Six tips for lockdown success from former England cricketer Jeremy Snape
With the second lockdown firmly in place, our mindset will be the key to our success.
As an England cricketer, I realised that my mindset was either my greatest strength or my biggest weakness yet I spent so little time developing it.
After studying an MSc in sport psychology, and working with some of the biggest names in sport, I set out to find out how the world’s most successful performers across sport, the performing arts, the military and business think.
Twelve years later, through Sporting Edge, I’ve created a video archive of routines, rituals and mental strategies which offer an essential support system for us in lockdown.
Our ancestors’ brains were designed 50,000 years ago for long periods of calm with the occasional burst of adrenalin to evade a predator.
Our world has changed immeasurably since the Stone Age but the sad news is our brains haven’t.
While our lives may not be under threat from wild animals, our professional pride, financial stability and future career plans definitely are, which triggers the exact same stress response.
The Covid-19 pandemic has been accompanies by a stress inducing cocktail of novelty, uncertainty and uncontrollability and it’s time we took back control.
Here are six strategies which could turn your lockdown into a springboard for your future success.
1. Rethink downtime
We focus so much on our work output during the day but constantly neglect our recovery.
Shift the scrutiny to your sleep and downtime for seven days and watch the transformational result.
2. Win before the day starts
Take something for yourself, exercise is best to burn off the cortisol.
Kick start the day with a quick run, walk or yoga session and you’ll feel 1-0 up on the day before your kids or the boss deplete your reserves.
3. Control the controllables
Our brain is primed for safety and will constantly scan the environment for threats.
Switch off the news channels and focus on your three top priorities that will deliver a gold medal day for you and your business.
Tenacity is the new talent so build daily discipline around these priorities and gold medal results will follow.
4. Focus on growth
Lockdown feels like a straitjacket but we thrive when we feel like we’re learning.
So pick a mini-skill, subject to explore or thought leaders to follow to help you to future proof yourself and your career.
5. Prepare to pivot
Amid the frenetic blur of the ‘old normal’ we never stopped to get our bearings. Use this time of the great pause to look 3-5 years ahead.
There’s never been a better time to have courage and to change your path so start preparing now.
6. Create a dream team
Elite performers never do it alone, they need mentors, coaches and loved ones to support and challenge them to reach their Everest.
Replace your shirkers with committed sherpas and the mood hoovers with positive people who energise you to come back stronger than ever.
Whatever your lockdown situation, reframing your mindset is your hidden competitive edge.
With every country, industry and community being affected, those with the strongest mindset will win.
Jeremy Snape is a former England cricketer and the founder of Sporting Edge – his podcast Inside the Mind of Champions and Members Club provide inspirational mental skills to help you to thrive through lockdown.