What if you decided to PLAY BIG?

Have you ever gave a BIG speech or presentation and wished you had someone there to guide you?!

Bronwyn does that! 

She helps people give the talk of their lifetime...TED talks, CNN, American Idol, etc.

Bronwyn and I sat down for a podcast interview, where she asked me a ton of questions to empower people to get out of their own way and BE the BEST version of themselves.

The interview was
...fun
...inspiring
...and packed full of mindset tips and trick that'll you get you thinking like a champion. 

If you haven't listened to any of the podcasts I've been on, I DEFINITELY recommend listening to this one. Click Here. 
 
Or...if you feel like reading rather than listening, then see what Bronwyn has to say about our interview below... 
 
"In today’s episode, I ask Dr. Chris things I’ve always wanted to know, like:

… how important is meditation, really?
… how do you get a runner to push past mile 45 in an ultra-marathon?
… how do you arrest a full-blown freak out happening to a climber who’s facing a terrifying obstacle, high above the ground?

And more importantly, are any of these techniques transferable to us average folks??
 
I LOVED this conversation, and I learned some new techniques that are pushing me to higher ground.

AND my hope is that listening to this episode will do the same for you.
 
Click here to listen to my conversation with Dr. Chris Heilman.
​
 Show Notes:
We covered a lot of ground in this conversation, but here are the ideas and tidbits that really knocked me out:

• Want to have the biggest possible impact on the world? Become the best version of yourself. What tends to hold most of us back are the stories we tell ourselves about what is possible. And while some of these stories are designed to keep us safe, some of them are outdated, misguided and downright false. And while we can’t control a whole lot in this lifetime, we can control our ability to sift through these stories to sort the useful from the hurtful.
• Thought patterns really do have physical consequences. Chris’s exercise using the “strength test” is an eye-opening experiment to see just how much our thought patterns influence the amount of physical strength we bring to bear in a situation.
• I loved hearing about Chris’s approach to dealing with negative thoughts. She calls her own negative mental storyteller “Bob” which is an acronym for “Big Old Bully.” Sometimes Bob shows up with some really vital guidance to keep you safe. But sometimes Bob is just there to mess with you, and to keep you playing small. I dug her approach to working with Bob so that she can peacefully co-exist with this aspect of herself. “Bob is a guest you can choose to welcome in, or slam the door if the situation demands it.” The key is to be in a good position to distinguish which strategy is right for the situation. 
• What if you accidentally let Bob in, even though you know it was the wrong call, and now you’re freaking out?? According to Dr. Chris, you hit Bob with the Triple A’s: Acknowledge. Accept. Act. First, acknowledge that you are having an attack of negative thinking. Don’t push it away or bury it. Call it what it is. Next, accept it. It’s ok and it’s perfectly natural for negativity to arise, especially if you’re attempting to play big. Be kind to yourself. Lastly, act. What can you do right now to improve your situation? This takes us into a place of choice and strength. Before you know it, Bob will be on his way out the door. Here's a link to a terrific blog post Dr. Chris wrote on this topic. 
• Joy drives excellence. Finding joy can seem like a luxury item, but it’s the key to peak performance. How might you find ways to incorporate more joy and pleasure into any aspect of your life you’re trying to improve on?
• Begin experimenting with listening to your own intuition, which is its own form of intelligence. Train yourself to notice when something “feels light or heavy.”
•  “ACE” your  Performance:  Attitude, Concentration, Enjoyment. 

ATTITUDE Before you begin something: check in with your attitude, because as Chris said, “Your attitude determines your altitude.” Your self-talk will determine your success (or lack thereof). If you find that your attitude is in the toilet, ask yourself what you need in order to get into a better head space. Do you need to wallow for a bit? Set a timer for 3 minutes and lean in to the wallowing. Or go for a walk, or listen to music that makes you feel good. Give yourself what you need, and then get back to business.
 
CONCENTRATION: Wherever your focus goes, everything follows. Do what you can to block out interruptions, and stay as present as possible. Before you begin something, ask yourself, how might I guard my focus and concentration?
 
ENJOYMENT: Ask yourself: how can I put a smile on my face right now? “Lose your mind and come to your senses.” Instead of indulging in negative self-talk, look around … what do you see? What do you hear? What can you feel?

​

• Meditation is key to peak performance. But it doesn’t have to be hard. Even a 1-minute breathing exercise (see below) counts as meditation. Choose a simple technique and stick with it every day. At first, it won’t seem like it’s having much of an impact, but trust that the benefits are pretty major, but they happen over time.
• Final thought … take a minute to ask yourself two questions: 

1. How am I playing small?
2. What would it look like if I decided to play big?
​
 Resources mentioned during our conversation:

• Connect with Dr. Chris via Instagram and Facebook @mindsetdr
• 5, 4, 3 Meditation: Take a walk and mentally name 5 things you can see, then 5 things you can feel, and 5 things you can hear. Next, name 4 things you can see, feel and hear. Lastly, name 3 things you can see, feel and hear. By the end of this exercise, you will feel far more present and engaged. I LOVE doing this meditation while I’m walking my dog.
• Square Breathing Technique: Close your eyes. Get centered. Make sure your seat bones have equal weight, and your spine is nice and long. Head should be equally balanced on shoulders, and go ahead and roll them up and down your back, just noticing your breathing. Don’t change anything, just notice. Next, imagine a square in your mind’s eye. Any color that you want (mine is rainbow). Notice all four sides of the square, as well as each of the four corners. Begin by bringing your attention to TOP left hand corner. Inhale and breathe down left-hand side. Pause at corner. Exhale across the bottom. Pause. Inhale up the right. Pause. Exhale across the top. Repeat. Then try and turn it into a rectangle by lengthening out the exhale, which triggers your “rest and digest” reflex—the opposite of the fight or flight reaction. Inhale for four, exhale for 4-8 seconds, pause. Repeat. I swear, I feel like I’ve had a nap after I do this for a few minutes."

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​What People Are Saying...

"I’d have to say that the part [podcast interview] that stuck out or I related to the most was when you chatted on hitting “Bob” with the “Triple A’s”. I find it extremely beneficial in my personal and professional life…a balance I struggle with often but your techniques are helping me play big in a safe way for me :)"  -Katie

"Just tuned in on my commute home. Loved it!" -Jocelyn

"You are a marvel...I have been putting so much of this wisdom to use!!! Thank you for being you!!!" -Brownyn

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