I was brainwashed today

For eight hours today I listened to this guy in my Increasing Human Effectiveness training, along with 40 people from various departments in my company. Eric Boles started the day off telling us he was going to brainwash us. My initial reaction, as usual at these training events, was "I hope to God there isn't any role playing, I hate role playing!".

My manager signed me up for this training about six months ago and said it would be good for me. I took it as some sort of insult, thinking she was insinuating I wasn't "effective". I looked around the room today and recognized several people, including supervisors, managers and even a couple directors. Of the people I knew, I would consider them all high achievers. I don't put myself in that category at all, but it eased my concerns that I was there because my manager thinks I'm an idiot.

I was surprised it turned out to be an amazing day. It was very informative, interesting and filled with useful information. Eric is a very dynamic speaker and what surprised me the most was that he didn't talk at all about work stuff.

The main focus was goal setting in our personal life, avoiding negative self-talk (using positive self-talk instead), and building our self-confidence and self-esteem (I'm terrible at all of these things). Eric used examples from his own personal life, football, his marriage that almost ended after two years (he's been married for 16 years), and getting fired from the NFL after playing for the New York Jets and the Green Bay Packers for three seasons. He also mention weight loss and getting to goal weight several times. It was great training, more for my personal life, which I guess they hope I'll figure out how to use in my work life.

I wish every person I know could go through this training, especially those of us trying to lose weight. Most of us suffer from poor self-esteem and a lack of self-confidence, and definitely negative self-talk (you know who you are).

Here are a couple tidbits I got from the training today:

1.) Our internal world (our subconscious) and our external world (our conscious self) must match. This is why willpower alone cannot help us succeed. If we tell ourselves we're a failure then we will be a failure.

The example Eric used was if you're trying to be healthy and stay in shape, but you don't see yourself as healthy and in shape, then you will fail. You will be who you see yourself as being. If you think of yourself as fat and lazy, all the willpower in the world won't work. Even if you lose weight, but on a subconscious level you still see yourself as a fat, unhealthy person, you will eventually make that belief come true. Boy did this one ever hit home with me.

2.) Negative self-talk. Are you your biggest cheerleader? Your mind can't distinguish if you're saying something or if someone else is saying it. Your mind hears the words and sees the pictures, it doesn't care or know where it comes from. Words can kill dreams, even your own words.

Eric used an example of when he was a rookie with the New York Jets. It was his first time out, and he was a wide receiver. He remembers thinking "don't drop the ball, don't drop the ball". He said he imagined trying to catch the ball, and dropping it, and the crowd booing him. He told himself over and over NOT to do this, do NOT drop the ball. He could even feel the humiliation and embarrassment. This was all before the play even started, and when it did, he dropped the ball. He said your mind doesn't hear "don't" all it hears is "drop the ball". He said he rehearsed it perfectly, dropping the ball and all the emotions that went with it. His mind was only following through on what it saw, him dropping the ball.

This reminded me of how many times I've lost weight and told myself over and over, "don't gain the weight back". And you know what, every time I gain the weight back. Instead, I should focus on continuing to eat healthy and exercising, and not focus on the "don't gain the weight back".

I could go on for hours about what I learned today. I was totally brainwashed, but it was a good brainwashing. I needed it.

PS--my car is totalled and the insurance adjuster guy can't believe I wasn't hurt. He said I must have could genes (huh? what does that mean?). Now I have to go car shopping which doesn't thrill me. Just what I don't really want to do, buy a new car when the company I work for is laying off people.