In this episode, Emilie Thienot delves deep into the concept of mindfulness, particularly in the realm of sports.
Emilie stresses the importance of proactive engagement: “Go out there, meet people, do something!” She underscores her perseverance in achieving desired results, believing that diligent and intelligent work will eventually pay off. Her experience with the UK’s system, especially the British Sailing team, is highlighted, wherein she elaborates on the unique psychological aspects of sailing. Central to performance is freeing the mind, enabling it to make effective decisions.
She also touches upon the pivotal role of unlocking an individual’s potential by removing psychological constraints. Team communication stands out as a topic of focus, emphasizing the core values like trust and honesty that shape team behaviour. Emilie underscores the necessity of adaptability and the skill to ‘reset’ amidst challenges.
Mindfulness, according to Emilie, is the non-judgmental awareness of the present moment. She details its performance advantages, particularly in acknowledging and managing negative thoughts. Instead of resisting such thoughts, mindfulness promotes a broader perspective, allowing for refocusing. The episode also breaks down the step-by-step process of mindfulness, its numerous benefits, and the underlying neuroscience.
Emilie concludes with insights into her work that bridges the worlds of sports and business, taking elite athletic tools and making them relevant in a corporate setting.
18:18 Go out there, meet people, do something!
19:50 Overtime if I want something I don’t give up because I know it will happen. If I work hard and smartly I will see results.
20:40 Back to the UK, the UK system and the British Sailing team.
23:08 The psychology of sailing, how do you support them? Freeing the mind to make good decisions.
24:00 Unlocking potential – removing psychological barriers.
28:38 Communication as a team – who do they want to be as a team, underpinning values and translating to behaviours. Trust and honesty at the foundation.
32:02 The skill of resetting and the ability to adapt in the moment.
33:46 Mindfulness – what is it? The ability to be aware of what is going on in the moment, in a non judgemental way.
36:39 What does mindfulness do? What’s the performance advantage?
39:45 Accepting of negative thoughts and being able to notice the difficult feelings coming in, taking a helicopter view, diffuse and choose something else to refocus on, rather than fighting with the negative thoughts.
42:18 Step 1, Step 2 & Step 3 of mindfulness.
43:03 Benefits and results of mindfulness application.
44:15 The neuroscience behind mindfulness.
47:43 Daily integration and an earlier adoption creates a more robust, ingrained technique.
49:50 Emilie’s work, unlocking potential in sports and business. Using tools from the elite athlete world and applying to the corporate world.