10-Minute Toughness

Jason Selk

📚 GENRE: Personal Development

📃 PAGES: 208

✅ COMPLETED: December 6, 2021

🧐 RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Short Summary

Using his 10-Minute Toughness mental program, Dr. Jason Selk shows readers how to command the mind and thrive under pressure. At its core, the program is centered around developing a positive self-image while focusing on process over results. Visualization and goal setting are also discussed at length, giving readers a foundation for high performance.

Key Takeaways

1️⃣ Think Process Over Results — You can easily feel nervous and let pressure beat you when you think about RESULTS. Instead, focus on PROCESS. Identify two or three ‘keys’ to performing the task and focus intently on those two or three keys. LeBron James has also talked about this. 

2️⃣ Put A Solution On The Board — No matter what you’re faced with, there’s always a solution. Rather than focusing on what’s wrong with a situation or what you don’t have, focus on identifying a solution and then put your effort towards executing it. Your attention should always be on solutions, not complaining.

3️⃣ Self-Image Is Powerful — Your self-image controls your natural behaviors and outcomes, and you can’t outperform or underperform your self-image for long. You have to believe in yourself.

Favorite Quote

"Every time I catch myself feeling angry or scared or depressed, it’s because I’m thinking about what I don’t have in my life or something that is wrong with me. The instant I catch myself feeling uncomfortable, I ask, ‘What is one thing I can do right now that could make my situation better?’ Literally 100% of the time, things improve. Sometimes I have to ask myself that question 15 or 20 times. Whatever it takes, I will keep asking until a shift occurs."

Book Notes 📑

Introduction

  • The 10-Minute Toughness Program is about identifying and utilizing a handful of mental tools that are proven to help people perform more consistently.
  • Mental training, like physical training, can help people achieve their ultimate goals. 
    • You need to spend time at the mental gym. The mental weight room. 
  • The 10-MT routine provides people with the nutrients essential for mind building and strengthening. 
    • This program will show you HOW to think to build mental toughness. 
      • This is what a lot of previous sports psychology books have lacked. 
  • The 10-MT program requires 10 minutes per day to focus on mental work.
    • Program is scientifically proven to enhance the mind’s ability to focus on the qualities necessary for improvement and consistency.
  • Self-confidence is the most influential mental variable in controlling performance.
    • To perform well, you need to have a strong belief in your abilities. 
    • This program helps people build confidence.
  • The 10-MT Program 3 Phases:
    1. The Mental Workout
      • Helps you identify and focus on “control points” or what it takes to be successful
    2. Developing a Goal Setting Program
      • Focus on daily goals
    3. Develop a Solution-Focused Approach
      • Successful people have developed and maintained a solution-focused approach in their careers and in life.
      • Helps you focus on solutions

Ch. 1: Centering Breaths

  • Complete your mental workout daily.
  • The first thing that happens when you get nervous is an increase in heart rate.
    • Everything becomes fast.
  • Good Centering Breath — 15 second breath. 
    • Formula: 6-2-7
    • In for 6, hold for 2, out for 7
    • This breath is designed to slow the heart rate.
    • It is important to control the heart rate because using the mind effectively becomes more difficult as heart rate rises.
    • If you can’t maintain the full 15 second breath, it’s a sure sign that you need to take another one. Stay at it until you can. 
    • Anything above 120 beats per minute (BPM) makes thinking very difficult. 
      • Resting heartbeat is usually 60-70 BPM. 
  • The goal is to have the same BPM in your mental training or practice as you do when you’re in a pressure moment. 
    • The problem is when you are relaxed and your BPM is solid in practice and then you get in a pressure moment and the BPM goes up to 120 and above. 
    • Ideally, you’ll have a nice, steady BPM in both scenarios. 
    • The way you do this is by pretending/visualizing yourself in the big moment when you are practicing and then pretending/visualizing yourself in the practice moment when you are in the high-pressure moment. 

Ch. 2: The Performance Statement

  • You succumb to pressure when you think about RESULTS instead of staying in the moment and focusing on the PROCESS of what you’re doing.
    • LeBron James has talked about this at length. 
  • Extensive research has shown that a person’s internal self-talk significantly influences performance.
    • Self-talk is essential to honing and developing self-confidence 
  • A performance statement is a specific form of self-talk designed to build self-confidence.
    • It helps people focus on one specific thought to enhance performance. 
    • It is a simple statement that focuses on a specific element of performance.
      • Ex. Baseball Infielder — Set, stay down, watch it into the glove. 
      • Again, this helps you not think about the RESULTS. It helps you stay in the moment and focus on the PROCESS. 
    • The key to a performance statement is to identify the most fundamental idea of what it takes to be successful and simplify the game. 
  • Quote (P. 35): “The essence of mental toughness is the ability to replace negative thinking with thoughts that are centered on performance cues or that contribute to self-confidence.”
    • Focus on the process of what you’re doing! Stay in the moment and don’t think about results or outcomes. 
    • LeBron James literally talked out this in a press conference. 
  • Identify thoughts that produce strong performance and then train your mind to focus only on those thoughts during performance. 
  • Quote (P. 36): “Replace all thoughts of self-doubt or negativity with thoughts of what it is that you want, and you will be much more likely to have those things occur.”
  • Quote (P. 38): “As often as possible, choose to think about the path to success rather than the obstacles in your way.”
    • This is where I can improve a lot. 
  • The Performance Statement accomplishes two things:
      1. It is a way to avoid self-doubt, negativity, and mental clutter.
      2. Helps you perform at your best by directing your thoughts towards targeted areas of strength.
  • Positive thinking just takes practice and reps.
    • Again, this is mental training. It takes work, just like the physical body and gym does. You just need to commit to it, just like you do with the physical gym.
  • For athletes, knowing what to think beats letting thoughts flow naturally.

Ch. 3: The Personal Highlight Reel

  • The personal highlight reel is an advanced form of visualization in which you create your own “SportsCenter” highlight reel.
  • Create mental videos of success. 
  • It is important to always see yourself as a winner. 
  • Try to FEEL what it would feel like to perform well in the moment. 
  • The Essential Guidelines for Visualization:
    1. Choose a Camera Angle
      • First person camera is recommended. Helps build muscle memory. Visualize in the first person. 
    2. Pay Attention to Detail
      • Pack as much detail in as you can.
      • Pay attention to three senses — sight, sound, and feel. 
      • What does your body feel like as it performs successfully?
    3. Frequent and Brief is the Ticket
      • Visualize over short periods of time rather than sitting there forever to visualize.
      • This allows you to use it before a real scenario. You can quickly visualize.
    4. Visualize from Beginning to End
      • See it from the very start to the very end.
      • Especially focus on seeing the end, where you completed the performance successfully.
    5. Emotionally Feel the Way you Want to Feel
      • Think about the state of emotions and feeling you are in when you perform your best.
      • Try to then replicate that feeling in your visualization. See yourself feeling that way. Feel yourself getting into those same emotions as you visualize. 
      • Your emotions are like your muscles — they can be trained in the same way. It just takes work in the mental gym. 
    6. Replay Until You Get It Right
      • Visualize yourself doing the skill or performance successfully. If you need to hit the “rewind” button in your visualization, do it!
    7. Give Credit Where Credit Is Due
      • Give yourself a pat on the back after a successful visualization.
      • Encourage yourself after visualizing. 
    8. Operate at Game Speed
      • Visualize everything happening at the speed they will happen.
      • Don’t slow things down or speed them up in your mind. 
  • Creating Your Personal Highlight Reel
    1. 60-Second Mental Video Clip of Excellent Past Performances
      • Think of 4 or 5 clips from past performances where everything went really well.
      • String them together in order in your visualization, and end on the best clip. 
      • 60 second mental clip. 
    2. Parts 2 and 3: 60-Second Mental Video Clips of Upcoming Big Games or Competitions
      • Part 2: Imagine yourself in a big, high stakes moment that is coming up soon.
        • See yourself performing well using the visualization guidelines outlined above. 
        • See yourself winning.
        • See yourself feeling in the emotional state you want to be in. 
        • 60 second mental clip.
      • Part 3: Imagine yourself in the NEXT game or performance.
        • So see yourself performing well in the next available performance, whether it’s high stakes or not. 
        • 60 second mental clip.

Ch. 4: The Identity Statement

  • Identify Statement — Self-statement designed to improve self-image.
  • Self Image — How you view yourself. How you see your strengths and weaknesses.
    • What you believe you are capable of determines how much you will accomplish.
  • Self-Image is a proven agent of behavior control.
    • When you truly believe in your abilities, the self-image motivates the behaviors needed for you to live up to your expectations. 
  • We choose how we see ourselves. Self-image is internally constructed.
    • Formed by the things you repeatedly tell yourself. Your inner dialogue.
    • For most people, our internal dialogue is far too negative and filled with “I can’t.”
  • The person who believes in his abilities has a much greater shot at succeeding at the task than the person who doesn’t.
  • Decide who you want to be and how you want to live and then continuously tell yourself you have what it takes to be that person.
  • Creating Your Identity Statement: Two Parts
    1. A current strength you already have
    2. What you want to accomplish 

Ch. 5: Recenter the Breath

  • Take another 15-second breath to complete the mental workout.
    • Formula: 6-2-7
    • In for 6, hold for 2, out for 7
  • Mental Workout Summary:
    • Initial Centering Breath — 15 seconds 
    • Performance Statement — 5 seconds
    • Mental Highlight Reel — 3 minutes 
      • Phase 1: Prior successful moment.
      • Phase 2: Upcoming high stakes moment.
      • Phase 3: Upcoming normal moment.  
    • Identity Statement — 5 seconds 
    • Concluding Breath — 15 seconds
    • Total: 3 minutes, 40 seconds

Ch. 6: Effective Goal Setting

  • Effective goal setting comes down to 3 things:
    1. Process goals produce results 
    2. No excuses; go public
    3. Keep goals alive and live the dream 
  • The Paradox of the Product Goal — The more you think about the results-oriented goals you want to achieve during performance, the farther you get from achieving them.
    • It’s great to have results-oriented goals, but your focus needs to be on process goals during performance. 
      • Ex. MLB Pitcher — Results goal is 15 wins and a sub-3.0 ERA. This is great. But during his starts, he needs to be thinking about his process goals, such as keeping his weight back and driving the fastball low in the zone. 
    • Your process goals mirror your performance statement. It’s all about staying in the moment and focusing on your simple keys.
    • When you think about results that you want or the consequences of your performance, you get distracted and you don’t focus on the details and execution of the performance. You’re too caught up in your head. 
    • Let your results-oriented goals drive you to make good decisions that will lead to success, but focus on process goals during performance. 
  • Three Levels of Goals:
    1. Ultimate Goals
      • What you ultimately want to accomplish in your life.
      • Think legacy goals.
    2. Product Goals
      • Clearly measurable “season” type goals that lead you to your ultimate goals.
      • Think 15 wins and a sub-3.0 ERA in baseball.
    3. Process Goals 
      • The how. These are the goals that you need to focus on during performance. 
      • How you will achieve success.
      • During performance, really focus on these.

Ch. 7: Personal Rewards Program

  • You need to reward yourself when you accomplish a goal. This is important.
    • You need to reward yourself for the effort, sacrifice, and discipline you are putting in to becoming the best you can be.
  • A big part of goal setting is having a vision for yourself. Knowing WHO you want to be, HOW you want to live, and WHAT you want to accomplish.
    • After that, it’s about making good daily decisions that align with that vision.
    • You need to be doing things daily that bring you closer to your goals. If an activity isn’t bringing you closer to you vision for yourself, you are wasting time.
      • Be conscious about how you are spending your time. 

Ch. 8: Tapping the Power of Goals

  • Goals are the primary method of motivation for most successful people, per Edwin Locke and Gary Latham.
    • Two of the world’s leading minds in goal setting. 
  • “Dreams are where we want to end up and goals are how we get there.” — Rick Pitino 
  • Two keys to being fully prepared and having unwavering confidence:
      1. Put the time and effort into being fully prepared
      2. Be aware that you are fully prepared 
  • Focus on being over-prepared for a big occasion. The idea is that by working extremely hard to get prepared, the actual event or performance seems easy in comparison.

Ch. 9: Always Have a Solution on the Board

  • Humans are far better at seeing problems than solutions. It’s how we’re wired.
    • This is bad because what we dwell on expands.
  • You need to focus on solutions, not problems.
  • Being solution focused means keeping your thoughts centered on what you want in life and what it takes to achieve what you want.
    • As opposed to allowing thoughts of self-doubt to occupy the mind.
  • Quote (P. 143): “Every time I catch myself feeling angry or scared or depressed, it’s because I’m thinking about what I don’t have in my life or something that is wrong with me. The instant I catch myself feeling uncomfortable, I ask, ‘What is one thing I can do right now that could make my situation better?’ Literally 100% of the time, things improve. Sometimes I have to ask myself that question 15 or 20 times. Whatever it takes, I will keep asking until a shift occurs.”
    • If you don’t like something, do something about it. Take action. Identify a solution. Do not complain. 

Ch. 10: The Solution-Focused Tool

  • You need to replace negative thinking with positive thinking.
    • For every thought that is negative or self-doubting, replace it with the medicine — a positive thought.
    • The positive thought could be your identity statement or something similar. It could be a positive visualization.
    • This takes work, but it’s worth it.
  • Quote (P. 156): “Gradual improvement over time brings about vibrant and sustainable growth.”
    • Being disciplined to your small daily habits produces huge results! 
  • There is a solution for EVERY problem. 
    • You need to make it a priority to think about solutions over problems — “Put a solution on the board.”
    • Dwelling on problems doesn’t help one bit. Asking yourself for one solution to the problem helps tremendously. 
  • Any time you are feeling down, stressed, frustrated, or uncomfortable, you are too caught up in a problem. 
    • This is a sign to shift your focus to finding a solution. 
  • Quote (P. 166): “If you want to have a great attitude, you have to train yourself to have a great attitude.”
    • Again, you have to believe in yourself always. This has to be at the core of your thinking. 
      • Train it, practice it.
  • Quote (P. 165): “One’s reality becomes what one believes.”
    • Remember, you can’t outperform or underperform your self-image. 
    • You become what you believe. Believe in yourself to do any task!
  • Quote (P. 172): “Whatever you tell yourself, you are correct.”
    • If you continually tell yourself that you can and will accomplish your dreams, you will greatly increase your chances of having it happen.
    • If you allow yourself to engage in self-doubt, you will be less likely to make your dreams a reality.

Ch. 11: Mental Toughness

  • You are mentally tough when the mind is control of thoughts that help the body accomplish what is wanted.
    • It’s not possible without mental training in the mental gym.
    • Figure out which thoughts help you perform and then repeat them to yourself constantly.
  • Quote (P. 170): “The more you choose to think about what you want and what it takes to get there, the more success you will enjoy.”