Mental Conditioning by Jimmy Hensel // Puzzles Are Perfect; People Are Not

Here is what I believe: Puzzles are perfect, every piece fits in its particular way, it’s easy to know what’s right and what’s wrong, it obvious what fits and what does not. Emotion is not useful when you are working to organize the pieces. The puzzle does not care about your age, your race, your sex, your politics, your ideology, religion, or culture. If you have the ability to control your emotions and be patient. If you are willing to work to put the puzzle pieces in the right place and you are good with the time it will take, you will eventually be successful, and you will see the image, words, or message the puzzle was made to convey. In the end, when you finished with the puzzle, as you stand up and look down at what you have accomplished, you could say, “It’s perfect.” I got all of the pieces in the right place, and that would be the truth.

Puzzles can be perfect; people cannot. Who said that?!? I want to give them credit. I think I heard it on a podcast I was listening to; it resonates with me. I have defined my life by the value of Excellence because I spent so much of my early life trying to be a perfect person, only to repeatedly collide with the truth that perfect with people is impossible.

When I have breathed my last breath and my time on this planet is finished. No one, including the people who love me the most, will stand back and reflect on my life and say that any part of my life was perfect. To type those words on my, IPad for this blog post is utterly preposterous. I have been the king of the fools; I cannot do it right enough times to make up for all the times I did it wrong. If anything close to perfect was the standard I had to attain for my life on this planet to matter, then I have already ultimately failed. Everything I currently believe is truth for my life; everything I think I have done right was born out of my almost constant failure.

No human being to ever live on this planet, except the spiritual conversation of God come to earth, can claim perfection. For argument's sake, let’s use the current popular statistic that there have been 108 billion people to live on planet earth. So arguably, there has only been one perfect person in a sea of billions of other people, and that idea or stat is not a matter of fact; it’s a matter of spiritual faith or a strong belief in God anchored in spiritual conviction rather than a provable fact.

Don’t stop reading here because somehow you feel what you believe spiritually is somehow being challenged! Can we eliminate any controversy by agreeing that no one currently alive is perfect? Of the 7.674 billion people now alive on this planet, not one single person can say they have done it all perfectly. Can we agree on that?

I’m exhausted, embarrassed, and frustrated that it took so much of my life, my personal human experience, to finally surrender to the reality of the truth that people cannot and will not ever be perfect. Inside the culture wars and the war of ideas, in every category, sports, politics, religion, technology, the arts, etc., there is one common denominator, imperfect people.

It may seem silly to some of you, but dealing with the reality of my imperfection has become one of the secrets to any consistency and success I have. I did the work to create the language and tools I needed to move forward by defining myself from the inside out. I mean choosing what I believed about my heart, how I was wired, and then working my way out to the practical things I believed I was supposed to do to succeed despite my imperfection.

I chose to believe that the spirit of freedom lived in my heart; it was hardwired in me; I was born with the desire to live free. I believe freedom is a gift from God to the human heart. I decided I would have to fight for and wrestle with freedom physically, mentally, and spiritually. I mean, to live with freedom, I had to have the answers for my imperfections physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Next, I decided the other gift I had been given was the freedom of choice. The ability to choose my path in life, to choose my beliefs, to choose my community, the people I live with and love. Freedom and the ability to choose are what separates humans from every other living creature. People are not perfect, but freedom is in our soul, and we can choose. That’s a miracle for me.

I realized that I was trying to make all my most significant decisions based on my strongest beliefs. Without a solid working knowledge of my core values as tools, without putting what I believed into language so that my values could become clear targets to daily re-aim at my imperfections would continually be the same obstacles, and freedom would eventually become my stumbling block if I weren’t intentional with its power.

So trying to be perfect left me frustrated and defeated; I was imperfect, broken, and fallible. Perfection was unattainable in my life. However, I decided to pursue Excellence in everything that I do continuously; Excellence became the core value I would re-aim at every day. I adopted the pursuit of Excellence as a foundational truth in my life and my personal code. In my code, the pursuit of Excellence leaves room for mistakes but demands that I correct those mistakes and not make them again.

Striving for Excellence isn't flashy; it's mundane. Excellence is accomplished through deliberate actions ordinary in themselves. These actions must be performed consistently, made into habits and goals then compounded together over time. Since achieving Excellence is mundane, it's within my reach. The proper perspective for me is to retain what works well, build on it, improve it, and correct the mistakes. I can and should always be moving toward Excellence. For me, the pursuit of Excellence understands that making improvements will require me to take purposeful risks; taking risks means making mistakes. If I’m not making mistakes, I’m not learning; I’m not aiming high enough or pushing hard enough. My pursuit of Excellence requires me to fix those mistakes and not to make them again.

I understand that I am imperfect, but I make no excuses. Minute by minute, day by day, I’m working to improve to develop Excellence in my life. That’s the way it works for me. My life is a constant process of refinement to do better by daily re aiming at the value of Excellence, and that process doesn’t end until I’m dead.

Freedom + Choice + Excellence Physically, Mentally, and Spiritually = how I overcome my imperfections. S&H

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Jim Hensel

Mental Conditioning by Jimmy Hensel // Establishing Your Personal Identity

Let’s break it down. If your principal aim in life is setting and accomplishing goals, then how do you recalibrate and re-aim when you fail to achieve your goal? It is currently fashionable to focus on motivation, but I think motivation is overrated. Where do you turn when you don’t feel right, and your emotions betray you? Creating positive habits, following rules, and developing systems are all valuable tools that measure progress. However, if they become your principal aim, you will risk losing focus on the personal relationships in your life. So, where should you be aiming at first?

It’s easy to prove the importance of establishing your personal identity. It’s just true that all of us are making the most important choices and decisions in our lives, based on our strongest beliefs. So why is it that so few of us can quickly, clearly, and concisely articulate our personal identity and core values and use them strategically and intentionally?

Many of us have allowed the opinions of others to define us. Many of us have let the culture, momentum or emotion define our lives and are forced to face hardship or miss opportunity because we don’t know what to do next.

I believe your identity and values can become a platform of strength that will guide you as you set goals, develop habits, and work at staying motivated. Your identity and values should remind you to capture your emotions when they start to spin out of control. Your identity and values can enable you to create the energy necessary to accomplish your task or take care of those who are counting on you when you don’t feel motivated.

Understanding how you fit in your family, team, and community will require you to establish your personal identity and organize your core values in a manner that makes them force multipliers in your life.

Define yourself so you can aim true each day and live in a more valuable and purposeful way!

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Jim Hensel

Mental Conditioning by Jimmy Hensel // Standing in the Gap

In the Mayhem Mindset Game, an important part of BEing a good man or BEing a good women means we are able to stand in the gap for the people we love. Having that ability requires us to be in control of our emotions. Having that ability means we must be able to think outside of our own feelings and thoughtfully craft a plan that best benefits the people we are responsible for.

We must understand clearly how much truth is needed. We also have to remember that the truth hurts most times and its important to serve it up in a way that benefits, builds and grows the people that we love. We must be able to understand how much grace is necessary and that sometimes means we make sacrifices to move them ahead. Understanding the balance between Grace and Truth is key, and serving it up correctly is even more important. BEing this kind of man or women requires that we set our ego aside and BE intentional.

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Jimmy Hensel

Mental Conditioning by Jimmy Hensel // How to Replace Negative Emotions with Core Values

Dealing with negative emotions can be a challenging task, especially when they stem from life-changing events like a divorce. As a athlete, I knew that replacing negative emotions with a core value can be a powerful way to overcome weakness and inconsistency. My epiphany came when I realized that I could not simply "stop feeling bad and forgive" after my divorce. I knew I had to replace the negative emotion of unforgiveness with something positive. That's when I turned to my code and my core values, specifically, the value of hope.

As an athlete, I knew the importance of sticking to a routine, even when it was tough. I applied this same principle to my emotional state, committing to responding as a hopeful man, regardless of how I felt. By doing so, I was able to change my mindset and replace the feeling of unforgiveness with the value of hope. Hope became a clear target for me to aim at every day.

This technique is not just for athletes. Anyone can use it to overcome negative emotions and stay on mission. BUT… you have to be clear about your core values and get them organized so they can be a force multiplier in your life. Your values are the principles that guide your decisions and actions in life. Once you have identified your core values, you can use them as a compass to guide your emotions.

The next step is to develop a routine that incorporates your core values. This routine should be designed to help you use your values as a filter especially when faced with challenging situations and emotions are running high. By doing so, you can develop mindset tools to respond to negative emotions in a more intentional way.

Finally, it's essential to have a clear mission and vision for your life. This mission should be based on your personal identity and values, and it should guide everything you do. By having a clear understanding of purpose, you can stay focused on your goals and always be moving forward.

Do the mental conditioning work to establish your personal identity, organize your core values, and develop a great routine by clicking the link and signing up HERE!

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Jimmy Hensel

Mental Conditioning by Jimmy Hensel // The Mayhem Mindset Game Starts With The Principal Of BE

The Mayhem Mindset game starts with the Principle of BE.

First, focus on the kind of person you were created to BE before choosing what to DO with your life. Knowing who you BE starts with defining yourself, understanding and organizing your values and talents then developing some personal philosophy that points you at purpose in your life. The Principle of BE is also about connecting your emotions to your values in order to keep your life on track regardless of how you might happen to feel. Your values are supposed to be like a filter connected to the emotions that give your life meaning. Your values are supposed to keep you aimed at your truth when your emotions betray you from time to time.

For example, if you believe in a value like patience, then you should be able to BE patient in a room full of impatient people. Your values must be authentic and developed into the mindset tools you use in the moments when your truth hurts and you must BE able to generate the energy necessary to stand by what you said you believe.

If you're in a place in life where you need these answers to face adversity or take advantage of opportunity, then Mayhem Mindset may be right for you. Check out our two subscription offerings at www.themayhemmindet.com and signup today!

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Jim Hensel

Mental Conditioning by Jimmy Hensel // Live Life With Emotion Not Because Of Emotion

In the Mayhem Mindset Process Energy and Emotion are not the same thing. Both are an essential part of life, but in the Mayhem Mindset Process we manage them differently.

Emotions give our lives meaning. What would life be like without feelings? Love, hate, the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat! I would not want to live a life without Emotion. Emotion is a great fire starter, but it’s not stainable fuel for our lives. Our Emotions will betray us from time to time. We have all made decisions solely based on Emotion and lived to regret it.

However, Energy is the sustainable fuel we need to power us forward. We must generate Energy in-spite of how we feel. Energy must be created from an authentic connection and understanding of our identity, our core values, and a strong sense of purpose for our lives.

Live your life with Emotion, not because of Emotion. Do the work to define yourself so you can quickly convert from Emotion to Energy when necessary and become 100% of the person you were created to BE.

Learn more about how to create mindset tools and convert Emotion to Energy at www.mayhemmindset.com

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Jim Hensel

Mental Conditioning by Jimmy Hensel // You Can't Just Think Your Way To Success

In order to become 100% of the person you were created to be, you must constantly be challenging your personal truths physically, mentally, and spiritually. Life should be a continual process of improving yourself and honing your mindset skills through the adversity and opportunity in your life. We all know nothing sustainable or lasting in this life comes without paying the price for it.

It’s impossible to get stronger mentally by just thinking your way there. Growing mental strength will require you to connect and put into action what you believe physically and spiritually.

Establishing your personal identity and organizing your core values is work you must do to establish the foundation of how you want to think. Identity and values become the position of strength you think and act from. Next, you must connect those beliefs to a great routine, including rules, habits, and a system you create so you can daily re-aim and continually move forward and grow.

TRY THIS! How good of a listener are you? To BE present in a conversation is one of the most challenging things for so many people to do but being present is a mindset skill you have to intentionally develop if you expect to reach your potential in any part of your life.

Being fully present in a conversation without your mind wandering is the objective. Exercising and practicing self-discipline to be in control of your thoughts and emotions, so you are prepared for real adversity or opportunity. Develop the skill of listening, develop the ability to know how to think properly and respond in a prepared and practiced manner.

Listening seems so simple, but it requires you to be present, and that takes practice. You don’t have to give great advice, be right, or sound smart; just be willing to sit there and allow the other person to talk.

PRACTICE THIS! Set a time limit, say 10 minutes. Try it, practice getting and staying present, hear what’s being said; it doesn’t even matter what the other person is talking about. If you need to have a response, simply acknowledge them and their feelings (acknowledgment and validation are not the same things), give them a hug then move forward with your day. The WHOLE point in this exercise is to stay present. That’s it.

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Jim Hensel

Mental Conditioning by Jimmy Hensel // Choose Your Response to the Storm

No one is underestimating the need for the proper mindset now. Today like no other point in recent history, it’s time to take ownership of your thoughts and emotions. Getting your mindset right starts with choosing how you will respond to the storms that have surrounded us. Make sure you have storm-proofed yourself before you turn to help your family and your community.

Here is a problem, many of us have been operating on the momentum based on how we have always done things, and that's all quickly changing now. Many of us have been focusing on staying motivated and making adjustments and choices based on how we feel about our circumstances. Know that these unique and new pressures affect us all, the patterns, systems, and rules we have trusted based on momentum, are compromised, and the emotions many of us feel are overwhelming us, causing us to retreat or freeze instead of moving forward.

Emotional stability starts with being able to think clearly based on your strongest beliefs. Your belief systems are what regulate your emotions. If you know who you are and you are clear about what you believe in, you will know your place in your family and your community. With this understanding, you can be prepared to respond and make a difference in the lives of the people who are counting on you.

It’s time to stop and organize your core values. Your values must be clearly defined and put into language. If they’re not in language, then they're not tools you can use. It’s just true if you don't have the words to describe what you believe, then you are not connected to what you say you believe authentically.

Values-based responses must become instinctual. Values are the anchors we can trust in the most trying times, and through the most significant storms in life. If you are not able to respond based on your values and your strongest beliefs quickly, then you and the people you are responsible for will be left at the mercy of momentum and emotion.

Choose your response to the storm.

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Jim Hensel

Mental Conditioning by Jimmy Hensel // Living In The Wheeze

A friend of mine and football coach James Jones has a unique perspective on handling adversity. When challenging his players to face adversity head on, he demands that they learn to get comfortable “Living in the Wheeze!” He said, “The Wheeze” is that place where you feel like you can’t breathe, you think your body can’t do anymore, and the cowardly thought of quitting starts to creep into the back of your mind.

Author Napoleon Hill said “Every adversity carries with it the seed for an equivalent advantage”. The simple truth is that the adversity you face physically, mentally and spiritually will refine your life and increase your growth and vision or it will define your life and create deficits you can’t easily recover from.

No clear minded thinker is going to disagree that withdrawing from adversity is the wisest tendency. As individuals, we should clearly distinguish and define the adversity we are facing and then create a clear strategy for dealing with it.

If you haven’t done the work to define yourself and you don’t know how to live from a clear understanding of your personal identity and your core values, then you will face the adversity in your life at the mercy of your emotions, hoping to feel up to it, and trying to stay motivated.

Facing adversity starts with capturing your thoughts and getting you’re emotions under control, so your going to need to develop some mindset tools so you can stay properly motivated. More importantly, growing and creating an advantage from adversity means that the choices and decisions you make must come from a strong understanding of your personal identity and be filtered by your strongest beliefs and values.

I’M CHALLENGING YOU! In 60 seconds or less can you clearly articulate your purpose, 10 core values and recite a personal mission statement to hold yourself accountable through the adversity you face?

Do the work at mayhemmindset.com to get prepared for adversity and get comfortable “Living in the Wheeze!”

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Jimmy Hensel

Mental Conditioning by Jimmy Hensel // Prove What You Say You Believe By Living It

Are you daily testing and strengthening your core values, the truth in your life, or are you unwittingly strengthening a flawed or underdeveloped, or unproven ideology? How do you know?

Let me play the devil's advocate in this blog: Are you telling me you’ve got everything right, locked down when it comes to your values? In my opinion, if you answered that with a confident yes, you're wrong.

Your personal identity and your core values are intended to be developed, challenged, and grown daily. Use them or lose them! Physically, mentally, and spiritually it’s the same for all of us as humans; there is no neutral. We are either coming forward or in atrophy in all three of those areas in our lives.

As a culture, many of us wrote down our mission statements and core values, hung them on the wall in the board room or the locker room, and then forgot to use them. We become driven in the pursuit of success, staying motivated or creating the perfect system without first doing the work to build the foundation of the values as the position on strength to operate from.

“Positive values anchor us through adversity and ground us in success.” Jim Hensel

There is only one way to prove value in your life; that’s by pressure testing it. You must purposefully test the truth of that value in your life outside your comfort zone, outside the environment you can control. Put your truth to the test mentally, physically, and spiritually to see if that value holds up as a foundational truth in your life. I hate it, but what I’m saying is just true; it’s easy to believe something when we’re comfortable. Think about it, when you’re comfortable, what does it matter what you believe in? Life has taught us that we will either ground ourselves through our values in extreme adversity, or if those values aren’t authentic, we blame somebody or something else and abandon those values under pressure proving what we said we believe was just a slogan or not defined enough to work in the adversity or opportunity we are facing.

“The truth will set you free and becoming a refining power in your life, or the truth will crush you like gravity.” Jim Hensel

You test your values by living them out. The proof is in the pudding; as they say, if it’s truth, it will work; you do it by practicing it and living it. You have to get outside your comfort zone, and you have to take what you think you believe and actually apply it in life. How do you know what you believe is the truth? Are you telling me you’ve never made a mistake, are you telling me you don’t make mistakes and that you’re perfect? Are you telling me the people who taught you about what you believe are perfect and they don’t make mistakes? Of course not; that’s a silly, immature thing even to say. We all are fallible. We all make mistakes. That’s why it’s necessary, even imperative, to test the truth in your life continually.

The only real way to know how much weight you can lift in the gym is to train and lift the weight. The only real way to know if what you believe is worth a damn is actually to put it into practice. When you screw up, and you will say I’m sorry, fix it and move forward again.

“There is no power in truth; there is the only power in living and applying truth to your life” Jim Hensel

Knowledge about the right thing to do or learning about the truth is not the same as actually applying it and living it; knowledge and wisdom are not the same things. Nothing replaces experience and the perspective it brings. One of the most significant challenges in life is that experience and wisdom work together. It’s always a mistake to stay in your comfort zone and avoid pressure; it’s always a mistake to think that you have it totally figured out before actually putting it into action in your life.

You will solidify your values if you are willing to clearly define them and take the purposeful risk to test them in life! Start something hard and finish it. Whether it’s a workout, whether it’s the end of a hard day, it’s the end of the season, or the end of life, there will always be a new perspective and growth; that’s where your values grow, and the truth becomes obvious.

There are no formulas, only pressure, only facing adversity, only walking it out.

I believe there are primary foundational principles that we can start from that have been proven over time. However, I think that you are uniquely made, that you were put on this planet with a specific purpose. Your personal identity is unique to you; your talents, your abilities, the way you were raised, your story, your life experiences are all unique.

Be very careful with people who want to tell you what you should believe instead of coaching you to develop that skill set for yourself and your family. Stop disappointing yourself, do the work to define yourself, create the mindset skills necessary to take the courageous, purpose-filled risks necessary to live an extraordinary life. S&H!

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Jim Hensel

Mental Conditioning by Jimmy Hensel // If It Doesn't Challenge You, It Doesn't Change You

We all have weakness, mentally, physically or emotionally that stand in the way of greatness in our lives. The fact of the matter is you can only push yourself so hard and so far before your weaknesses keep you from the changes you seek. If you wish to reach your potential, you will need to challenge yourself and be challenged by others. How you respond in that moment of challenge separates good from great.

As an individual or a member of a team/organization, we have to be coachable and submit our talent and allow ourselves to be shaped and molded. Whatever our limitations, they must be challenged in order to change. Some of us are blessed with extraordinary physical talent but lack self discipline, that must be challenged for positive change. Some of us lack the natural physical ability to be great, you must be challenged to overcome those deficiencies. Others bring emotional scars that will limit greatness.

At some point being challenged is key to moving past our limitations. As we mature, we must recognizes our weaknesses and choose to put ourselves in a position to be coached. A coach isn’t necessarily a better person than you are, they just have a different perspective. Embrace the moment of challenge in your life, be coachable and go from good to great!

If you're in a place in life where you need these answers to face adversity or take advantage of opportunity, check out our link below and sign up! We offer 2 options self-paced, and the other with our coaches on weekly group Zoom webinars. First Responder and Military discounts are available. Inquire at info@mayhemmindset.com.

https://jim-hensel.mykajabi.com/landing-page-mayhem-mindset

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Jim Hensel

Mental Conditioning by Jimmy Hensel // How To Deal With Fear and Anxiety Before A Workout

I hate it when someone asks for mindset help on how to deal with fear and worry before a work out and the advice they get is “just choose not to be afraid, it’s easy!” The truth is choosing not to be afraid isn’t easy for everyone. Let’s quickly break down what goes into developing a mindset before a workout or competition that’s not based in fear. 

First, Fear lives in the future; it’s an imagination about what might happen. Worrying or being afraid is not the same thing as planning. 

Danger is different. Danger is real, and you mitigate danger by planning for it and by growing your confidence by training and successfully overcoming it. 

So, when facing a challenging workout, especially when you don’t have much experience, you must focus your energy, thoughts and action on developing a specific plan for the workout with someone qualified to help you break it down and create a realistic plan based on your knowledge and experience. Get control of your thoughts and get present by developing and focusing on a plan that attacks the more challenging or dangerous parts of the workout, not by allowing yourself to spend time lost in imagination about failure.

Focus your energy and effort on executing the plan instead of worrying or being afraid about the outcome. Your brain can’t be thinking about executing the plan and be afraid at the same time!  

Remember, putting a plan together only needs to take a few minutes. It’s ok to talk about how you will approach and attack challenging skills in the workout, but it’s NOT productive to spend time talking about the negative things that might or might not happen. What might happen isn’t written. Be where your feet are! Get present, and stick to your plan as you grow your experience. As your skill level grows, so will your confidence. You will see your level of anxiety diminish. 

Capture your thoughts about what might or might not happen. Scale appropriately, then approach the workout in a planned, purposeful manner that will allow you to take the risks necessary to bring the energy you need to give your best effort. 

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Jimmy Hensel  

Mental Conditioning by Jimmy Hensel // Face the Truth

Show me a person who won’t face the truth in their life and I will show you a person who is ruled by their emotions and the opinions of others.

Take a look at yourself, are you living and staying true to what you say you believe? Are you in control of your attitude and effort or are you easily swayed?

Making yourself accountable to your truth comes before living an authentic life filled with purpose, it’s never the other way around.

The important question becomes what’s your truth, what do you believe in?

If you’re ready to do the work to get reorganized and develop clear language for your Identity and Values, we invite you to head over to click the link below and get signed up.

https://jim-hensel.mykajabi.com/landing-page-mayhem-mindset

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Jimmy Hensel

Mental Conditioning by Jimmy Hensel // Fighting The Fear In Your Life

Dragons only exist in fairytales, just as fear only exists in the stories we make up. Fear is a mental response to a perceived danger or threat. Fear is not real; it’s made up in our minds. However, the danger is very real, and we need to assess it and respond appropriately.

Fear is a manufactured emotion based on something that might happen. Think about it; most of what we are afraid of never actually happens in our lives, but we suffer the mental and emotional consequences anyway. Fear lives in the future. There can be so much clutter in our minds, that it becomes hard to distinguish between danger and fear. The best mental tool I have to fight fear is BEing Present.

~Practice this Mindset Tool~

First, capture the emotion and only allow yourself to think and react to what is happening in the Present. Acknowledge the negative thought, but don't allow yourself to dwell on it.

Next, replace the fear with a positive value and act on that value. For example, Hope is one of my core values. I defined Hope as “the spring that moves me forward.” I may feel afraid, but my actions or response will be to do what a hopeful person would do. We must capture the fearful thoughts then convert that into energy based on the value of hope in order to move forward and get something positive done. Take a minute and think, what is your positive value that will help you re-aim and move you forward?

Even in high-pressure situations, you are capable of handling what’s in front of you when you limit your thoughts and emotions to what you’re dealing with right now. I’m not talking about sticking your head in the sand and ignoring life‘s problems or failing to plan for the future, but I am talking about fighting the fear in your life.

Stop for a second and think, are you really in danger, or are you just afraid?

KEEP COMING FORWARD!

Jim Hensel

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Mental Conditioning by Jimmy Hensel // Perfection VS Excellence

Trying to be perfect left me frustrated and defeated. I was imperfect, broken, and fallible. Perfection was unattainable in my life, but I could continuously pursue Excellence in everything that I do.

As I defined myself and refined my mindset, I realized that development and growth for every human being starts in a state of imperfection. It’s just true, our body, our minds, the systems and structure we live in, none of it is perfect or ever will be perfect as long as humans are involved. 

The proper perspective for growth for me is to retain what works well, build on it, improve it, and correct the mistakes. I can and should always be moving toward Excellence. For me, the pursuit of Excellence understands that making improvements will require me to take purposeful risks; taking risks means making mistakes. If I’m not making mistakes, I’m not learning; I’m not aiming high enough or pushing hard enough. My pursuit of Excellence requires me to fix those mistakes and not to make them again. 

Striving for Excellence isn't flashy, it's actually mundane. Excellence is accomplished through deliberate actions, ordinary in themselves. These actions must be performed consistently, made into habits and goals, then compounded together over time. Since achieving Excellence is mundane, it's within everyone’s reach.

I understand that I am imperfect, but I make no excuses. Minute by minute, day to day, I’m working to improve to develop Excellence in my life. That’s the way it works for me. My life is a constant journey to get better by daily re-aiming at the value of Excellence, and that journey won’t end until I’m dead. 

KEEP COMING FORWARD!!

Jimmy Hensel

Mental Conditioning by Jimmy Hensel // How to Re-Aim Your Life Everyday

It’s just true that any mature person is trying to make the biggest choices for their life based on their strongest beliefs. It’s also true that how we live our lives, how we respond to adversity is a reflection of what’s in our heart Identity and how we think Mindset through the lens of our Core Values strongest beliefs.

In the Mental Conditioning Process, this is the formula to aim your life properly: Identity + Core Values + A Great Routine = A Vision that will work for your life.

Now, I love to shoot, so I'm going to use a gun analogy, it will surely offend someone, but I will keep coming forward and lay this out in a way that makes me happy. I definitely could have explained this in simpler terms, but I had so much fun writing this!

In simple shooting terms, If you have trained with a reliable rifle that has trustworthy sites so that you can aim it properly, hitting your target is possible. If the bullet finds its mark, it’s said “the bullet flew true.” I think that this definition of the truth applies in all areas of our lives. If it’s true, then it works, you can hit what you're aiming at.

Let’s plug my gun analogy into the Mental Conditioning Formula for creating a Vision or plan for your life.

ESTABLISHING YOUR IDENTITY- Understanding your Personal Identity is like owning a reliable rifle. From your personal experience, you understand your rifle design. Your rifle is a tool you know well because you maintain it, you train with it, and you know it’s capabilities.

Understanding your Personal Identity is knowing why you were created and being prepared to live your life intentionally with purpose. Understanding your Personal Identity means you understand the way your heart is wired, and you know how it works. It means you are secure in the knowledge that you are enough and that you are prepared to operate in adversity. You know you can count on yourself, and the people you are responsible for know they can count on you. Being secure with your Personal Identity means you can live your truth under pressure and you are capable of supporting the truth in your life reliably.

For me, being clear and secure with my own Personal Identity is like owning my Daniel Defense rifle. I understand how it works, I consistently train with it, and I know if I aim it correctly, I know it will reliably respond. I know who I am as an individual, I know I am reliable, and I know I can support and use my Core Values to aim my life intentionally.

ORGANIZING YOUR CORE VALUES - Core Values are like the sites or optic on a reliable rifle. Without sites or a scope, hitting your target (goals, motivation, habits, etc.) consistently is unlikely. Core Values are the lens you use to consistently re-aim your life. Doing the work to organize your Core Values, defining them, putting them into language that's meaningful and authentic to you personally is vital. Your Core Values need to be actionable, not just some cool words you write down. They must represent your personal strengths, your emotional weaknesses, and the ideals you are reaching for.

When you have done the work to establish your Personal Identity and connect that to solid Core Values, then you have the foundation or platform to reliably aim at a Great Routine and work intentionally to become 100% of the person, athlete, family, team, or business you were designed to BE.

Having a clear understanding of your Personal Identity and staying connected to your Core Values is like owning a reliable rifle with good optics/sites. When it comes time to shoot, under pressure, in the best or worst of conditions you know you can get on target and stay on target consistently.

A GREAT ROUTINE- This is the target your aiming at! Never underestimate the importance of a Great Routine! When I talk about creating a Great Routine, I’m talking about creating mindset tools, setting goals, and getting and staying motivated, including controlling your emotions and using momentum in your favor. Developing a process and becoming excellent with the X’s and O’s, in the system you use, is the last part of the Mental Conditioning equation to develop a vision and a plan that will work for your life.

Here is the problem! Many people are principally focused on developing a Great Routine without doing the foundational work to establish their Personal Identity and Core Values. To use my gun analogy, it’s like trying to hit the target with an unreliable rifle with no sites. They end up frustrated when they don’t hit their target or reach their goal. They struggle with staying motivated when their emotions betray them. The struggle to be present and live or train consistently is real! Finally, many people limit themselves by staying one dimensional. You must develop a Great Routine for your life physically, mentally, and spiritually.

If you're going to be successful in your personal life and reach your potential in business or athletics, knowing how to bridge the gap between your personal identity and your business/athletic identity is a requirement. Anyone who is successful in their interpersonal relationships and excellent in business or performance has formulated answers and developed perspective for their life physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Using my gun analogy: They have developed a working platform (reliable rifle) of Identity to operate from. They can accurately aim their life through the lens (scope/optic) of their Core Values, and they have created a Great Routine or (target) to aim at in all the important areas that make us human beings. S&H

Identity + Core Values + A Great Routine = A Vision that will work for your life.

Keep Coming Forward!

Jim Hensel

Mental Conditioning by Jimmy Hensel // BE Where Your Feet Are

Some people spend so much time lost in regret that they never are able to live in the present. Some people are so worried or afraid about the future that they miss the meaning their life was supposed to bring them today. Many of us are not the influencer of our own lives; instead, the momentum and the moment's emotion hold power, so many people aren’t aware enough to see life is happening to them.

It’s just true that our strongest beliefs or core values aren’t useful unless we have the mental awareness and ability to apply those truths to what we are doing today, in the present. Just thinking about or wishing for good things won’t get it done. Being able to recite words that seem to represent or sound like what you believe is not the same as choosing to live and demonstrate your values through your actions.

Here is the rub, none of what I’m saying matters until it does. For most of us in the western culture, our lives have been comfortable enough. Most of our needs are met that we quit intentionally challenging ourselves to grow and intentionally face the adversity (not looking for trouble, challenging ourselves) that is necessary to continue to refine our personal character, sharpen our body, mind, and spirit for greater opportunity or a tough time that lies ahead. Consequently, we arrive in that opportunity or dark time, and we haven’t done the work to be prepared to respond from a position of strength. Instead of being able to capture our emotions and use momentum as a tool, it’s the other way around. We are a slave to our feelings, trying to swim against the current. Again, none of this matters until it does.

First, we have to realize we need to be the influencer of our own lives intentionally. To understand and practice operating in the freedom, we have been given. Just the momentum of our modern culture will control you if you aren’t daily correcting your course. Next, it’s necessary to have answers for our lives physically, mentally, and spiritually. If you neglect any of those areas, your power and purpose will leak out in the area you have neglected. To be human means that everything we do starts with feelings and emotions. Feelings and emotions give our lives meaning; life wouldn’t be worth living without emotion. However, our emotions will betray us or be used against us if we aren’t clear about our personal identity and core values. If we neglect to create mental tools to control and practice with those tools to prepare for opportunity or adversity.

BEing present, BE where your feet are. Today is the only day you have. All you can control is your attitude and effort right now. Thinking is the job of your mind. You must consciously choose the thoughts you want to engage with and grow those thoughts to create your reality. I believe the most important mindset tool is the ability to bring your mind to the present and focus on the task at hand. In your personal life, as an athlete or in business, the ability to clear your mind and heart and respond based on what you think (values-based) rather than reacting based on emotion (trying to feel right) in order to dictate the outcome is the goal. Do the work to get prepare for when it matters. Define yourself, or be defined. S&H

Keep Coming Forward!

Jim Hensel

Mental Conditioning by Jimmy Hensel // Don't Stunt Your Own Growth

Here is the problem! Many people are principally focused on their schedules, rules, habits, and staying motivated without first doing the foundational work to establish their Personal Identity and Core Values.

How do you quickly re-aim when you just aren’t motivated, you fail to reach your goals, your systems break down, or when your emotions betray you? How do you step back and create a new plan or vision? The fight to stay present, to live and train consistently is a real-life challenge! Don’t unwittingly stunt your growth by staying one-dimensional.

In the Mental Conditioning Process, being able to re-aim every day and to cast a vision for your life that is actionable, will mean you have done the work to establish a clear understanding of your Personal Identity. Living consistently in a purposeful way will require you to know how to define and exert your Identity first as an individual. You have to know who you are as an individual so that you can understand your place in your family, on your team, and in society as a whole.

Being secure in your Personal Identity means you know you can count on yourself and that the people you are responsible for know they can count on you. Being secure with your Personal Identity means you can live your truth under pressure, and you are capable of supporting your truth in your life reliably.

The next fundamental key to re-aiming your life every day in the Mental Conditioning Process is doing the work to organize and choose your Core Values, define them, and put them into language that's meaningful and authentic to you personally. Your Core Values need to be force multipliers, actionable, not just some cool words you write down. They must represent your personal strengths, your emotional weaknesses, and the ideals you are reaching for. When was the last time you stopped to rethink and re-organize your Values? Simply put, your Core Values are your strongest beliefs put into language and written down. Could you pause right now and quickly make a list of 10 Core Values you use to guide your life? Can you describe how those principles and beliefs help define your Personal Identity?

After you have done this work to define yourself, now you are prepared to clearly aim and connect to the schedules, rules, habits, and motivation necessary to move your life forward, all from the authentic position of strength your Personal Identity and Core Values give you. Being able to re-aim daily, to cast a vision for your life that will work, means you have developed a working platform of Identity to operate from. You can accurately re-aim your life through the lens of your Core Values, and you have created a Great Routine of motivation, habits, systems, and goals that become your targets to daily point your life at in all the important areas that make us human beings. S&H

Identity + Core Values + A Great Routine = A Vision that will work for your life.


Keep Coming Forward!

Jim Hensel

Mental Conditioning by Jimmy Hensel // It's Time to Grow

Sometimes people decide to remain immature and actually choose to stay an undeveloped person. Becoming more competent can be intimidating. The understanding that becoming a better person means facing adversity can be difficult to embrace. Many people simply will not choose to be uncomfortable and grow. Some people intentionally fill up their lives or even create chaos in order to avoid the adversity and the challenge it takes to really move forward. It’s human nature to get complacent.

Becoming 100% of the person you were created to BE will require you to work hard and face adversity. Adversity is one of the key ingredients in living a life full of purpose and makes the quest to reach your potential meaningful. The realization that you’re headed somewhere better than where you are now is directly related to your willingness to face adversity and is crucial to self-development. Ideally, we should always be looking to improve and replace the good things in our lives with something better.

Are you growing? Are you unclear about what to do next in your life? Can you imagine what you could become if you intentionally faced the adversity it takes to improve? We have all been there! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

Keep Coming Forward

Jim Hensel

Mental Conditioning by Jimmy Hensel // It's Never Too Late, You Cannot BE Replaced

I often make the joke that I’m almost dead, “I’m on the back nine of my life; I just don’t know what hole I’m playing.” Right off, please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not trying to be dark or make light of death. However, I am looking at my life with the perspective that places extreme value on living in the present and reminding myself that my time on this planet is limited and to keep moving forward. I believe that every human being was created with a purpose. Each of us has something positive to contribute that is critically important to our family’s, community, society, and even the world.

I re-aim each day by reminding myself it’s my individual responsibility to facilitate my own freedom and to protect the freedom of the people that look to me for strength. I recite my personal code and hold myself accountable to what I have established as my personal identity and the core values I have chosen for my life. I recognize the opportunity I have to play offense and make a contribution, and that sense of purpose resonates in my heart and motivates me.

My life counts, and so does yours! If you don’t step up and take your place in life and the lives of the people who need and trust you, you WILL NOT/CAN NOT be replaced. There is no replacing who you were created to BE. For example, the power that I possess to be a positive force in my daughter's life cannot be replaced. It’s possible for it to be replicated, but not replaced. If I’m not intentional and planning/thinking/executing in their lives, they will miss out on the person I was designed to BE in their development as a person. I’m not saying that their lives wouldn’t go on without me, but I believe their development would be placed at a deficit without me as their father. I believe from the beginning of time, I was created to BE everything they need from a father, and it’s my responsibility to do the work necessary for that growth in my life and theirs.

I believe each of us as individuals was created with a specific purpose. Each one of us is designed with talents and purpose for our families, communities, and our society. When, for whatever reason, we forget or don’t realize our value as an individual, we must stop and do the work to define ourselves. When we fail to organize and grow our own lives in a manner that develops our ability to be something positive for someone else or to stand in the gap for others, then we fail to BE the leader our families and communities need us to BE. We miss out on an important part of what is purpose for our lives. From this perspective, it’s pretty easy to see how things can fall apart.

I despise it when I hear some religious person (my definition of religion: rules without relationship) say, “Well, brother bless you, God’s a big God he will get it done some another way.” If that’s your first response to this blog, then I think you are minimizing the importance of your life and the role the Creator specifically designed for you. Don’t forget that we each have the responsibility to choose for ourselves first, then live out that commitment as an example for our family and community. For sure, life will go on without you; the sun will rise tomorrow. For sure, the lives of those that love you and need you will go on, BUT they go on at a deficit! Why would you want someone else to attempt to do what you were created to BE!?!

Do not let your response to this blog be with fear or condemnation. There are no perfect with people. Life is supposed to be a constant effort to minimize mistakes and maximize our effort with a positive, values-based attitude. It is possible to do the work, to knock the rough edges off your life, and be there for the people who are counting on you. You can’t put spilled milk back in the bottle, but you can repair yourself starting right now and make your life begin to reflect that transformation. It’s never too late; my life is proof of that.

Re-aim by holding yourself accountable. Do the work to define yourself. Establish your personal identity. Get your core values/strongest beliefs organized and written down so you can use them as force multipliers in your life. Work to create mindset tools so that you can always be in more control of your emotions. Next, put it into action by developing a great routine.

Taking the right action for yourself and the people you are responsible for must be based on what you personally believe and are committed to, not because of what someone else says or does. Your response to the adversity in your life must boil down to what you believe the right thing to do is, regardless of other people's opinions or actions. This type of response is trained and will come down to doing the work ahead of time to prepare. Responding and reacting are two very different things. The proper response means you have done the job to define yourself, and you have practiced how you want to think. S&H!

Keep Coming Forward

Jim Hensel