Your mind can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Every day your mind can sabotage your performance, well-being, and relationships. Most of your stress, anxiety, and unhappiness are caused by automatic negative reactions generated by the survival part of your brain. This article will empower you with tools to handle life's challenges with a positive mindset. You will learn how to overcome burnout and imposter syndrome while reducing stress and anxiety. You will also discover a path to tap into new levels of peace, calm, and joy. These skills will help you become more resilient for anything life brings your way.
The Research Of Positive Intelligence
Before I dive into the process and share some powerful tools, I want to know that what I’m teaching today is based on my training as a Certified Positive Intelligence Coach (CPQC). I often use the term Mental Fitness Coach which is used by many PQ coaches to describe the work we do with our clients. The program builds mental muscles in the same way that physical fitness builds physical muscles - with daily exercises and practices that train your mind to have a growth mindset.
Positive Intelligence is a program that is composed of research-based Neuroscience, Cognitive Behavioral Psychology, Performance Science, and Positive Psychology. You might also see it called PQ which is the phrase for the measurement of your Positivity Quotient (PQ).
The program is based on research with more than 500,000 participants from 50 countries, including CEOs, students, elite athletes, and sales, operations, and technology teams. The PQ Program is currently being used by hundreds of teams across leading global organizations, such as Stanford University, Google, Microsoft, and Pinterest.
It is a highly effective tool for people in the corporate world but I have also seen incredible benefits for clients from a wide range of backgrounds, including teachers, nurses, students, parents, retired couples, and business owners.
I’ve been working as a Positive Intelligence Coach over the past 4 years and using their program to help my clients overcome debilitating self-sabotaging beliefs such as imposter syndrome. Most clients see improvements in all areas of their personal and professional lives and their relationships.
The Foundation
Mental Fitness is your capacity to respond to life’s challenges with a positive rather than negative mindset. You can achieve high levels of mental fitness through powerful daily practices within my step-by-step program.
Here are a few key definitions of terms I’ll be talking about today.
Imposter Syndrome - A negative feeling of self-doubt of intellect, skills, or accomplishments, that is based on internal thoughts, not facts. This is just one form of self-sabotage, but what you learn today will help you with any type of limiting beliefs.
Positive Intelligence - An indication of the control you have over your mind and how well your mind acts in your best interest. Your level of Positive Intelligence determines how much of your true potential you achieve. It’s also the name of the Organization that trains coaches to use their system with clients
PQ - The Positivity Quotient is how your positive intelligence or mental fitness is measured. This is similar to how your IQ measures intelligence. Ideally, a person has a PQ of 70% or higher to be able to handle life's challenges without added stress. Most clients see a big improvement in their PQ score within the first 8 weeks. To sustain the level of mental fitness you need to continue practicing, just the way you do with physical fitness.
Mental Fitness - Your capacity to respond to life’s challenges with a positive rather than a negative mindset. When you achieve mental fitness you feel more calm and peaceful and experience joy in the present moment.
Saboteurs - The negative thought patterns that helped you survive but are likely no longer serving you. Saboteurs are responsible for most of your self-doubt, fears, anxiety, and stress and they are where your limiting beliefs originate from.
The Judge & Accomplice Saboteurs - 10 thought patterns that can also contribute to imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and lack of confidence. The Judge is the master saboteur and activates the other saboteurs when you feel stressed or challenged. These patterns were your original protectors and they are a part of your survival and coping mechanisms. However, they are often overly active and need to be managed so that you can achieve more balance and calm in your life.
Sage - The flip side of your saboteurs. Your inner wisdom generates positive emotions while handling life’s challenges. The thought patterns that originate in the part of your brain that generates possibilities and positive emotions. When you learn mental fitness exercises, you learn to activate and use this part of your brain more often.
Now that you have a basic understanding of the program and the terms, here's how this program can help you.
Your Mind Is Powerful
Do you ever suddenly realize that you are lost deep in negative thoughts? You might feel anxious or nervous about something and your mind is babbling on like a broken record spinning you out of control with all the negative outcomes and worse-case scenarios. This seems natural to you because that's "how you prepare yourself for something going wrong."
However, that way of thinking is what is causing most of your stress and anxiety, It could also be keeping you from achieving your true potential because you might be too nervous to raise your hand for a new job. Or it could be creating friction in relationships, because you might be so anxious before you have a conversation that you are already upset before any words are exchanged.
The first step to breaking old patterns is always awareness. You need to bring unconscious behaviors into the front of your mind. You need to recognize that they are happening before you can change them.
When you learn to challenge these thoughts, you will be set free from these outdated habits that are keeping you stuck. You can learn about your patterns through 2 short assessments. I'll share some links and resources for you at the end of this article.
Most attempts at positive change fail because we stop at insight and don’t build habits. Sustained change towards a more positive mind requires laying down neural pathways to form new habits through consistent daily practice. And that’s what the PQ Program empowers you to do.
How It Works
Daily Practice: 15 minutes/day of app-guided practice enables you to build stronger mental muscles (neural pathways). These exercises are bite-sized to fit your busy schedule and customized based on how you self-sabotage.
Weekly Focus: The weekly hour-long video delivers a deep experiential exploration of the week’s focus. You’ll feel inspired and energized to practice during the week to sustain the benefits experienced during the video sessions.
Measurable Progress: You’ll feel motivated through instant feedback on exactly how much progress you’re making toward building the three core muscles of mental fitness. Brain rewiring may be visible in MRI imaging within eight weeks.
Community Support: I'll help you establish a support and accountability group with other program participants. Research has shown this to be a critical success factor for establishing lasting new positive habits of the mind.
The 8-Week Foundation Program
Build your foundation of mental fitness by strengthening three critical mental muscles to shift the balance of power from your inner Saboteurs (your negative self) to your inner Sage (your positive self).
Week 1-2: Orientation and Self-Command Muscle
Through a breakthrough process called PQ Reps, you get to boost your Self-Command muscle. Each PQ Rep only takes 10 seconds and can be done with eyes open or closed. With each PQ Rep, you develop greater mastery over your mind, quiet the negative, and activate the positive region of your brain. Week 3-4: Saboteur Interceptor Muscle
You get to intercept your top Saboteurs the moment they try to hijack your thoughts, feelings, and actions. In preparation for this practice, you get to expose the lies, limiting beliefs, and damage of your Saboteurs, so they can no longer fool you into thinking they are helpful to you.
Week 5-8 Sage Muscle and Life Applications
You get to practice the Sage Perspective that every problem or challenge can be converted into a gift and opportunity. You get to generate the gift through the 5 Sage Powers of Empathize, Explore, Innovate, Navigate, and Activate.
Lifelong Applications
Positive Intelligence is an operating system with many applications. The PQ Program helps you develop your three core mental muscles over just six weeks.
Upgrade at any time afterward to unlock new modules that enable you to use those muscles for a variety of work and life applications.
What Makes The PQ Program Different
Focus on Habit Formation: Most trainings result in short-lived improvements. For sustained results, we focus on building neural pathways that form lasting new habits. That’s why we call this “mental fitness.”
Treat Root Cause, Not Symptoms: Our factor analysis research has revealed the foundational root-level enablers and disablers of optimal performance and well-being. We rewire the brain at the root cause level.
Develop All Three Core Muscles: Mental fitness requires three core muscles. Saboteur Interceptor, Self-Command, and Sage. Meditation only focuses on Self-Command, which is why it is not sustained by most.
One Operating System, Many Applications: Through factor analysis, we’ve discovered the core operating system of the mind that can run a massive variety of work and life applications. One simple operating system, with many applications.
A Platform for Ongoing Growth: Similar to physical fitness, mental fitness is not a short-term training. After the initial six-week foundation, unlock a variety of work and life applications to continue your growth.
Research-Based, Measurable Results: Our research has included more than a million participants from around the globe. Our tools have been field-tested with thousands of tough-minded participants, ensuring their efficacy.
Get Started!
Imagine yourself able to remain calm, clear-headed, stress-free, and positive even while handling work and life’s greatest challenges.
What becomes possible for you, in achievement, in peace of mind and wellness, and your relationships?
Commit now to boost your mental fitness.
I offer this program to private clients in a one-to-one setting. This is a four-month program designed to help you navigate a challenging transition in your life.
I also offer several group programs a year. You will be enrolled as a cohort and will get support in a community setting on Zoom calls with me as your guide.
New this September I am offering this program to a small group for an in-person collaboration with a local fitness organization! Learn about Resilience here!
To enroll in any of these programs the first step is to schedule a free consultation call.
I'm excited to meet you!
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