Administrative Assistant's Update

september 2014 2 business: It's a mind game I'm a reasonably good social tennis player—I can usually hold my own. But this summer I went through a major slump. I lost seven ladder matches in a row. In a row. It got so that if you could hold a racquet and you were breathing, you could win against me. I was getting killed by people I should have easily beaten. That's when I knew the problem wasn't so much with my physical conditioning as it was with my men- tal conditioning. I was going into a game telling myself I was going to get beaten. In other words, I had lost before I'd even played the match. And with that mindset, I couldn't possibly win. I had two options. I could either quit playing or I could figure things out and fix my mental game. I de- cided to do the latter. I Googled "tennis mental game choking" and came up with a great article that had some good tips on how to maintain a winning mindset. As you'll see from the tips, which were in an article on TennisMind- Game.com, they can be applied not only to tennis, but to life and work. 1) Control your thoughts. A large part of the problem is negative thinking. You tell yourself you can't do it, and that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The article suggests you counter every negative thought with a positive one. As soon as you hear the little voice inside your head say "you're going to screw this up," tell it to pipe down. "I can do it!" It may sound corny, but it will work. The article points to several big-name tennis players including Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova, who actually keep up a stream of constant encourage- ment to themselves as they play. "Good shot. Nice one. You can do it. Let's get this next one, now." That's something you can say to yourself right before a meet- ing or a presentation. "They're going to love it. You've got this. Everyone's on your side," you can remind yourself. 2) Warm up. Another way to ensure that you go into your match with a positive mindset is to warm up really well beforehand. In busi- ness, that means rehearsing what you're going to say before you say it. Try out your presentation in front of a real audience—even if it's only your spouse. Or, if you can't find a willing victim, simply saying your presentation out loud and letting yourself hear it is a great way to "warm up." 3) Shake off your tension. Bounce a few times on the balls of your feet and shake your limbs to get them loosened up. It's amazing how this will take you out of your own head and into your body; when you're loose you're calmer. I actually tried this during a recent match and it worked really well. Presentation guru Marty Clarke suggests putting a rub- ber band around your wrist, and right before your presentation giving it a good snap. It will hurt, but it'll transfer your focus out of your head to your body and that's what you want. The tennis article also suggested taking a few slow, deep breaths. When you panic, your breathing speeds up which in turn increases your sense of panic. When you slow down your breathing, you slow down your thoughts as well, and become calmer. 4) Think it through. Lastly, the article suggests you follow your fears through to the worst-case scenario. Let's say you lose your tennis match badly (or blow your presentation). What's the worst that will happen? Will you lose your job? Likely not. Will you be embarrassed? Probably, but you can live with that. Realistically, even if you say something stupid in your presentation, it will be a short-lived issue that will pass. Administrative Assistant's Update is published once a month by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. EDITOrIal OffICE v joycegrant@sympatico.ca S (416) 656-7796 U Joyce Grant, Editor Administrative Assistant's Update Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. 1 Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Road Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 CuSTOmEr SErvICE S (416) 609-3800 (800) 387-5164 T FAX (416) 298-5082 (877) 750-9041 v carswell.customerrelations@ thomsonreuters.com Contents copyright. All rights reserved. © 2014 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. Contents may not be reproduced without written permission. Brief extracts may be made with due acknowledgement. Annual subscription: $189. Publications Mail Registration No. 40065782 GST# 897176350 UPDATE Administrative Assistant's F R O M T H E E D I TO R Joyce Grant Continued on page 6

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