Seven Ways to Access Peak PerfomanceWritten by Susan Dunn, M. A.
1. Practice. Obviously if you want to learn to play piano, you have to practice, but studies show that mental practice may be as important as physical practice. Visualize yourself performing act you have in mind perfectly, and you'll come closer to it. Mental rehearsal can improve your self-confidence and your attitude toward what you want to do is very important. 2. Studies show that emotion plays a part in learning and memory. A basic example of this is touching a hot stove--it hurts, so you tend to learn it immediately and forever. Anxiety is another emotion that makes a difference, because if you're anxious you can't concentrate well. It stands to reason, therefore, that increasing your emotional intelligence (EQ)--your ability to handle your emotions and those of others--will affect your ability to learn and to perform.Also learn to control your self-talk; it's crucial in your ability to learn and to perform. If you start out saying "I can't do this" or "I hate this" it's going to affect your ability to assimilate new information and to perform. 4. Strengthen your 'brain muscle' with exercise. Try HappyNeuron for some happy stimulation. Try new things. Work puzzles and mazes. Increase your reaction time. Increase your flexibility by broadening into areas you aren't familiar with. Drive to work a new way. Dip into a field you know nothing about. Talk to someone you ordinarily wouldn't talk to. Learn a new language. 'You don't know what you don't know' so expand into those areas and find out what you really don't know. Use it or lose it; your brain needs stimulation and new things. When you learn something new, you're actually forming new pathways. Give yourself plenty of "brain food." Take a course. Learn a new motor skill. Keep yourself out and about. Be open to trying and learning new things. Learning something new makes it easier to learn something new! And do 'meta-practice'--practice adjusting to new things.
| | 10 Ways to Develop Your IntuitionWritten by Susan Dunn, Coach
Intuition is innate to all of us; it's hard-wired. To develop this crucial lifeskill and learn how to trust it takes practice. Here are some ways to do that.1. Suspend disbelief. 2. Be relaxed and not in a hurry. Nothing grows well when it's rushed. 3. Don't try to use willpower or force. 4. Some people's intuitive ability increases if they ask an inantimate object (a rock, a leaf, whatever)to "give" them information. (It takes pressure off!) 5. Establish a regular place, time and routine for practising accessing your intuition. 6. Start slowly and practice on inconsequential things.
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