Garret Kramer's Blog, page 15

Why Doing Nothing (to find Clarity of Mind) is the Best Policy

What follows is a simple story that reveals the power of doing nothing to find clarity of mind when anxious feelings occur. Hope it resonates and sparks.

Garret

 

P.S.  Here’s a special offer for those of you coming to New Jersey for the PGA Championship next week (or whomever lives close by). On Monday evening July 25, Sean Foley and I will be giving a talk titled: “A New Paradigm in Mental Performance.” I’d like to invite you as my guest. If interested, simply respond to this email and we’ll send you the details.

Look forward to seeing some of you there!

G

The Wrong Kind of Protest

To the millions of well-meaning and brave Americans who are protesting or speaking out against racial problems in this country: Sorry, but you’re not helping. Why? We don’t have a racial problem in this country. We have a level-of-consciousness problem. And until we address this fundamental misunderstanding, things are going to get worse.

To illustrate, my friend Jeff is black. I’m white. We grew up together playing sports and are still great friends—most of the time. I say this because when either Jeff’s or my level of consciousness drops (and we’ve often discussed this), it appears to us that our racial, ethnic, or outward differences are an impediment to our ability to remain close. However, when our level of consciousness rises, the color of our skin means absolutely nothing. In fact, just like when we were young, it’s not a consideration at all.

So, then, do Jeff and I have a racial problem? Obviously not. When our thinking gets the better of us and consciousness lowers—we’re compelled to go our separate ways. When our thinking quiets and our consciousness goes up—we’re buddies for life. In other words, from low states of mind, we’re separate. From high states of mind, we’re one. And fortunate for our relationship, we know that race accounts for zero percent of this principle.

Now for those insisting that I am oversimplifying the matter, I can assure you I’m not. Protests are turning disastrous because we’re attacking the wrong issue. Actually, we’re not attacking an issue, we’re attacking an illusion. The current tension in the US is solely the result of perpetuating the illusion that race (or anything on the outside) has the power to divide.

It’s time we all wake up and give ourselves the chance to come together. What human beings experience from temporary low levels of consciousness is never true. Compassion is true. Oneness is true. Love is true. How do I know? Because that’s how everyone feels when our states of mind clear and consciousness trends higher.

We need fewer protests and more clarity. For that to happen, we must collectively stop looking outside in order to explain or try to fix what we feel on the inside. Only then will illusionary differences and uneasy feelings effortlessly fade away (without the need to protest). Yes, it is that simple.

Moving Through Difficult or Even Tragic Events

I don’t often share two posts within the same week, but I filmed this video last month and thought it appropriate this morning.

Garret

The Ultimate Paradigm Shift

This week, I talk about why the impending paradigm shift when it comes to psychology, self-help, and mentoring is so vitally important. Granted, the video is a bit long, but I hope you can find seventeen quite minutes to watch. Any questions, as always, you know where to find me.

Garret

The Neutrality of Culture

Last week, I stumbled onto a new book whose premise is that a “selfie” culture is making our kids selfish. Likewise, just about every day, a mental-performance expert insists that a team’s or organization’s culture is its most relevant asset. The trouble with these similar perspectives, however, is that neither is accurate. The more the members of a team or organization see that a culture (someone else’s idea of right and wrong) is actually neutral, the more they’ll excel.

The truth is that human beings can only work one way: inside to out. Meaning, a culture has no ability to make a person feel or do anything. That’s why not all kids growing up today are selfish. That’s also why, during the Holocaust, not all Germans followed Hitler’s message.

What I’m sharing with you is this fundamental principal: People who believe they work outside-in (their feelings are the result of something external) are the ones who become selfish and insecure. Why? Because attaching one’s feeling to the outside requires a tremendous amount of thinking. This clutters the mind. Compounds of a cluttered mind are, among other things, selfishness, insecurity, and the tendency to follow. To the contrary, those rare individuals who know they work inside-out (their feelings are generated from within) are the ones who become generous and secure. Why? Because when people don’t attach their feelings to the outside, the mind automatically clears. Compounds of a clear mind are generosity, security, and the tendency to lead.

Here, then, is the bottom line on culture: Since it plays zero role in forming the above compounds, promoting a specific culture is simply not helpful. Sure, certain teams or organizations do create a tradition of distinction. But that’s because their leaders continually point others inward for answers. They show that the environment in which a person lives or works (a culture) is never a driving factor. Those on the outside-in end of the spectrum falter and those on the inside-out end of the spectrum thrive.

The One and Only Source of Confidence

Here’s a brief video about a topic that’s almost always misunderstood. Searching for confidence? Hopefully, not for long.

Garret

Guns, Insanity, and the Only Cure

I’ll let the title of this video speak for itself. Questions or comments about this poignant topic: you know where to find me.

Garret

The Inside-Out Understanding in Action: A Demonstration

In this video, I demonstrate what happens when a person—here a golfer who feels anxious over a shot—doesn’t know that he works inside-out (he believes his feelings are the result of his environment). And what happens when a person does know that he works inside-out (he knows that his feelings are the result of his thinking). An extremely important distinction.

Any questions, as always, reach out.

Garret

Young Athletes (and Parents): Here’s the Only Thing You Need to Know To Master the “Mental Game”

The following is a rewrite of an article I wrote for an upcoming golf publication. I was asked by the editor for my quick take on the above subject line. Most of you have heard me talk about this before, but a brief reminder never hurt anyone. Including me.

Garret

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In spite of the glut of strategies, tools, techniques, and theories that exist today, there’s only one true path to understanding and then mastering the mental game in sports. And to all the young athletes and their parents out there, I promise, it’s not what you’re thinking. To handle the inevitable ups and downs of sports, and life, what you need to know is that a circumstance (a win, loss, teammate, coach, the past or future) cannot cause you to feel a certain way. Your feelings are solely connected to your thinking. When your head is clear, you’ll feel good. When you’re head cluttered, you’ll feel bad. Anything on the outside is actually neutral.

Never heard that before? Well, it’s normal for it to appear that a circumstance has the power to make you feel anxious, frustrated, or even happy. But your mind, like the minds of all human beings, doesn’t work from out to in—it works from in to out. That’s why, if you’re a golfer, sometimes you’ll feel insecure when looking at the out-of-bounds stakes that line the left side of the 18th fairway, and sometimes you won’t. The out-of-bounds stakes aren’t driving you feelings; your thinking (level of clarity or clutter in the moment) is what’s doing this.

Finally, let me also remind you: Knowing that your thinking, not your circumstances, creates your feelings doesn’t mean that you’re capable of managing or controlling your thoughts. No one is that powerful. Yet it will stop you from searching outside for causes and cures (overthinking) when bad feelings strike. And not searching outside allows what I call your “psychological immune system” to activate—as clarity of mind sets in and calm, confident, and determined feelings arise without effort.

When that starts to happen on a consistent basis, you have mastered the so-called mental game. I wish you good luck!

Decisions: Made by a Higher Power or You?

Here’s a video about the much talked about topic of how productive decisions or choices occur to us. Take note of how at times throughout the video, I struggle to choose my words and then, out of nowhere, the words occur to me. This ebb and flow is at the heart of a perspective on decision making that’s worth considering.

Thanks for watching,

Garret