Tag Archives for " Exercise "

Add Performance: Stop Settling for Change and Behavior

“Add performance” – Raj Gavurla

                                                              kpi behavior change ahead

People do not like change. First off, it implies something is wrong. Have you heard comments such as “you need to change”, “you need to change your behavior”, or “attitude” without a comment on how to do so? President Obama was a change candidate and so was Donald Trump. A CEO often is hired to create positive change or a turnaround. Many mergers and acquisitions have pursued this reason as well. It happens in sports. I asked my brother-in-law why did the Houston Oilers not keep Bum Phillips? He said they wanted a change. Bum had led two of his teams to the brink of a Superbowl. After being terminated, the Oilers declined for a very long time. All for the sake of change. Change is inevitable, however, there better be more at stake than preserving the status quo or making the numbers look good.

An example is shooting a better golf score when you have to clear the water from the fairway to land on the green. If you practice changing behaviors of how not to hit the water, you’ll improve but not add to your performance (better). You’re using an outdated form of Taylorism that studies and analyzes each piece instead of a better way to achieve your objective(s).

So what’s the solution to change and changing behaviors which are more palatable? The solution is “add performance”. In any situation, whether good or bad follow it with the words “add performance”. Sure, changing behaviors is needed but there is too much emphasis put on changing the behaviors instead of emphasis being placed on “added performance”.

Therefore, for our golf example use “add performance” to hit the ball onto the green. Use imagery to visualize the ball hitting the green and your mind and body will automatically make the necessary adjustments. You don’t need to study each cell and neuron in your body to orient them the right way. Focus on the “added performance”.

In business when deciding on investing in an initiative, does it add value to your organization, do your employees see it of value, and does it generate a good ROI. Use this as a barometer for your initiative and you’ll experience less uninformed political anarchy and useless conflict.

So, do you want clients? Then, “add performance”. Do you want to make high-value money? Then, “add performance”. Do you want health? Then, “add performance”. Do you want a cure? Then, “add performance”. Do you want to lose weight? Then, “add performance”. Do you want a better relationship? Then, add performance.  Do you want to stop being tired or fatigued? Then, “add performance”. Do you want a faster run? Then, “add performance”. Do you want your kids to make better grades? Then, “add performance”. Do you want a championship? Then, “add performance”. Do you want a better job? Then, add performance.

“We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.” – Carlos Castaneda

For programs and services, contact Raj at 864.569.2315, raj@rajgavurla.com.

FORWARD PERFORMANCE IS COUNTERINTUITIVE

“Breaking through a performance barrier is counterintuitive.” – Raj Gavurla

yoursuccesisourgoal

Look outside!  Did you plant those trees, create the sky, the clouds, warmth of the sun, birds, grass, air, and those mountains?  Your answer is “no”.  My special news for you is “there are no days off from living”.  Believe me, you know why.

In my performance, entrepreneurial leadership, and sports/athletic coaching/consulting, I use to hear from my clients, “I had a bad day”.  “I was off today.” No way!  When clients receive coaching and complete their Your Raise The Bar Primer: Mental Performance Tools workbook they soon realize what I mean.  Daily, I have them rate their day.

An example of their choices and the criteria we agree upon in our session might look like the following:

Auspicious Day

Today is my birthday!  Any grand occasion is permissive.  Think birthdays of family, anniversaries, graduations, a spiritual occurrence, special recognition (awards), end of a project, a big win, your firsts, and holidays.  Do my exercises and stretches.

Robust Day

The list is private to me, however, some items are when I have “unexpected success”.  It’s the easiest type of success. When I learn and apply what I learned for better performance. I take what I’ve been working on to the next level.  I meditate, do my exercises, and stretches.

Perfect Day

The list is private to me, however, when I do my exercises and stretches, eat right, work, and have something restful, relaxing, fun and enjoyable in the evening.  Came up with a “creative innovative inventive entrepreneurial idea”.  I meditate.

Very Good Day

The list is private to me, however, when I accomplish a perfect day without coming up with a “creative innovative idea”.  I work, eat right, do my exercises, and stretches.

Good Day

The list is private to me, however, when something takes longer than expected or usual and I finally figure it out.  I do my exercises and stretches.

Not So Good Day

The list is private to me, however, anything bad that happens to me or someone I know.  Also, my computer crashes etc.  I didn’t do my exercises and stretches.

My Star

Then I complete “my star” in my workbook by filling in a “new record”, building a relationship forever, and/or “I met someone new” and had a real conversation with them.  Success!

I also pray throughout the day when I need or want to.  Now, you won’t ever have a “day off from living” or a “bad day”.  After sessions with my client, they begin to see how to really use my workbook. They become forward performing instead of “negative” towards them self or others.  I’ll repost this on Monday, however, I wanted to give you a high-value target on my birthday, an auspicious day.  Apply the practical learning.

Stop Struggling Or Suffering: Personalize A Positive Not A Negative

“Personalize a positive not a negative.” – Raj Gavurla

Struggling or Suffering

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To stop struggling or suffering we must learn to stop internalizing things and instead share with the right person or people. Approach them the right way.

What are you struggling or suffering with?

Examples:

1. Your health is not as good as you want although you sought medical care. Please don’t internalize things by thinking something is “wrong with you.” Instead, share with your healthcare providers how you feel/your feelings, and what you are experiencing.  Be sure to research other treatments and pursue what makes sense to you. Please don’t have fatalistic thinking such as “I’ll be like this for a long time or forever.”

A very motivating, educating, and inspiring scene on Saturday made me think. I saw two people playing wheelchair tennis. I had only seen this on t.v. When they first became handicapped, I imagine life looked bleak. Each responded with resilient fortitude to enjoy, be rewarded, and have fun playing tennis. Amazing! I would love to see them walking and playing tennis. That would endlessly thrill me. Wanting more for another person (others) and someone wanting more for you is living a robust life.

2. In school or at work are you making the progress and advancements you want or need? If not, test this strategy. Learn the history of the field. New neural learning connections form in your brain to make it easier on yourself to learn the new material. Also, learn by researching and talking with the right people to learn the knowledge you need and then deliberately practice the knowledge for it to become skill. Skill is applied knowledge at the appropriate time. To make advancements, use creativity and innovation to make it more meaningful to you. What do I mean? Some things have the same structure whether it’s what you are working on, school work, a football, basketball, soccer, tennis, or golf game, track meet, a song, or a documentary. After having the knowledge and skill, it’s your ability to create and innovate that makes it of value (valuable) to you and to others. This is more enjoyable, rewarding, and fun for you. Test it.

3. If a loved one is struggling or suffering, it doesn’t mean you need to struggle or suffer. Instead, help them and support them with your love, kindness, share meaningful things with each other, and learn medicine to have conversations with them about their treatment plan. It’s very humane to do so. You’ll receive tremendous fulfillment and learn more about the greater significance of relationships.

4. Do what you love or like. If you don’t love it or like it and/or it doesn’t make sense then don’t do it.  Look into it more if that’s important to you.

Perform World Class To Solve Mental Health

Mental Health

You or your loved one might be living with a mental health challenge. If not, it’s in your community and you see it on the news. The president of the United States convened a mental health symposium and now communities are doing similarly. The health of Americans and people throughout the world is vital to socioeconomic exponential growth. Besides eliminating terrorism, health is everyone’s highest priority. Families, businesses, communities, schools, and the economy thrives when we are well.

We all need to work together to solve this health crisis not turn a blind eye, be scared, or frightened. Being a strong mental health advocate, having toured community residential care facilities (CRCF), training police officers, and speaking with anyone who wants to solve this crisis is essential to make better lives and save lives. We’ve progressed from institutionalization, to living in society, and for some making a real living doing meaningful work that doesn’t waste their talent.

We want your voice as it is important we all work together (patient centered care, collaboration, understanding, and cooperation) to solve this crisis as Americans and global citizens. Here’s my voice to help and grow people:

1. If there isn’t a cure, we need to educate patients for better patient outcomes. If there is a cure for any medical condition, then the patient doesn’t receive education.

2. We need to take side effect(s) and allergic reaction(s) out of medication and/or other treatments. We need performing world class doctors, businesses, entrepreneurs, and government making it easier to make advancements in this initiative. Too many people are struggling and/or suffering. What are some of the side effect(s) and allergic reaction(s)?

1. Frightened your life is in jeopardy
2. No sex drive
3. Suicidal thoughts

It’s time for individualized medicine. Know in advance whether or not a medication will cause a side effect or allergic reaction in a patient. Not give it to the patient to see if they experience a side effect or allergic reaction and then change the medication. This causes trauma and costs skyrocket in mental health care.

Some doctors need to stop yelling at their patients. Your patient interaction and communication has a tremendous effect on your patient’s well-being. Why are you a doctor? If a doctor can’t do this then they need to do another job. Have a robust (real) conversation(s) with your patient. You’ll enjoy your job/work more and deliver better patient outcomes (a real miracle).

3. Create positive interaction and communication (family and/or select friends) by asking a loved one what their dreams are and love them by helping, assisting, coaching, and mentoring them to accomplish and succeed in living their dreams and exciting goals. One way a patient can be positive towards themselves is by asking positive questions such as:

1. Why do I live my dreams and exciting goals?
2. Why am I the best in the world?
3. Why do I perform world class?
4. Why am I a humanitarian first?

We need more than the words, “you can” for positive interaction and communication. Run from negativity. Talk and think positive to one another.  Approach people the right way.

4. Eat right. You’ve probably heard eat a larger portion of vegetables and fruits with meals than meat (protein) and carbohydrates. Put a lemon in your water and eat the lemon afterwards to balance the acid and alkaline levels in your body. It will make you feel and look thinner (not bloated). Here’s more on why from Tony Robbins, .

5. Meditate at a time convenient for you. It works to clear your mind and gain clarity on what you want to accomplish. Being attentive to your breath while meditating is the key. There is meditation music on YouTube.

6. Walk every day for at least thirty minutes at the best time for you. Think “glide” while you walk. Walking creates reactions in your body for optimal wellbeing and longevity. Include a hill and downhill in your route, if possible. Stretch afterwards and consistently learn how to do stretches for muscle flexibility and strength. If you have chronic pain, I highly recommend the exercises in the book, Pain Free, by Pete Egosque. To make sure you’re moving right make an appointment with a physiology functional trainer. Tell them your goals and measure your progress.

7. For those who want to work, we need to make meaningful employment happen so we don’t waste talent. This would require reasonable accommodations and patients’ doctors, therapists, counselors (healthcare team) to include family and the patient’s employer working closely together for your company to benefit from talent and make your employee a better life. Help them gain independence. Everyone involved will receive more fulfillment than you could possibly imagine.

8. There is no such thing as “tough love”. Show people with mental health challenges and their family real love by really loving them. Remember, love is the force and bond that defeats any form of evil. Find ways to love each other more. It’s the right thing to do.

9. It’s time for advancements in humanness, medicine, and technology to exponentially progress from ambulatory and functional medicine to the next level of medicine, better patient outcomes for optimal health/performance and longevity.

Make better lives by performing world class to win more and live a robust life. It’s very rewarding, enjoyable, and fun. The American people and people throughout the world deserve a robust standard of living and life.  We want your voice to solve the mental health crisis in America and globally.

Writing Transform Your Performance: Who Are You Becoming?

Who Are You Becoming?

Dear Reader,

I’d like to invite you to pre-order your copy of my upcoming book, Transform Your Performance: Who Are You Becoming?  https://publishizer.com/transform-your-performance-who-are-you-becoming/

I’m excited to be using Publishizer, a new crowd-publishing platform that connects me directly with potential publishers.  https://publishizer.com/transform-your-performance-who-are-you-becoming/

Pre-order your copy to help me attract a publisher and receive pre-order rewards from me, like getting your name thanked inside the book.

Thank you for your support!

Raj

Who Are You Becoming?

“Who are you becoming? – Raj Gavurla

 

who are you becoming

In my speaking, coaching, and teaching my clients and audiences want to transform their performance to make progress.  Many have had successes and some have adversity or had adversity before they became who they currently are.  They need help with performance goals and situations unique to them.

Most people started in a profession and progressed within or into another profession and endeavor.  To help you make progress in who you are becoming there are four areas needing development and progress:

1.  Learning is the catalyst for positive change.  Change is occurring and the ability to learn and its application is essential to make progress.  What are you learning?  What are you applying your uniqueness to?

2.  Building trustworthy relationships means we have a marketplace with services and products.  How are you deciding the best services and products for you and who do you need to build trustworthy relationships with to evolve?

3.  Which services, products, and events will you buy and participate in?  You need to spend your time and money wisely in the best places for you.

4.  Create an experience for the marketplace to experience, buy, and participate in your services, products, and events.

Consistently do these four action items to transform your performance to make progress.  Enjoy the process and select the best opportunities for you.

Four Mental Constructs To Be The Best

Be The Best

 “Live Your Great Dreams, Focused Best Vision, Mission, and Goals – They Become Greater.” – RAJ GAVURLA

Daily you position services and products as the best so a client and/or prospect buys to develop and grow their business. Throughout the day we interact with family, colleagues, clients, prospects, community, and friends. There are rankings for the best in a specific industry, sports team, car, humanitarian of the year, person of the year, and so on. Regardless of ranking, one needs to continue progressing to determine who or what is the best. That’s why you research, create services and products, market, sell, or play the football, basketball, soccer, and tennis season to determine who is the best.

Four Constructs To Be The Best:

1. Mental
Learning is the catalyst for positive change. It creates new mental constructs for you to apply. Apply the learning. Learning comes in many forms: books, family, watching a professional speaker, class, interview, tv, movie, friends, and other peoples’ experiences. Develop and grow your mental strength and learn how to learn.

2. Emotional
Because we interact and have relationships with others we need the best emotion so we can be of the most value. Peaking at the right time and not too early or too late is a skill needing honing. Clean out the emotional baggage. Your relationships will be good.

3. Physical
By eating right (nutrition) and exercising you optimize your mental abilities and gain benefits you didn’t think of. Your body language and demeanor become congruent. Consistently flow and feel the endorphins throughout the day. Make stretching a part of your exercise. Consistently learn how to eat right, consistently learn how to exercise, and consistently learn how to stretch so you see consistent results without getting injured.

4. Spiritual
We have freedom. You can believe in what you believe in. I’m spiritual, I believe in all faiths. I think there will be others. That’s for me. I pray to one god (universal god) in the evening and silently pray throughout the day when something good happens or when I need to reduce stress. What’s your faith? Who do you pray to?

Transform your performance.  Work on your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual constructs to be the best.

Consistent Results Are Created By Consistent Performance Improvement

“Consistent results are created by consistent performance improvement.” – Raj Gavurla

Many people make a New Year’s resolution to lose weight and stay fit (healthy). By doing so you think your appearance is more attractive and you feel fit (healthy). Therefore, you have more success and confidence in your ability to achieve your great vision, dreams, goals, and mission.exercise

1. The Zone (It’s Mental): Mental Constructs
First and foremost you need to ask yourself how will making your appearance more attractive and being healthy make your ability to achieve your goals become easier. The results of achieving your weight loss and health goals are more than a number on a scale or a specific goal. The reason being is there are several benefits to doing so. Some you didn’t think of will occur.

An example of a benefit is you do not have as many negative thoughts. You are unconsciously able to do what you need in the area of weight and health versus subconsciously having to think about whether what you are doing is helping or not.

By responding to your negative thoughts that are derailing you from success you upgrade your unconscious mind. Examples of negative thoughts are:

1. I’ve Tried This Before and Don’t Continue Seeing The Benefits.

Respond with I’ve learned how to do it better.

2. Does This Really Work (Disbelief)?

Respond with believe it’s really this easy.

3. Just One Won’t Make A Difference.

Respond with your criteria for what is edible and what exercises are needed.

Therefore, you are enabling your success not depriving yourself. When you believe you are enabling success you need to manage it to set further goals to benefit from your successes. There isn’t an ending point. There is continuation and progression (process) towards your new dreams, goals, and mission. Ones you didn’t have when you started. You have a robust life.

2.  Create The Best Environment.

You need an intrinsically motivating environment and the tools to control your time and family/social environment. Suggestions are clothing, pictures, music, telling someone who is supportive (cares more), not telling someone who isn’t supportive (doesn’t care), writing in your journal, using the Your Raise The Bar Primer: Mental Performance Tools workbook, and fitness watch.

Socially you need to celebrate your successes and debrief after each workout.  Celebrating can be as easy as a smile, to jumping as high as you can, buying yourself a gift, telling someone who is supportive (cares more) etc.  If you didn’t achieve your goal stick with it, it will come with consistent performance improvement.  Consistent results are created by consistent performance improvement.

3. Health/Nutrition (Eat Right)

Some people currently have physical and/or mental health that need treatment. Research the best treatment(s) for you. If what you are doing or taking is working then stick with it. If it is not working, do research for another form of treatment.

Examples include talking with your family doctor, specialist, chiropractor, trainer, and/or coach. There are natural, pharmaceutical, and stretching exercises for you to try. Don’t quit by thinking there isn’t a way. People are working to find a better way.

With entrepreneurial advancements in humanness, medicine, and technology you lead a robust life. For example, a resource for chronic pain is a book, Pain Free, by Pete Egoscue. The stretching exercises are very easy and does not involve intense physical therapy.

Eat Right (Nutrition)
Eating right is an individualized approach. For example, some people need carbs in the morning and some need protein instead. Create a criteria for the foods you can eat and you’ll be amazed with so many advancements in food products and cooking what is available for you to eat and enjoy. Get out of the rut of eating the same foods, add variety and flavor to the foods you eat.

For example, my individualized eating plan is protein and raw organic vegetables in the morning, water, and tea. This is the first quarter of the day. A couple of hours before lunch I eat organic fruit. Lunch starts the second quarter. Between two and four I eat organic vegetables and organic fruits. Have water, tea, or another beverage of choice. Drink slowly.  Dinner starts the third quarter. For dinner I eat more carbs.  After dinner starts the fourth quarter. I drink water, tea, or a beverage of my choice.  I drink eight slow glasses of water a day.

My Criteria for Eating Right:
Eat 1/2 of what I use to eat for each meal, no refined sugar, limit the bread, limit the caffeine, limit the cheese, no alcohol, eating right also makes you healthy

To make it easier for me to get up fresh in the morning, I eat celery between 9pm and 10pm.
4. Exercise
Learn how to exercise. By doing repetitive exercise your body becomes bored and there is overuse of the muscles. This is why the gains stop. Add variety and set records for you to achieve.

My Criteria for Exercising:
Variety, warm up, cardio on some days (walk, run, jazzercise), lift weights (weight bearing exercises) on some days (lift slowly), sports on some days (several to choose from).  Exercising also makes you healthy. I exercise for strength, quickness, and speed.  Stretch everyday.

The world’s best exercise is a four mile walk.  I’ve known several people with and without health challenges implement a four mile walk to succeed.

To perform better and oxygenate my muscles, I take at least one set of ten reps of deep breathing
during different times of the day and in different positions (standing, sitting, lying, etc.)
5. Work
There is paid work, volunteer work, and hobbies to keep you engaged. Find/create work that is important to you and you can do well. Working will keep your mind off your health and eating. It gives you the opportunity to be a performing/productive citizen making a living, helping, and doing for your family, friends, and others.

6. Meditate
I meditate to clear my mind, therefore, making it function better and for balance. For me an hour is perfect. Pick the amount of time right for you. It also helps me with my timing.

7. Have Something To Look Forward To In The Evening
It’s nice to have something relaxing and fun in the evening. Invite someone to spend time with family, friends, watch a game, watch tv, listen to music, read, or attend an event.

8. Pray
There is spiritual growth. It brings wellness, good deeds, and peace.

9. Rest
To rejuvenate you need to rest specific activities. This can be in your work and in exercise. Give your mind and body the break it needs to renew these activities. That doesn’t mean to stop working or exercising or eating right completely. It means to work on a different activity, take a month or three off from weights, or tune in to another activity. I sleep at the same time on the weekdays.

Daily do something for your health/nutrition, exercise, work, meditate, have something to look forward to in the evening, pray, and rest. Be sure to inform the people who need to know about your whereabouts to coordinate with them so they don’t worry and things get done.

Continue to learn to get more skilled in each of the above steps to make living a robust life easier.

10.  My Consistent Performance Improvement (Better) Exercise:

  • Run/jog on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday for at least 2 miles (takes mental prep work and performance routine (“thezone”), stretching, calisthenics, and a shower).  It takes an hour.  Walk on days I don’t run/jog.
  • Playing a sport when needed instead of running/jogging or walking
  • Calisthenics (natural weight bearing exercises) and some weights when needed
  • Do the mental prep work

11.  What’s Yours?  

You deserve to live a robust life.

 

I’ve Been True to the Game of Basketball: 15 Habits of a Happier You and I

Many people exercise by playing sports, or know someone who does. Having played sports almost my entire life, I have a few pearls of wisdom about this form of exercise:

1. To gain an advantage, focus on a full-body workout. In sports, your base (waist down) is more important than your upper body except the mind, eyes, and heart. A full-body workout will bring more life to your conversations and rejuvenate your outlook.

I met a 74-year-old man playing full-court basketball at the Run-N-Shoot. He was a teammate of Oscar Robertson (The Big O) on the Cincinnati Royals. He’s a joy to watch because of his subtle technique and confidence. He has a team called Man Up. If you would like to read the definitive book on basketball, I encourage you to check out The Big O’s book, The Art of Basketball. I’m sure there is a book for those who play other sports as well. Whatever book you read on your sport, be sure to interpret the words on the pages correctly and add your touch.

2. Use your imagination to visually practice the techniques. Try blocking 30 minutes of time, identify the skill(s), count the number of mental repetitions and sets. Then try it on the field. I think you will like the results.

3. Listen to your body and check with your physician before starting an exercise program.

4. Do a variety of exercises.

5. If a body part hurts, don’t aggravate it and seek medical attention.

6. During the exercise, mentally focus on the body part you’re exercising.

7. Smile at least two genuine smiles while resting during an hour workout.

8. Vary cardio routines, including length of time, day, and speed.

9. Have at least one brief conversation before or during workout.

10. Compete with a subgoal in mind (repetition required before going to the next level) and reaching a goal.

11. Remember less is more if done correctly.

12. Drink eight glasses of water a day. Start the day with one glass and drink less with meals. Don’t drink it all at once!

13. Eat a variety of nourishing foods (including some fruit on an empty stomach).

14. Drink no more than 1.5 cups of your favorite sport drink after exercise.

15. Don’t eat within four hours of exercising for optimal stomach strength.

Here’s wishing you a life of swishes and assists!

Are you planning a meeting for this year or a kickoff meeting for early next year? Book Raj to speak to energize and inspire your team, organizaton or corporation to consistently perform at the top of our game! Call him at 864.569.2315 or contact him at raj@rajgavurla.com with your date, time and location to book your date today!

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