#14

Welcome to Weekly Whispers #14

Which whisper did you hear from Week #13?

Did you work out your bias on the other side of the problem?

Have you observed how warmth trumps competence?

When did you notice your language creates consequence?

Did the weekly question hit you hard, like it did me?

Here's what’s struck me this week.

1. Being YOUR best vs. being THE best

Sadly earlier this month an Australian swimming icon passed away - John Konrads. An Australian Olympic legend who went to his first Olympics as a 14-year-old, having only learned to swim a few years earlier, is but the start of an incredible story which this short anecdote won’t do justice.

His swimming hero at the time was Murray Rose - another iconic swimmer. John saw Murray as the BEST and in many ways he was. He was the reigning Olympic Gold medalist from the 1956 Olympic Games. Going into some of the events with that mindset, John commented later in life about how often he underperformed relative to his potential. He was striving to be THE best and that for him was about beating Murray Rose. It was only once he made the mental shift from being THE best (i.e. better than Murray Rose) to being HIS best that he flourished in competition. Granted, sometimes having a worthy competitor drives us further but I wonder how often we strive to be THE best when OUR best could be even better?

2. Seeking novelty, make art, help out

I loved this simple but profound response to the question “What picks you up off the floor when nothing in this world seems to make any sense?”.

Jamie Wheal - who is the Executive Director of The Flow Genome Project and a leading expert in the neurophysiology of human performance – quoted this on a podcast called School of Greatness. Find Part 1 of the full podcast here.

Some relevant interesting reads can be found in Brain World Magazine and The New York Times.

3. Quote of the week: "To leave there you have to go there"

It’s been a turbulent start to the year for me and I’ve been able to stay present enough (sometimes!) to see the gift in the experience. My previous pattern would have been to avoid the discomfort and do something to dilute or appease the feeling. This quote helped me connect the dots backwards.

I’ve become better at sitting with and exploring the feelings and doubts I’ve been having. I’ve been going and staying there. The insight for me is that having gone there, sat with it, built a relationship with it, welcomed it, I’m now in a place to leave it either behind or alongside.

4. Question of the Week: How is the problem different when you look at it from…BLANK?

60,000ft; 10 years from now; inside it; a 4yo perspective etc.

Questions help us gain perspective in different ways. What if you looked at your problem, challenge, or issue from a different perspective? Hence the BLANK. You can fill the BLANK with anything you want. I’ve added some suggestions but the best answer is whatever allows you to see a different perspective on the problem you think you have.

5. Freedom Fridays - My weekly experiment with time and focus

My intention is to openly share a change I’m making within my life. I’m hoping you can take the lessons learnt and apply it to any change you want to make.

This week was predominantly all about Thursday!

Check out Episode #12.

That's all for this week and I hope you enjoyed Weekly Whisper #14.

Feedback is my fuel so if you have any comments please hit reply and let me know your thoughts.

Cheers

Pete