Locker Room Power – Details, episodes & analysis

Join David as he delves deep into the ability to make smarter decisions. Discover how to overcome biases, navigate psychological hurdles, and understand why a good decision remains valuable even if the outcome isn't favourable. David shares practical strategies to mitigate confirmation biases, combat hindsight bias, and manage the paradox of choice. Gain insights on balancing luck and strategy, the importance of opportunity cost, and how to leverage diverse perspectives for more informed, confident choices in life. Key Takeaways ·      Mitigating Confirmation Bias: Learn techniques to challenge your own beliefs by considering opposing viewpoints and leveraging diverse perspectives. ·      Navigating Psychological Hurdles: Understand and overcome hindsight bias and the paradox of choice to make more confident decisions. ·      Balancing Luck and Strategy: Recognize the role of luck in decision-making and how to stack the odds in your favor by balancing proactive and reactive approaches Resources Mentioned: Free Guide: A free download that explains the difference between belief and confidence. It gives insights to help personal and professional growth - https://www.mindsetcollege.co.uk/get-your-free-mini-book Connect with David Sammel: ·      Share your thoughts and connect with David on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/david_sammel/?hl=en ·      For more valuable content, subscribe to the Nuggets Podcast on your favourite platform. ·      Leave us a review on all popular podcast platforms and share how this episode has impacted you. ·      Subscribe to our YouTube channel for visual content and more engaging discussions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you ever felt trapped by the invisible barriers in your life? Join David as he dives deep into how our upbringing and environment shape our paths, often in ways we’re unaware of. Through compelling metaphors like the tethered elephant and the trapped fleas, David illustrates how our perceived limitations can hold us back from achieving our true potential. David shares personal stories and practical advice on changing mindsets, experimenting with new ways of living, and breaking free from feeling stuck. Whether it’s changing your wardrobe or altering your perspective on life and relationships, you’ll discover actionable steps to take control of your destiny. Ready to redefine your life's journey? Tune in now and take the first step toward a more fulfilling life!    Key Takeaways ·      Power of Decisions: Understand how a single choice can completely redefine your life's journey. ·      Overcoming Mental Barriers: Learn how perceived limitations, like the tethered elephant and trapped fleas, can hold you back. ·      Practical Mindset Shifts: Discover actionable steps to change your mindset and experiment with new ways of living. Resources Mentioned: Free Guide: A free download that explains the difference between belief and confidence. It gives insights to help personal and professional growth - https://www.mindsetcollege.co.uk/get-your-free-mini-book Connect with David Sammel: ·      Share your thoughts and connect with David on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/david_sammel/?hl=en ·      For more valuable content, subscribe to the Nuggets Podcast on your favourite platform. ·      Leave us a review on all popular podcast platforms and share how this episode has impacted you. ·      Subscribe to our YouTube channel for visual content and more engaging discussions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, David dives deep into the concept of hindsight, the complexity of human relationships, and the art of making judgment calls under pressure. Download the free guide on distinguishing between belief and confidence from the show notes, and let's navigate these thought-provoking insights together! Don't forget to leave a review and subscribe for more engaging content!  Key Takeaways 1. Hindsight and Decision-Making: Hindsight can teach us valuable lessons, but it doesn’t guarantee flawless future decisions. 2. The Role of Perspective: Our backgrounds and experiences colour our advice and perceptions, making complete objectivity impossible. 3.Importance of Questioning: Questioning helps gain deeper insights and promotes self-reflection, though it can never be entirely unbiased. Resources Mentioned: Free Guide: A free download that explains the difference between belief and confidence. It gives insights to help personal and professional growth - https://www.mindsetcollege.co.uk/get-your-free-mini-book Connect with David Sammel: ·      Share your thoughts and connect with David on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/david_sammel/?hl=en ·      For more valuable content, subscribe to the Nuggets Podcast on your favourite platform. ·      Leave us a review on all popular podcast platforms and share how this episode has impacted you. ·      Subscribe to our YouTube channel for visual content and more engaging discussions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bloody emotions! Today's episode comes to you courtesy of Justin who lives in America. He's wanting some advice on how to manage his emotions under pressure. Whether it's playing his club tennis, or just sometimes in life when things seem to be building up, he feels like it's very difficult for him to manage his emotions and sometimes on the tennis court it results in outbursts of anger or frustration. Thanks to Justin as I'm grateful for any topic suggestions.  There was a very interesting story I once heard about a gentleman and his wife standing in line to buy tickets to see a show in the theatre, which was very popular. And the line was pretty long and moving slowly. They were just three from getting tickets when a man pushed in in front of them. Naturally his blood was boiling and he's just about to take him on when he noticed that the guy was wearing dark sunglasses and had a white stick and immediately the anger and the boiling desire to take this guy on disappeared as he probably doesn't even know that he's pushed in the line. He became sympathetic and was about to offer to gift him a ticket when guy behind him suddenly said, “Oh, wow, he's done it again, this guy is not blind. He always uses this trick to cut lines. Immediately the chap was absolutely fuming again and ready to take the fake blind man to task. So, within the space of a minute, he went from being extremely angry to calm and empathetic to blood boiling again. How you interpret a situation can take us from blood boiling, to calm to upset again. This means that when anything happens, there is a short window where we have a choice in how we're going to react and to try and evaluate a situation to deal with it in the best way possible. Managing your emotions, really comes down to how well you manage that space between what happens, and the immediate emotion felt…… to deciding how you're going to react to it. We cannot control our emotions we can only train them to be less severe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today I'm gonna talk about hypocrisy. I have a belief that hypocrisy stems from the ego which is within all of us, and our ego projects its job as protecting us and keeping us strong. The two powerful tools that it uses are beliefs and identity. We believe certain things and we think we're certain types of people. As an example, if you think you're a good person, you might say I don't hurt people, but the reality is, this is hypocrisy because there's no one on the planet who's never hurt another person’s feelings. Different situations will bring out disparities in how we think especially when under huge pressure, maybe to keep a job or to protect a loved one. People will tell lies, to protect the identity that they have cultivated and the image they want other people to have of them. There are times in life where people do not live up to their image or stay true to beliefs because when we feel intimidated, then to protect ourselves, to fit in, or to impress others we can turn our backs on our beliefs and assume a different persona.  Many believe that every man has his price, others believe not. Until faced with a situation where a great gift or horrible threat is posed in return for compromise, no-one can say for sure that they will stick to principles that severely tests that belief. And that is the crucial thing. Try to get rid of some of your hypocrisy by really examining your beliefs and testing and researching them in your mind. Explore where they come from and if they are appropriate and even if you actually agree with them rather than having them because everyone you hang round has them. Each culture or group has its beliefs about others and what is right and often dismiss another way of life as definitely not for them only to alter their whole viewpoint when they experience another way. The moment you judge others by your standards and experiences you are a hypocrite because this is akin to believing you would be the same person no matter where you were born. The ego lacks humility and therefore will defend the indefensible to be right. So often when our beliefs don't stand up under scrutiny, we are so wedded to them that we employ another human trait which is the ability to justify anything. At the end of the day, I think it is healthy to say there are certain things that I believe in and to the best of my knowledge I believe I will be able and want to stick to them when tested but until I'm in that position, I cannot categorically say that I will react the way I believe I will.  It is the human condition to bend and there are people who bend more than others. Therefore, the amount of hypocrisy depends on how much self-awareness and strength of mind we develop to stick to beliefs we have examined as right for us from those imposed on us by our upbringing and society. I certainly believe to evolve as a human being we need to examine beliefs and give up the ones that no longer make sense. Otherwise, hypocrisy will grow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Whether you are the coach, teacher, or learner the following will help. As a learner try find environments and coaches who tick these boxes and if you are a teacher then this has worked for me on both sides of the fence.  In my experience how well we learn boils down to the simple practice of: There must be a want, curiosity, or interest in order to learn anything. Learning something in which we have little, or no interest is very rough. Having a good teacher or mentor (not always essential as DIY can work but warning as from personal experience of DIY story. Taking time is inevitably faster than rushing) In teaching try hit as many senses as possible and gamify as much as possible. Repetition. Do things over and over again until it seeps into your psyche and becomes pretty much automatic.  If you're looking to teach people, especially kids you need to stimulate them by taking them to see something with their own eyes and if it grabs them then you can introduce some discussion about it. Once you have peeked their curiosity to the point where the answer to “how would you like to do this?” is a resounding yes, only then move to introduce some instruction and coaching from an expert in the field who will make it fun. Great teachers are knowledgeable and fun teachers. They inspire people to want to do the work to get better in an environment that is not onerous but in large part, enjoyable. There's almost nothing worse than an expert who really knows their stuff yet bores the pants off people.  Once you've learned the fundamentals it is so important to practice. As an example, I'm trying to learn a new system of keeping track of what I'm doing and came across a brilliant method that was taught to me by a coach via video and PowerPoint slides. I'm at the stage that I know it and can do it but if I don't do it again for two or three days I will have to refer back to my notes or to the videos to refresh myself.  I have no doubt that after couple of months the sequence and the system will be a part of my life and unforgettable for a fairly long period of time. There is nothing truer and what you don't use you lose. Today, it is so easy to teach people through a combination of audio, visual and kinetic senses enabling them to gravitate naturally to their favourite style of learning.  When I read books, I've gotten a lot better at stopping and writing down in my phone any notes I wish to remember. So often in the past I vaguely remember something and then it takes me ages to track it down the underlined bits or highlights in a book. One of the downsides of audio books, especially when listening whilst driving is it is impossible to take the notes. However, I now stop the audio book and dictate something important I want to remember, recording important bits of information to go back to later.  Some great ways of internalizing any learning are to write about it, teach it to others or use the information over and over again until it becomes part of what you know without having to refer back to notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

5 Simple Ways to Kill Impostor Syndrome We often hear people talking about ‘imposter syndrome.’ This phrase refers to a feeling of being an impostor, unable to take credit for your own success and believing that you are a fake. Impostor syndrome is commonly experienced by high-achieving individuals, especially those who have recently experienced a great deal of personal success or recognition. It’s almost like a defense mechanism that kicks in when we feel like we cannot handle the pressure of the new level or the expectations that come with success. Unfortunately, this syndrome can be quite detrimental to your career and personal growth. If you want to learn how to kill Impostor Syndrome and prevent it from affecting your performance going forward, listen on! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Expectations are a close cousin to comparison. Both will eat away at you and hurt you if you apply them wrongly, not only as a person, but in whatever you're trying to accomplish. The key takeaway is to remember that all expectations are future based and therefore subject to assumptions. Under normal circumstances we can assume but history is littered with black swan events that blow away expectations. Listen to the 22nd Panzer div story! Don't get me wrong. There is a good side to expectations and comparison. It is healthy to expect better of yourself. It is healthy to strive for things that mean something to you and if there is someone who is already achieving what you want, learning from them and comparing the standards that they set for what you want to aspire to is beneficial but expecting to be like them and comparing yourself to them is detrimental because you will always feel bad if you cannot replicate or have what they have. Having high expectations is fine if you are forgiving of yourself when things go wrong because resilience is easier when we are realistic about things going wrong. We control far less than we imagine. Thinking it is all in our hands feels safe, but perhaps if we see expectations as motivation rather than definite, we become psychologically more prepared to handle problems. If you invest in the stock market and you have high expectations of a “sure bet” it will encourage arguably too much risk. There is no way anybody can tell the future and what will happen in the world so, if you have expectations that things will go very well, you must consider the alternative and then invest whatever you're comfortable with losing. Historically if you stay invested for a long time the odds turn in your favour but if you're looking for a short term gain, disaster can easily happen. Similarly, in your career, you need to invest in yourself and have expectations of bringing high standards for a long time. Compound work over a long period pays the best dividends and early on the progress is often hard to notice.  Setting realistic expectations of what you can achieve with a clear understanding that these are assumptions makes it more like a puzzle that you are trying to solve or conquer. It becomes unhealthy when you start to measure these expectations against timescales which don't consider unimagined problems. When you expect things to turn out a certain way then you’re setting yourself up without the flexibility of having to deal with a totally different landscape if the black swan event occurs.  Expectations are a particularly a problem when working with other people especially if we expect them to behave in a way that we would behave or how we expect them to act, which is rare. We each see the world with our own logic, and it is arrogant and foolish to believe that our view of the world is best and right for others to follow, which they can’t anyway because their life experiences are so different from ours. Communication of each person’s expectations, their assumptions brings understanding and a better chance of a good outcome. We must check in regularly and keep updating our expectations for healthier relationships. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We can put a goal out in the universe and focus on it, but there is no guarantee we will achieve it. What is guaranteed is we will learn and to come out with more experience. Life is a series of destinations, some of which we will have the pleasure of reaching and some not but every goal that we work hard for is worth it’s weight in gold in self worth. An important distinction is to forever understand that what we do, what we chase and what we achieve is not who we are, just what we do. Our kids don’t care if we are a CEO or cleaner, they only care if we are a good parent whose actions show and give them happiness and love. Likewise with good friends. Therefore working towards a goal will benefit our self worth if it is based upon expanding ourself, not as a mission to define our identity. We cannot be so flimsy as to be a good person, parent or example of positive self worth when we succeed and a bad one if not. Part of self worth is to care about others and ourselves, but not care about what others think about us, which is always based on variable circumstances. What we think about ourself is our worth and our attitude and actions to working for a goal is what will affect our worth, not achieving it, which is a temporary high. Our actions will reflect our beliefs and attitude and therefore our world will reflect back what we think of ourselves. Often the media tries to make us believe that others can make us who we are, damage our self worth, but the stark reality is - we can choose to own our worth or give it away. Just as we are responsible whether we can receive unconditional love, because we cannot expect this if everything we do is conditional to how others will perceive us or what they can give back to us. It is so simple yet so hard to continually accept that we are responsible for our lives. It is so easy to blame and find excuses. The easiest thing to find are people happy to play this game with us as long as we reciprocate and let them off the responsibility hook, until it becomes so believable that we forget we can and for our self worth must take responsibility for our decisions and choices. It is this journey that I’m continually working to achieve, to cut out any blame or excuse. This constant awareness is starting to pay dividends when I have a decision to make - which is to ask myself “am I prepared to accept the outcome?” This in turn forces me to analyse the consequences more thoroughly. I will end with a question that I grapple with, that is both wonderful and ugly! - What is it that I really want and am I prepared to take responsibility for the life it brings me? If you want a deeper dive into goal setting and self worth I have an special offer on my book where you have access to both the digital and audiobook by following the link in the show notes. Locker Room Power book: https://www.mindsetcollege.co.uk/offers/TZyNbjEu/checkout   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you ever noticed that if you're looking to buy a certain car, how you suddenly notice how many they are on the roads, and they seem to be popping up everywhere? Equally, when you focus on a project that's been hanging over your head and you've been procrastinating and when you finally settle down and really start working at it, how the focus you suddenly bring to the project brings you answers and ideas and it no longer seems as big or as impossible a task as you first thought.  I would say focus is the biggest factor in determining a person's success. There are so many distractions in the world that it is sometimes very difficult to focus on the one thing that is gonna help you be successful. I too have suffered from this, where I have too many projects on the go and therefore the focus is too diversified. The bottom line is none of them turn out as well as the one that I maybe put more focus into. The trick, however, that I'm still learning is to have less projects and to focus on them one at a time and not grasshopper from one to the other. This is a constant struggle for me and from hard earned personal experience, I know how difficult this is, because things come up all the time and often there are opportunities where I think - wow this could be cool and if I can I just juggle this and that I can help a lot here and this opportunity could be great fun. Everything we take on will diminish something else, so learning to prioritise and what to say NO to is so valuable because time is finite each day and we always think we can fit more in than is actually possible. Focus is our number one commodity, and we need to treat it with the respect that it deserves and understand how powerful it is when we fully focus on one thing at a time. People who are laser focused on the objective that they are trying to achieve and stick to it until completed or work to master their talents have the inside track. We are human but seldom deviating too far an objective is an advantage.    I’m working on a two-pronged approach which is to separate long-term objectives from daily tasks. I’m much better at keeping long term goals in mind and working towards these, far less good at starting and completing individual smaller tasks without either being distracted away by messages coming in or suddenly thinking of something else I need to do and rather than making a note, I can stop what I’m working on and go do that instead. This hurts my productivity because getting back my train of thought when I get back to the original task is not so easy and can take a bit of time to refresh myself on what needs to be done – effectively double work.    The other thing that hurts my day and week is when I fail to plan the priorities and when I will do them. The day or week becomes way more reactive, and things slip through the net which annoys me because I know this situation is avoidable. Bad planning affects focus more than anything because it lays us open to distractions, the panic of forgetting something and days we feel have largely been wasted on everything but what really matters. I urge you to not make the excuses I made to myself for years that I hate routine and that spontaneity will be lost or the classic I don’t have time to plan in detail. Whilst I’m not amazing at this yet, having improved dramatically I can honestly say that preparation has become a real pleasure and helps my life run so much better and I’m still able to put people first and have more fun because less things hang over my head because I know I have either done them well or when I will do them. Unplanned stuff is what wakes me some nights! Focus – a cliché thrown around like confetti but don’t be fooled this is one cliché that truly improves your life. Improving you focus means you are improving your greatest power! If you like what I have to say please follow me on the usual socials, subscribe and don’t be shy – I love receiving ideas and questions via email. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices