Mental Rituals for Positive Attitude and Results
by Peter McLaughlin and Peter McLaughlin, Jr.

Up the street from McLaughlin Company, the tournament officials at Torrey Pines are ecstatic since Tiger Woods announced he would be participating at this month’s Buick Open. In addition to marveling at his astronomical drives of the tee, I’ve always been impressed with Tiger’s work ethic, focus, and preparation. Specifically, I enjoy watching the rituals or routines he goes through before each shot: his methodical habit of surveying the lie, lining up his shot, assuming the perfect stance, and taking a couple practice swings. Like other athletes’ rituals, the purpose of the routine is to prepare him mentally and physically to perform at his best.

Lately, I’ve begun emphasizing the importance of what I call a “morning performance ritual” – the business person’s equivalent of Tiger’s pre-shot routine. I’ve been emphasizing this, partly, because the deep uncertainty in the economy and world affairs has begun undermining many people’s confidence and productivity. Additionally, I’ve been inspired by compelling new research that demonstrates how your thought patterns influence the physiology of your brain. Just as you can shape up your body with a good exercise program, you can literally change the biochemistry and neuronal connections in your brain by upgrading your thinking patterns – with the results of more positive moods and superior performance. (The research studies involved specific mental training techniques such as meditation).

What is a morning performance ritual? I’m not talking about cosmic woo-woo here. A ritual is a simple mental routine that sets a positive frame of mind and helps you seize the day.

Why do a morning ritual? A ritual helps people become more aware of their state of mind, and take control of their attitude and performance. Especially in today’s world of overload, it is exceedingly easy to get scattered, tense, or frustrated. And for a lot of people, this attitude starts first thing in the morning, with a mad rush of feeding kids, fighting traffic, and facing a landslide of emails and voice mails when you get to your desk.

By starting your day off with a morning performance ritual, however, you deliberately carve out a brief interval to step back, take a deep breath, and instill a sense of calm, focus, and energy. You call forth your best self, and dive into the day ready to make great things happen. It’s a key habit, an anchor that sets you up for a day of positive energy and productive activity.

How to do a morning ritual

Let me get practical, and offer some specific recommendations for an effective ritual:

1. Take a deep breath, all the way to the base of your lungs, and continue deep rhythmic breathing.
2. Relax the muscles in your shoulders, neck, and face. Allow a wave of relaxation and confidence to wash through your body and brain.
3. Take a moment for gratitude by counting at least 4 things for which you are grateful.
4. Recall one or two past moments of personal victory or success, times when you performed at your best.
5. Review an affirmation, quotation, or personal mission statement you find meaningful.
6. Bring to mind the personal heroes, mentors, coaches, or friends who bring out the best in you.
7. Visualize making some of the changes you are planning to make in your career or life.
8. Commit to bringing forth your best self, and to making this an incredibly productive and enjoyable day.

Most people go through their ritual when they first wake up in the morning, in the shower, on the drive to work, or when they first get to their desk. It should be simple enough so you do it every day, it should be personally meaningful, and it should set you up for a high-energy, effective day. If you have a written description of your ritual saved as a file on your computer, it makes it easy just to bring up the document and reflect as you read through it. (You can just copy the above description if you’d like.)

It’s okay if you change your ritual over time. In fact, as you go through your ritual morning after morning, you’ll naturally find some parts more meaningful than others, and you’ll probably add or delete certain elements. The important thing is to make it a habit, a daily reflection that helps you stay mentally tough and get the most out of your life.

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