, chief science officer for the Tulsa, Okla., company. The scale will prompt people to agree or disagree with such statements as, “I appreciate other people’s advice at work,” or “I’m entitled to more respect than the average person.”

“Most of the thinking suggests leaders should be charismatic, attention-seeking and persuasive,” Dr. Sherman says. “Yet such leaders tend to ruin their companies because they take on more than they can handle, are overconfident and don’t listen to feedback from others,” he says.

Humble leaders can also be highly competitive and ambitious. But they tend to avoid the spotlight and give credit to their teams, Dr. Sherman says. They also ask for help and listen to feedback from others, setting an example that causes subordinates to do the same.

More employers are also screening entry-level recruits for humility. That’s partly because it predicts ethical behavior and longer tenure on the job, says Adam Miller, chief executive of Cornerstone OnDemand, a Santa Monica, Calif., provider of talent-management software.

The apparel company Patagonia begins scrutinizing job applicants for humility as soon as they walk through the door for interviews. Managers screening new recruits follow up by asking receptionists, “How did they engage at the front desk?” says Dean Carter, global head of human resources for the Ventura, Calif.-based company.

POLL: HOW HUMBLE ARE YOU?

Do you agree or disagree with these statements?

1) I appreciate other people’s advice at work.

2) It’s not my job to applaud others’ achievements.

3) People lose respect when they admit their limitations.

4) I am entitled to more respect than the average person.

5) I do many things better than almost everyone I know.

6) It annoys me when others ignore my accomplishments.

People high in humility tend to agree with Item 1 and disagree with Items 2 through 6.

Source: Hogan Assessment Systems

If staff members report disrespectful or self-absorbed behavior, “that can be a deal killer,” he says. Fostering humility makes employees at all levels feel free to suggest ideas, Mr. Carter says. Humble employees also are more likely to support the company’s mission of helping solve environmental problems.

In interviews, he asks applicants to tell him about a time when they experienced a major failure. “If they say, ‘Wow, let me think about this, because there are a lot of times when I’ve messed things up,’ that says a lot,” he says. “If they have to pick among a lot of humble learning moments, that’s good.”

Indian Hotels, operator of the luxury Taj Hotels in the U.S. and elsewhere, uses Hogan’s assessments, among others, to screen potential leaders. “Humility is an emotional skill leaders need to have,” says P.V. Ramana Murthy, global head of human resources for the Mumbai-based company. Humility gives rise to deep listening, respect for diverse views and a willingness to hear suggestions and feedback, he says.

The company also tries to instill humility in senior executives through coaching and a nine-month training program.

If you think you know which of your colleagues are humble, you could easily be wrong. Humble people don’t flaunt it. And many workers, including arrogant ones, try to be seen as humble and helpful to make a good impression, says Kibeom Lee, a psychology professor at the University of Calgary in Alberta.

Hogan’s new humility scale is based in part on research by Dr. Lee and Michael Ashton, a psychology professor at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario. After reviewing personality research in several languages years ago, they identified a combination of humility and honesty, or what they called the H factor, as a stable personality trait.

It’s marked by a cluster of attributes that appear consistently in some people, including sincerity, modesty, fairness, truthfulness and unpretentiousness. The same people tend to avoid manipulating others, bending the rules or behaving in greedy or hypocritical ways. The H factor is included in a free online personality inventory they developed.

Workplace researchers often rely on subordinates’ reports to assess leaders’ level of humility. In a 2015 study of 326 employees working on 77 teams at a health-care company, researchers asked team members to assess their managers’ humility, based on a scale including their willingness to learn from others or admit when they don’t know how to do something. Team members also assessed their teams’ attitudes and performance.

Teams with humble leaders performed better and did higher-quality work than teams whose leaders exhibited less humility, according to lead researcher Bradley P. Owens, an associate professor of business ethics at Brigham Young University.

The performance gains held up independently of how much team leaders exhibited other positive leadership qualities unrelated to humility. 

Some challenges may call for a different leadership style. For example, employees facing extreme threats or intense time pressure might perform better when a leader takes a more authoritative, top-down approach, Dr. Owens says.

However, companies with humble chief executives are more likely than others to have upper-management teams that work smoothly together, help each other and share decision-making, according to a study of 105 computer hardware and software firms published in the Journal of Management.

Such companies also are likely to have smaller pay gaps between the CEO and other senior executives. These factors predict closer collaboration among all senior executives, which in turn leads to greater companywide efficiency, innovation and profitability, researchers found.

FAMOUS THOUGHTS ON HUMILITY

• ‘The greater thou art, the more humble thyself.’—The Apocrypha
• ‘After crosses and losses, men grow humbler and wiser.’—Benjamin Franklin
• ‘It is fatal to pretend. I prefer to do anything on the quiet rather than boast about it.’—Indira Gandhi
• ‘Where there is patience and humility, there is neither anger nor vexation.’—St. Francis of Assisi
• ‘Life is a long lesson in humility.’—J.M. Barrie

MAKE MENTAL STRENGTH YOUR STRONGEST SKILL – THE ALL BLACKS WAY

By Maria Nokkonen
https://www.gameplan-a.com/2017/03/make-mental-strength-your-strongest-skill/
March 1, 2017


Gilbert Enoka

Much like a conditioning coach focuses on muscles to perform, a mental skills coach looks at what can be done with the mind to aid performance. This is the expertise of Gilbert Enoka who just kicked off his 17th year as the mental skills specialist for the New Zealand rugby team, the All Blacks. Known for their world-beating mental strength, the team has set a record with their three World Cup titles.

With his holistic approach to mental toughness, Enoka helps the current world champions to perform in big moments – but his insights on tapping to the mind’s potential go beyond the pitch.

Let’s talk brain power: What does it take to be an All Black?

Much like in business, it starts with character. If you don’t put the team first, you’ll never make it. We drive the notion of gratitude. When the ego grows too much, it squashes other things in the environment.

The team also has a rich history cultivated by a legacy of success. Our people understand that their role is to continue and enhance that narrative.

The All Blacks have an extraordinary team culture. What’s the secret?

You can have all the strategies in the world, but in the end, what will enable you to overachieve – or underachieve – is your culture.

We nourish the All Blacks culture every day by drawing from our rich Maori heritage. In our cornerstone philosophies, the team towers above the individual. You’ll never succeed on your own, but you will be successful as an individual if the team functions well.

As the custodian of the culture, I make sure everyone has a sense of belonging. When you walk to the pitch, you should feel you belong to this place and that it’s fed and nourished by the people. Too many organizations focus on the vision and values when they should feed a sense of belonging instead, especially if you’re working with a myriad of cultures.

Elite athletes excel in high-pressure situations. Can you share some strategies for thinking clearly under pressure?

There are no magic bullets, but you shouldn’t complicate things either. It’s as simple as understanding your current reality and determining your task. If you stay focused on the process and don’t get overpowered by things that are out of your control, you can navigate through the day.

If I’m an athlete preparing for the World Cup Final and think, “What if we lose? How will my country react?”, it might defeat me. But if I pull back and say, “I’ll get out of bed, do my stretches, have breakfast, go to this meeting,” I’m proceeding step by step.

In business, you’ve got a meeting to nail, a deadline to meet, things to create. If you start thinking about all the possible consequences, you will feel overwhelmed. Dial it down and deal with the first thing on your list. Take control one moment at a time.

Click on the link below to read the rest of the article:

https://www.gameplan-a.com/2017/03/make-mental-strength-your-strongest-skill/