2. Gazing concepts have been delivered to people in a
range of sectors including Business, Sport,
Education, Healthcare, Military and Police.
Who are Gazing
We help people perform under pressure
and get better at what they do.
3. 3
On your paper, please draw the following:
• A line 0----------------100
• A triangle
• 3 circles
Before we begin
4. Mindset and performance: a perspective
Where do you think you are?
Adapting Moving
Stuck
Direction
0% 100%
4
5. The Performance Equation
5
Example
• Learning new
• Focus on familiar
• Remote and virtual
Example
• Accepting the discomfort
• Engaging deliberately
• Connecting with others
Example
• Clear purpose / direction
• Resetting and reframing routines
• Ways to measure progress
UNDER
PRESSURE
Mindset Skillset
Structure
Direction
0% 100%
This session is designed to support you with developing you mindset under pressure
It will introduce a concept and tools that are highly practical and can get you started immediately
Originates form Gazing who work across a range of sectors
to support focus and their general mindset under pressure
Slide timing – 1 minute; total timing – 5 minutes
To get started get everyone to draw the three concepts in the margin of their page
Encourage them to take notes and have some paper available for exercises
If small group allow for introductions
Slide timing – 6 minutes; total timing – 13 minutes
The perspective this session takes is that pressure does impact people. And in different ways, depending on lots of different things….but it is worth starting with this reflection and taking a step back to just really acknowledge that a lot of us will be at different places within the current context of pressure and change.
How would you describe the team / yourself? Which word best describes how you're feeling / where you're at generally?
Acknowledge their responses
The overall goal is to get movement. And its not an all or nothing thing. Under pressure we can lose perspective and think in extremes….it’s a total disaster / or we are brilliant. Results themselves can skewer perspective too. The reality of performance doesn’t always match results …its helpful sometimes just to think about a scale….think of where you feel you are…the goal is always movement
And its worth recognizing that how we are feeling doesn’t always translate into how we are doing in general if were not feeling ok, feeling stuck a bit overwhelmed by pressure then it usually impacts how well we do (at the job or other tasks)
So let’s take a minute to think about where our pressure comes from now..
Slide timing – 8 minutes; total timing – 31 minutes
Debrief top 3 factors from each group
In those days you either do ok or you don’t do so well…and that usually depends quality of structure, skills and mindset
Give or elicit examples
Relate back to adaptation and movement in pandemic…had to really put focus on getting structures and systems in place, had to learn new skills
Let’s take a minute to think about where our pressure comes from now
The main organizing principle in mindset as a skill is ATTENTION
If you want to do well it starts with what you put your attention on
Let’s explore that idea further
Draw 3 circles
List the things you can control
List the things you can control
(give them time circa 5 mins)
Elicit some examples from each person for each side (circa 2 mins)
This is not a new idea
And it’s obvious
Everyone knows that it’s better to focus on what you can control
So does that mean the main skill is don’t worry about…just focus on…
No.
It’s impossible to not think about something….where attention goes can be automatic and responsive…
In the quiet zoom class setting it’s easy to draw out the difference between what we can and can’t control and see where attention should go
But in the heat of the moment….well we can all go there
If we think back to performance terms the goal is to get movement – high performers are able to move fast from losing focus to refocusing – or are able to maintain focus on what they an control
This ability can be developed and improved, and the starting point is having greater awareness of where actually attention is. That means recognizing , accepting and deliberately choosing
This is how we have defined the skill
To help individuals and teams recognize this – where their attention is - we have a map
Its says that attention is either on task or diverted. This isn’t true but it’s a helpful simple dichotomy to make the map clearer.
The premise is that to complete a task well requires attention, to feel more engaged in a task requires attention to be on it
E.g. driving…I might not need to think about it but driving in a new city I might have to concentrate more. And if I'm looking at my cell phone (attention diverted ) I might not do so well
The general characteristics of what's happening in our heads and how were feeling is different based on where our attention is….
When you are in a Red moment, there is an internal dialogue (I can / I can not, this is too much for me, it is not fair). You can feel hot and tense. you are focused on something that has already happened or something that hasn't happened yet.
When you are in the Blue, things are calm, you feel connected and there is less internal dialogue. There can still intensity and emotion, but your mind is present and engaged. You have clarity on what to focus on - you focus on the process rather than the result.
STOP HERE - Ask the audience if they recognize the two heads.
Ask how the image can help (try and get to the answer that it just helps with recognition…which helps with choices. Try and get an answer too that say it’s gives a name to something we all do, and normalizes it, allows us to talk about it - doesn’t have to be a massive drama
Let people reflect on map and ask any questions
Key points to reinforce
It's not all or nothing - we're not always all Red or all Blue. But, the more blue you are, the more likely you are to perform better.
The ability to quickly recognize that we are in the red is the key skill.
Being in the red or blue is a decision. Only you can control your attention.
The key is to be clear about where you are going to put your attention
Under pressure we need to zoom out
Points you should raise proactively
Is the red blue idea just positive and negative thinking.. if not what's the difference?
Don’t you need to have a red head sometimes to perform well?
Now that you know what Red2Blue is…you can integrate it into whatever way you already had to develop your resilience and mentality or begin that journey now
This exercise relates to the fundamental basic element recognition
If the big question is ‘am I red or am I blue’ then this exercise will help you answer it
You can see on the template a number of descriptions feelings / behaviours…maybe some of them apply to you
Maybe you have particular quirks that you are aware of that indicate your red head / blue head
Homework is to try and reflect on that and discuss it with others in the next session
The point is you move from red to blue already…probably done it many times today already. This is just about having a common language for it, normalizing it, and working on it
Slide timing – 1 minute;
Ask individuals to grab the pen tight and try and pick something up/ let the pen go
Metaphor only…but makes the point…the hard bit is letting it go…the accept part of the skill. We get stuck, or try and move forward in the red
Letting go is about zooming out / resetting
Slide timing – 2 minutes;
You can practice doing this
Try it now
Lots of notable well published examples of sports people doing these sorts of rituals
Find a ritual that works in your setting. Practice often
Try this grounding exercise
Might all seem silly but its just a way to get present again, get out of your head and into your body. Take control physiologically of your attention
When under stress bodies can do all sorts of weird things….generally this is a good exercise to counter over excitement / panic
Not recommended if you're feeling flat
Slide timing – 1 minute; total timing – 1 hour 1 minute
Key is to find your own ways for in the moment shifting of attention
In the pack we will send out there are 10 starting exercises to try – the slide shows some that kids use
Main points – being in red doesn’t make you stop completely- (sometimes it can but usually we carry on) but it will impact quality / enjoyment of what you do - can impact others
Sometimes it feels like everything is coming in on top of you (like the red situation circle) …when you can shift attention onto the one thing you can control it will feel different - you'll feel like you're working the problem (like the Me circle)
Its about finding that blue dot under pressure
But…it doesn’t mean it will all feel lovely…accepting the discomfort is part of freeing up your attention. Acknowledging the discomfort doesn’t make it go away but it does allow you to manage it better than pretending its isn’t there
Like the pink elephant example shows its not about not thinking about something…its about shifting attention onto something
And keeping attention fluid – keeping moving
The kayaker here knows what to do (we hope) and will be scanning the scene and making decisions and applying their process
What were your thoughts about the video example?
What did they notice
What score would you give Sully out of 100?
Would you say he was blue head?
Actually, he moved from Red2Blue (in our language)
He describes an initial response of ‘oh no…disbelief, before accepting it was going to be different and committing into to the process…what needs to happen
Slide timing – 3 minutes;
The process though for pilots is very clear
It has to be
Under pressure, they aviate, navigate, communicate. Overview helps the pilot think clearly – zoom out
And in the end all he had to do was fly the plane…he’d made the decision and communicated it so just concentrated in on that
The co pilot was in the manual – check listing the detail trying to restart the engines
Both overview and detail matter (refer to Musashi)
Slide timing – 2 minutes; total timing – 1 hour 18 minutes
That’s why the Blue head is always 2 x Blue – keeping moving between the overview and the detail
The Gazing Principle – zoom out / zoom in
Its not just about concentration on…its about switching attention on, and keeping it moving
Today we have focused on just describing what Red2Blue is…a skill, we can all practice and improve
The overriding organizing principle is control of attention
The skill to practice is recognizing (am I red / blue)
Accepting that you own your response whatever is happening
Working out what you can control
Its not easy, but it is important, and the map can really help normalize and demystify mindset practice.
We do not improve without pressure
Slide timing – 1 minute;
Suggested ways to keep practicing are to use the map, use the tools, do some exercises