Establishing a strategy of focusing on a step-by-step process to accomplish goals is an important consideration within the Practices of the Healthcare Athlete.
Dr. Darin Davidson partners with Learner+, a CME/CE reflective learning platform for healthcare providers. For the opportunity to reflect on this article and earn CME/CE credits, Launch here. Check out all past articles which are also eligible for reflections and CME/CE credits.
For downloadable, actionable strategies and tactics to leverage biology in the pursuit of health, wellbeing, and sustainable high performance, visit the resource store, Launch here. Chapters are arranged by topic so those of interest can be selected and each are also eligible for reflections and CME/CE credits through Learner+.
Across all domains of our life, as well as in the pursuit of health, wellbeing, and sustainable high performance, we are often faced with situations in which we are trying to achieve large and long term goals. At times these goals, particularly when significant, can seem insurmountable. In addition, many of the larger objectives we may have across any domain of our life may be too big to accomplish in one specific sitting or over the short term. Some of these goals may require multiple steps each contingent upon accomplishing the prior objective. In these situations it is often the case that the large nature of the objective may lead to a sense of being overwhelmed by the overall task or feeling as though there are too many steps to accomplish prior to achieving the ultimate goal.
The above scenario is all too familiar in high level competitive and professional sports. It is also frequently encountered in the pursuit of health and wellbeing, which is a long-term objective contingent upon numerous short term goals. Given the ubiquitous nature of these types of situations, it is important that we establish an actionable strategy in order to best manage our efforts as we attempt to move along the path towards accomplishing and achieving these goals.
As discussed throughout this article series, when we encounter cues of uncertainty, risk, and threat, this is often accompanied by shifts in our biological state towards activated, attacking, anxious, overwhelmed, and shutdown states. When this occurs our ability to perform at our highest level decreases and we are unable to optimally restore and recover, thereby detrimentally impacting our overall health. It is therefore important that we maintain anchored and grounded states to the greatest extent possible and also develop the ability to shift back to these states in situations when we have shifted away from them. This capacity optimizes our ability to be at our best across all domains, including the pursuit of health, wellbeing, and sustainable high performance.
When we are faced with working towards achieving large and long-term goals, this can be accompanied by feelings of overwhelm given the inherent nature of these goals. If we are to best position ourselves to accomplish these goals, however, it is essential that we avoid shifting away from anchored and grounded states. In order to best be able to maintain anchored and grounded states in these situations, it is important to develop actionable strategies and tactics to facilitate this.
Within the framework provided by the Practices of the Healthcare Athlete, a useful strategy to implement when we are working towards large and long-term goals is to focus on the process. What is meant by this is that rather than placing attention on the overall objective and long-term outcome, we place our attention and prioritize our focus on the immediate step in front of us. By focusing on the immediate next task, we are able to best position ourselves to achieve and accomplish that task, thereby allowing us to progress along the journey towards accomplishing our ultimate goal in a sequential fashion. Inherent within this approach is the need to first breakdown our overall long term objectives into more manageable short-term goals. We can then place our attention on what is directly in front of us rather than utilizing energy and resources considering and contemplating larger objectives which we are not able to accomplish in that given moment.
The above strategy is very effective, particularly when we are contemplating an attempt to pursue large and long-term goals. It is important that we also leverage our biology consistent with this strategy. If we are to successfully place our attention and focus on the immediate task in front of us, it is necessary that we do so from anchored and grounded states. As discussed above, when we are considering larger and long-term goals, the very nature of these objectives can lead to feelings of overwhelm in response to cues of uncertainty, risk, and threat. These are frequently related to our ability to accomplish a significant or long-term objective. If we are to become stuck in these cognitive loops considering the magnitude of the task ahead of us, it is often the case that this will lead to shifts away from anchored and grounded states. This can lead to becoming locked in overwhelmed and shutdown states. This is the very antithesis of what is necessary in these situations.
The above understanding reflects the importance of strengthening our anchored and grounded states and improving nervous system flexibility. The combination of these two abilities allows us to more often remain in anchored and grounded states as well as shift back to those states when we experience the inevitable shifts into protective and defensive states. This overall strategy best positions us to place our full attention and resources on the task at hand, which then allows us to sequentially proceed towards the larger and long term goal or objective.
It is also important to consider that when we identify situations in which we become preoccupied with the eventual longer term larger objective and are accompanied by feelings of anxiousness or overwhelm that we implement body-based skills so that we are able to return to anchored and grounded states. The feeling of overwhelm, which can frequently accompany rumination regarding longer term or significant goals, is an indicator that we have shifted away from anchored and grounded states. The recognition of this biological state shift is an important step in allowing us to restore anchored and grounded states using body-based skills. This then allows us to regain the optimal biological platform for pursuing our goals.
When we are working within groups or teams, it is important that all members subscribe to the same strategy. When this occurs, a situation evolves in which the overall culture of the group or team is optimized in working towards the eventual goal. This allows each individual within the group or team to be at their best as well as the collective whole to also perform at its highest level. The important topic of culture within groups or teams has been discussed in a past article. The emphasis on the task at hand is another important element within a successful team culture.
A previous article discussed the framework provided by the Practices of the Healthcare Athlete to optimally manage big moments. It was discussed how an emphasis on treating each moment as similar in nature could inevitably lead to situations in which we would shift away from anchored and grounded states. This is on account of our physiologic reactions overriding our psychological skills. It was described in that article that by implementing body-based skills, particularly in the moments when we identify a shift out of anchored and grounded states, that we are able to restore these states thereby optimizing our biology towards high performance. By focusing on the task at hand and the immediate process to accomplish short term objectives, we are better able to avoid shifts away from anchored and grounded states. This occurs on account of reducing the potential for feelings of overwhelm when considering the overall magnitude of the situation or task.
The strategy of breaking down significant and large long-term goals into component parts which can be sequentially accomplished is an important strategy within the overall framework of the Practices of the Healthcare Athlete. This applies to the pursuit of health, wellbeing, and sustainable high performance. In order to optimally implement this strategy, it is necessary to strengthen anchored and grounded states and optimize nervous system flexibility to leverage biology and provide the best platform for accomplishing these goals.
To learn more, including about biologically complementary coaching for healthcare professionals and others in high demand domains, please visit www.darindavidson.com.
Dr. Darin Davidson partners with Learner+, a CME/CE reflective learning platform for healthcare providers. For the opportunity to reflect on this article and earn CME/CE credits, Launch here. Check out all past articles which are also eligible for reflections and CME/CE credits.
For downloadable, actionable strategies and tactics to leverage biology in the pursuit of health, wellbeing, and sustainable high performance, visit the resource store, Launch here. Chapters are arranged by topic so those of interest can be selected and each are also eligible for reflections and CME/CE credits through Learner+.