MONDAY MOTIVATION: Teresa M. Amabile, The Catalyst Professor

One of my all-time favorite professors, Dr. Teresa M. Amabile, Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration and Director of Research Unit Entrepreneurial MA at Harvard University, co-wrote a blog on the Harvard Business Review, "The Power of Small Wins" to help small business owners and managers increase productivity in the workplace.

In it, Dr. Amabile's decades of research reveals that: Constant progress and the habit of keeping checklists are the keys to intrinsic motivation and ultimately strategic results.

If you read one of my Most Popular Posts about the Navy SEALs (V O N C E L L E V O L T É: United States Navy SEALs ), you will remember: They used the "small wins" technique to kill Osama Bin Laden.

How do you stay progressive in your Monday Motivation?

Photo: Harvard University

TUESDAY TOOLS: U.S. Navy SEALs, The 4-Key Forces that Killed Osama Bin Laden

One Saturday morning, in the Spring of 2010, my channel hopping led me to the History Channel. The program was a documentary, The Brain.  The subject was stress control techniques for United States Navy SEALs (SEa, Air, Land) during Hell Week.  Chuck Pfarrer, a former Navy SEAL, showcased how the passing rates increased from 25% to 33% by using these Tuesday Tools that helped eliminate Public Enemy #1, Osama Bin Laden (OBL):

1. GOAL SETTING

1.1 Short-Term Goal -- Find OBL in the compound.

1.2 Mid-Term Goal (Best-Case Scenario) -- Ask OBL to surrender, and bring him to a military jail.

1.3 Long-Term Goal (Worst-Case Scenario) -- Kill OBL and anyone who obstructs justice. Unfortunately, he used two of his three wives as a shield.

2. MENTAL REHEARSAL

2.1 Envision the Best-Case Scenario, e.g., Walk onto the compound. Ask for the location of OBL. Go to his room. Ask OBL to surrender. Arrest him, and bring him to a military jail.

2.2 Prepare for the Worst-Case Scenario because you only have a split second to kill him, if he fails to surrender. They shoot. We shoot. They die.

3. POSITIVE SELF-TALK

3.1 "I am a well-trained, U.S  Navy SEAL. I have all my equipment. I have all my team. I have my eye on my target. Oorah!  Let's get down."

4. AROUSAL CONTROL

4.1 Breathe.  Focus.  Keep my brain in a path of recall from simulation to realization.  Since I've practiced this attack, my brain will support me.  I already know exactly what this may sound like and look like.  I know what to do.  So, my brain will go straight to the hippocampus for memory, then the cerebral cortex for performance.  I will pass this test.

In the historic words of President Barack Obama, "Justice has been done."

No U.S. Navy SEAL became a casualty because the attack was as flawless as the choreography in Black Swan.

In civilian life, you don't need every tool, every time.  In most cases, you may only need to use two of them.  For example, if you are multitasking, GOAL SETTING is manditory for each task. Next, POSITIVE SELF-TALK your way to each step towards your finish line. 

How do you perform like a Navy SEAL throughout your day?