SigmaU Blog

A mentor recently said something that made me scream “Yes!” because it is completely true. He said “Most people assume that the 1% have the secret to success. The reality is that the 99% just don’t want to believe that it comes down to hard work, discipline and grit.” WOW! Agreed. I have to admit, I hoped that there was a secret to success, a shortcut or a secret sauce, but he’s right. At the end of the day, success requires a lot of hard work and most often we underestimate the effort required on our part.

So how do we build grit?

G – Give

The reality is that you’ll most likely give a lot more than you receive, especially at the beginning. If you’re building a business, you’ll give a ton of value, information, free advice and extraordinary service with little returns. That’s just the reality. It’s a grind and requires inputs at a high level to achieve results. If it’s with your health, you’ll give...

I know better, but I did it anyway! I checked my email and read a news headline before I was finished my morning routine and you know what? It messed with my head!

One thing that I’ve learned from the High Performance Coaching ™ community, is the importance of keeping a morning routine that is sacred and sets you up for success.

My morning routine normally consists of an early start, gratitude journaling, goal setting, setting intentions for how I want to show up, planning for what might trip me up, prayer and meditation. Most days, I’m vigilant about guarding my time.

Today, I was halfway through my gratitude journal and wanted to email myself a quick note about an upcoming team social so that I wouldn’t forget. Well, you guessed it! I was pulled in to my phone (something I typically don’t touch until my routine is done) and got sucked into emails!

I derailed my morning routine, answered some emails and before you knew it, was behind schedule. Slight...

I accidentally leveled up the other day! Let me explain. I was running on the treadmill and didn’t realize that I had mistakenly pressed the speed button higher than usual. It wasn’t until I looked down that I noticed I had been running at a pace that was new for me and presumably outside of my comfort zone.

I learned from that experience to question my comfort zone. In that moment, I thought to myself “where else am I holding myself back from leveling up”? Clearly, the speed that I had previously gotten comfortable at was a pace slower than I was capable of.

Sometimes we level up when we’re thrown into a situation we’re unprepared for or we press the speed button without realizing it!

Here are some ways that you and I can be intentional about leveling up…

1. Our Associations

The people you surround yourself with matter to your level of success. This could be personally or professionally. It could be physically, your nutrition,...

Life will smack us in the face with the unexpected and when it does, it’s normally not a pleasant surprise.  In fact, most of the time when you and I are blindsided it SUCKS big time!!

Here are a few ways that I've found helpful to deal with those surprises...

1. Listen to The Alarm

Listen to your bedside alarm and get up and going. Listen to the proverbial alarm, that nagging voice in your head and get up and get moving. Taking action diminishes doubt and quickly replaces complacency with momentum.

2. Nourish Your Soul

Do something that nourishes your soul. Read, pray, meditate, sit in silence, listen to the sounds in your environment. Use all five senses to ground yourself and breathe. Deep. Cleansing. Purifying breaths.

3. Feel Your Feelings

Set aside time to feel the feels. Get angry, weep, wallow and give yourself permission to sit in the suck. Don't judge what you feel, who you feel angry towards, or the nasty narrative. Let it play for a prechosen period. Then...

Abraham Lincoln famously said, “If I only had an hour to chop down a tree, I would spend the first 45 minutes sharpening my axe.”

I thought of this recently as I submitted my workout photo to my accountability group. When I sent in my “glamourous” sweaty shot, I put the caption “Axe is sharpened”.  Meaning that the most important part of my day is getting mentally and physically prepared to set myself up for success.

There were several times in the past, especially when work got really busy, that I would question the time I was taking to work out. Then it dawned on me, that it was one of THE most important things I needed to be doing to show up as my best self!

How do you go about sharpening your axe? First, take an assessment on what dulls your axe. What dulls your senses? Is it video games, scrolling, wine, weed? We all have vices that may not be serious addictions but when we evaluate them, may be derailing or slowing our progress.

The...

Robin Sharma wrote a book called “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari” and in that book he talked about the importance of clarity. He used the example of an archery target and how we cannot hit a target we do not see. He expressed the importance of crystal-clear goals so we know we’re on track and to motivate us.

I was reminded of this concept this morning when I jumped on the treadmill. When I start my workouts, the first thing I do is look at my strain goal for the day. Then I get fired up and determine to not only hit that target but surpass it.

This morning, my performance band didn’t indicate my target strain. It was calculating the minutes, the calories, and my current strain but it didn’t register my goal. I’ll be honest, it threw me off. I need to have a crystal-clear goal in mind to get me pumped up. Chances are you do too. 

The challenge is that most of us have vague goals. I know that prior to working with a coach, I had goals like...

How are you pursuing life? Is it in a reactive state or are you pursuing life with bold determination?

If you are unsure consider the following...

Leaders and High achievers set their sights on bigger goals. They are consistently chasing after a dream or goal that will require them to stretch. They may not meet their goal, but they know it is worth every moment of effort because it is shaping them into an excellent human.

As Jim Rohn famously said…

“The major value of reaching goals is not to acquire it, but it’s the person you become while you’re working to acquire it.”

Leaders and high achievers can think bigger and have possibility vs. limited thinking. You will rarely hear them say things like…

It’s never been done before?

I’m not sure I can do it?

What makes you think you can achieve this?

These questions are examples of limited thinking and a closed mind.

Achievers say things like…

If not me than who?

Why not?

What is...

There's an expression declaring there's freedom in discipline; and man is that true.

I've had periods in my life where I've lived very structured and disciplined and other times where I've really loosened my grip on healthy habits and routines.

Here's what I know. Ironically, we all think that structure and discipline will make us feel caged; when in fact those very boundaries are the key to making us feel free!

Let me explain.

When you have a structured life, you wake up at the same time each day, make your bed, spend time in gratitude, workout, eat healthy, it takes discipline and grit to remain consistent.

There are days it comes easily and other days it's difficult to drag yourself to get going. When your structured schedule becomes habitual, your habits take over on the difficult days, so you show up regardless. You don't have to think about negotiating because your habits have formed who you are. For example, I changed my mindset around working out. I was the type of person...

If it doesn’t feel right, question it!

One of the things I love about working with high performers is their level of curiosity.  They know where they’re headed, they know what they stand for, and they consistently seek clarity.

One of the ways to differentiate a high performer from the rest of the pack, is their willingness to question the status quo.

The challenge is that we’re brought up in a system that requires us to follow along, often at times to our detriment. We’re taught to raise our hands and ask permission to use the washroom.  We’re taught to refrain from stirring the pot if our beliefs go against the grain.  I love working with high performers who question and think critically!

Here are some of the ways in which the highest performers leverage critical thinking to get ahead.

1. They get curious

High performers seek clarity on a regular basis, which means, they’re on the look out for what’s normal and then they go...

I’m embarrassed to admit it, but while I was doing my annual reflection, the first subconscious thought that jolted me while reminiscing on 2022 was… “you lived below your potential”. 

Ouch! That was tough to hear.  I’m doing my best to be open and coachable and listen to the hard truths that are often just what we need to hear.

Don’t get me wrong, there were several positive habits I kept in place from previous years, but I had this nagging feeling that I could have done way more.  This isn’t about perfection or striving for 10 out of 10 and consistently moving the target. This was an honest reflection on what I had done, and I had come up short.

There were some telltale signs that I missed, or let’s face it, ignored so I’m sharing those with you here so you can catch yourself before too much time passes.

1. Things running too smoothy

You may be thinking “Um Nikki, of course I want life to run...