Organizational Psychology of Wellness, Performance, and Play
Exploring the psychology of human performance
My name is Michael Rucker and I appreciate your visit. This website has been put together to serve as a knowledge center for my exploration in human performance and to support the Live Life Love project, a personal development journey I started in 2007. Within the Web pages of this site you will find information about performance psychology, links to my site about entrepreneurial qualities and culture, links to my site containing health / wellness articles, documentation of my commitment to social contribution, as well as Web versions of a quarterly newsletter I send to family, friends, and colleagues.
I am currently a doctoral candidate in performance psychology, focusing on the biopsychosocial aspects of human performance as it pertains to organizations and wellness. I am a charter member of the International Positive Psychology Association and, as such, feel an obligation to do my part in helping Martin Seligman fulfill his quest of enabling fifty-one percent of the world's population to flourish by 2051 ('flourishing' in the eyes of a positive psychologist describes the state of a person who lives their life with high levels of measurable well-being). It is a lofty goal, but something I have taken to heart and have woven into my personal mission. So if any of this intrigues you (entrepreneurship, wellness, social contribution, life experience, human performance) and/or you're just curious, please click around and feel free to let me know what you think. As Erastus Wiman said, "Nothing is ever lost by courtesy. It is the cheapest of pleasures, costs nothing, and conveys much." Please Enjoy! And if you use Twitter send me a tweet @ PerformBetter.
Laugh and Smile!
Smiling and laughing are physical manifestations of being happy. Peak performers know that one of the easiest short cuts to tricking the mind out of a bad mood is to find reasons to smile and laugh.
Why smile? Well, why not? While stress has been linked to a lot of health issues, smiling, laughing and being positive is associated with longevity, positivism and other health benefits that promote wellness in both our minds and bodies.
There is a growing body of scientific evidence that shows the benefits of smiling and laughing. For one, laughter lets the body discharge endorphins (a natural neurological biochemical that naturally alleviates stress). When we are tense or anxious our pulse rate goes up, our body heat rises, and our nervous system is hyperactive; it is difficult to perform optimally in this state. On the other hand, smiling and laughing allows us to relax, and induces a feeling of happiness (surprisingly it works even if you aren’t really happy) thus removing stress. Laughing moderates the stress hormone cortisol. As a result, a study has shown that laughing boosts our immune system by increasing the number of immune cells and antibodies we have (thus developing the body’s resistance to stress, illness and disease).
Intuitively, smiling gives us a greater feeling of harmony with our environment. That is because smiling can affect the way people see you and it can have a positive natural effect on other people too. Outside of the proven benefits of performance, smiling is often a signal of your friendliness, approachability and good character. So smile, charm the world, while reaping its health benefits and performing better!
Play to Your Strengths
As humans, most of us are inclined to spend more time dwelling on our negative attributes, and trying to improve upon them, than we are developing our inherent strengths. We learn this bad habit an early age… a child is deficient in math but great at writing? Great, get them a math tutor to improve the deficiency and keep them at pace with their writing proficiencies. In adolescents this makes sense because of the need of self-discovery, developing learning styles, and foundational growth. However, once we have matured this reasoning can lead to frustration because sometimes our efforts become futile. If we have mastered something close to the peak of our potential in a particular area, then further training makes little sense. This ties in with last week’s post Applying the Pareto Principle. When a maximum effort will only result in smaller and smaller increments of improvement for a skill that is not a core competency for fulfilling a particular goal, then wouldn’t your efforts be better served elsewhere? Peak performers on the other hand spend time developing their core strengths and with anytime left over only try to correct their most dominant weaknesses.
The attributes of a particular “strength” are usually defined by the methodology used to evaluate a particular set of strengths. My personal preference is the VIA Strengths defined by Martin Segliman (due to my love of Positive Psychology), but there are others out there such as Tom Rath’s StrengthsFinder 2.0. Experts are starting to agree, that developing and improving upon existing strengths is a better use of time than trying to improve upon weaknesses. For another person’s take on strengths and weaknesses read the HBS article Stop Worrying about Your Weaknesses by Peter Bergman.
Applying the Pareto Principle
The Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 Rule as it is known to some, is the concept that 80 percent of any given output, usually comes from only 20 percent of a given effort to get that output. Or conversely, that 80 percent of effort generates only 20 percent of a desired outcome.
The numbers 80 and 20 are arbitrary and are only used in the context of the general principle. The distribution could be 75 and 5, or 90 and 40. In other words, it is not necessary that the numbers add up to 100. What is important is identifying that in general there are tasks and habits that are quite more effective and efficient than others.
Peak performers use this general concept to their advantage by continually evaluating any system they use to garner results (whether it is in business, fitness, education, or well-being) and eliminating tasks and processes with little yield. Identifying what is working and doing more of it, and identifying what is not working and doing less (or not doing it at all), seems intuitive but unfortunately is rarely applied in the real world. Many people resist change to the detriment of productivity.
Meditation Leads to Better Concentration
Well honed concentration skills are a cornerstone of being able to perform at our peak. Concentration is the ability to do a chosen task by focusing on the outcome and either blocking or mitigating distractions.
Recent studies have shown that concentration can be improved through meditation:
- Meditation acutely improves psychomotor vigilance, and may decrease sleep need
- Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness
Meditation is the practice of channeling our own consciousness through various forms of relaxation techniques. One of the many benefits from meditation is a more focused mind. When we are able to channel our focus, we improve our chance of achieving optimum performance. Anecdotal evidence suggests that undisturbed focus can even help people overcome personal limits. Roger Bannister is a perfect example of this. It was a steadfast held belief that no one could ever run a four-minute mile. Yet Mr. Bannister broke this barrier by repeatedly visualizing this accomplishment in his mind’s eye so intensely that he was able to achieve a physical result, a 3:59 mile. He not only overcame a personal limit, he forced people to rethink the limits of human potential. Once Mr. Bannister had set the precedent, and people “knew” it was possible several others duplicated this feat within a year.
Getting back to mere mortals like myself, in the psychomotor study referenced above, meditators took Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) tests after meditating (which is a fancy way of saying they stared at LCD screens, and the response times were measured between seeing an image and pressing a button after being aware of the image’s presence). In this particular study, those who have gone through some sort of meditation (even if they are not experienced meditators) performed better during PVT testing, thus showing measurable improved mental performance.
Contrary to Popular Belief, Peak Peformers Get Sleep
Many people think peak performers are always burning the candle at both ends. I certainly believed that at one point. Others of us struggle to find balance and give up healthy habits like exercise, or spending time with friends and family, in an attempt to work harder thinking we will get more done. In extreme cases, some peak performers get anxious at just the thought of sleep because they fear the lack of productivity that occurs during restful periods.
To the contrary, as humans, we need to commit to balance of which adequate sleep is a crucial component. When we are asleep, we become free of all of the stress from the outside world and our body’s energy is able to restore.
There are three very basic factors of sleep:
1. The time you enter sleep
2. The quality of sleep you get during rest
3. The time you wake up
To help improve these three factors you have to have proper sleep hygiene. Sleep hygiene is a fancy term used to describe ways to set yourself up for optimal recovery during rest. Organize and implement simple sleep hygiene principles and performance in all areas of your life will improve:
1. In the evening do things that are relaxing (such activities include reading a book and listening to slow music). Avoid things that are stimulating (such as exercise or watching a scary movie).
2. Have a pre-sleep routine. Routines train your mind it is time to go to sleep. Examples are taking a warm bath, reading a fictional book, or listening to relaxing music for a few minutes.
3. Have a fixed bedtime and wake-up time. Go to bed at a predetermined time and try to wake up at the same time every day. Keep in mind that you need at least 6 hours of sleep but the common suggested amount of sleep is 8 hours.
4. If possible, schedule all of your day’s activity. This means determining and following a scheduled meal time, workout time and other activities.
5. Avoid taking naps during the daytime especially after 3 PM. Naps sort of reset your energy level for the day, which can be beneficial but not if you have trouble sleeping. Doing so would mean you’ll have more energy and less of a sleepy feel come bedtime.
6. Put away gadgets or any electronics that would make you do something related to your work or remind you of your responsibilities or problems. Relax and remove your worries.
7. Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol well before your bedtime. Typically, it is suggested to avoid this 4-6 hours before bedtime as these chemicals are all powerful stimulants.
8. Avoid sleeping pills or if inevitable, take them with caution. Consult your doctor before taking sleeping pills or if you need them at all. Once you establish dependency, it is a downward spiral.
9. Buy a comfortable bed and use comfortable bedding; Buy them personally so that you are familiar with the feel of it.
10. Eliminate noise and light. Make the bedroom quiet, cool and dark. This type of environment soothes the senses and relaxes the mind.
11. Use the sun as part of your biological clock. As soon as you wake up, try and face the sunlight for a few minutes. This can help with Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Your bedroom should only be used for sleep or intimate encounters. Working, watching television, playing on your laptop can all hinder sleep. A radio is okay if the station is not talk radio. Reading non-fiction or listening to talk radio is not recommended because it keeps your brain stimulated.
Getting the best sleep possible is one of the best ways to optimize the next morning’s challenges and opportunities. Getting sleep is one of the most undervalued traits of the peak performer. Improve the quality of your sleep and you will be rewarded!
I will post info for the peak performer every other week in 2011!
I have set a personal goal for 2011, and that is to post information for the peak performer every other week this year. I have immersed myself in information as an enthusiast of peak performance, so when WordPress challenged bloggers to post each week I thought it would make for a fulfilling challenge. Imagination and creativity are so important to peak performers I’ve decided to start there.
Using imagination and imagery allows us to prepare, rehearse, and perfect our future actions. This is a consistent pattern for peak performers. As we get older in age, we unfortunately often get less imaginative. Imagination and creativity are also important aspects of brain plasticity, and maintaining these skills helps us sustain our cognitive reserve as we grow older allowing us to operate optimally late into life.
There are simple things we can do to maintain our imagination at any age. One exercise is to draw a peaceful landscape that does not exist in reality. The definition of “peaceful” is unique to each individual, so you have creative license to draw whatever you want as long as the environment is imagined (i.e. not drawn from memory). The way we perceive and operate in the world is personal to our respective selves. The world as we know it is defined by our experiences and developing our creativity expands our capacity to understand the human experience!
Live Life Love | Volume Thirteen
Hello Everyone,
Happy Holidays! I hope 2010 has enabled you to flourish in happiness, reward and satisfaction. Through direct discourse, or eavesdropping on social media conversations, I feel safe to state that it has been an interesting year for most of us. Personally, through happenstances and deliberate architecture, it appears that regarding my own affairs this trend will continue through 2011. There are some specific challenges afoot, as well as some budding opportunities, all of which I am grateful for.
This quarter’s life experience was a trip to Athens, Greece, to compete in the 2500th anniversary of the “original” marathon. The historic course starts at the city of Marathon and follows the route Pheidippides purportedly took to Athens to carry news of the Greek victory over the Persians in 490 b.c. With the exception of the Antarctica Marathon, this course was probably the most challenging of the marathons I’ve competed, but ultimately will be one of the most memorable for reasons that lack the need of explanation.
Athens Marathon 2010 | Athens, Greece
I booked the trip through Marathon Tours and was lucky enough to get some time with company’s CEO Thom Gilligan who basically invented the endurance and adventure travel industry category. He is the former president of the Greater Boston Track Club and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Runner’s World, and made the cover of Travel Agent magazine. This quarter’s fitness interview with Thom Gilligan about destination marathons can be read here.
For this month’s business interview I connected with Matthew Szymczyk. Matt has turned his company Zugara into a successful employee owned Augmented Reality (AR) development studio over the last decade. Matt and his team create custom and propriety AR software along with providing other creative services to a growing list of clients that include Sony, Reebok, AT&T, Muscle Milk, and Nestle. Matt’s company is also a member of The AR Consortium and he has become a well cited expert, author and enthusiast of AR technology. My interview with Matt Szymczyk about Augmented Reality can be read here.
My social contribution this quarter came in the form of sponsoring two of my friends in their philanthropic athletic goals, and in the spirit of “thinking globally and acting locally” I made a charitable contribution to the Berkeley SPCA to help rebuild their facilities, which they lost due to fire this year.
I wish you the best with your worthy pursuits in 2011 and beyond!
Warm regards,
Michael
Live Life Love | Volume Twelve
Hello Everyone,
Fall has crept up, causing many of us to reflect back on summer and wonder… what happened? My wife and I actually had a pretty eventful summer, and before I continue I would like express my gratitude to Darren Pujalet for his assistance during this time. When we left Manhattan Beach for the Bay Area we initially attempted to rent out our primary residence and ultimately ran into some trouble when our first experience as landlords meant dealing with a broken lease. Faced with a depreciating asset and lack of positive cash flow we were quite confident that, at best, we would have to attempt a short sale. I’ve quite a few successful friends in real estate through my Leadership Manhattan Beach efforts, whom are all quite capable, but ultimately we felt the most comfortable having Darren assist us with the sale. I believe that positive reciprocity is an important aspect of the human experience, so I ask for forgiveness in this public display of appreciation, however real estate is a referral business and in the end (although we still came out a bit in debt) Darren saved us from a short sale and ultimately commanded a selling price not seen in our condominium complex since 2008. For that effort alone he deserves mention, plus he is simply one heck of a guy. His website is www.yourownmls.com.
After three years of effort on this project a few of you have, in good-nature, called my motives into question inquiring if the aim of Live Life Love is some sort of reinvention. My answer: sort of. To be sincere, I haven’t evolved that much: I still think farts are funny, I still drink too much beer, and I’m still learning the socially established duration acceptable for taking notice of a beautiful stranger and enviably miss the mark by one or two seconds each time. If any evolution has taken place thus far, then it has been a concerted effort to actively happily achieve as opposed to achieving to be happy. And further, to try and foster this collectively with the relationships I cherish. The economics of this summer have changed me a little bit but not in the way you might imagine. It has actually deemphasized my focus on monetary concerns. In fact, my wife and I have both taken decreases in income to improve our well-being. Although this has required adjustments to our standard of living, I believe we’ve both experienced an increase in our level of happiness. Another acknowledgment goes out to Deena Varshavskaya for passing along the recommendation to read Stumbling on Happiness
Entrepreneurship: Hammad Zaidi is this quarter’s business interview. He is the CEO of Lonely Seal Releasing, a film and television distribution company that has represented over 40 projects, including Julian Lennon’s Whaledreamers and Harrison Ford’s Dalai Lama Renaissance. He is also a great friend, mentor, and role model. Our discussion is about taking calculated risks. My interview with Hammad Zaidi about calculated business risks can be found here.
Wellness: This summer I reconnected with a high school classmate, Brodie Burris, for this quarter’s wellness interview. Brodie is the President of the Michigan Association of Oriental Medicine, the Founder of The Lotus Center of Ann Arbor, and a standing member of the American Association of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine. He is a seasoned acupuncturist and our discussion centers around acupuncture’s place in sport medicine. My interview with Brodie Burris about acupuncture and sport injury can be found here.
Life Experience: Intrigued by seeing a constant barrage of automotive bumper stickers in the Bay Area promoting the Mystery Spot on my way to work each morning this summer I made the trek. The Mystery Spot is an interesting little tourist trap hidden in amongst the trees on the way to Santa Cruz.
Mystery Spot 2010 | Santa Cruz, CA
Contribution: This quarter it was my pleasure to contribute to Thom’s effort in the Bike MS Bay to Bay Tour 2010 and also to give a little something back to NPR since the station has become such a welcomed companion during my commute.
As always, thanks for taking a look at my quarterly posting. Wishing everyone a beautiful fall!
Warm regards,
Michael
Life Life Love | Volume Ten
Hello Everyone,
I hope that 2010 has brought you prosperity. It has been an exciting year for me thus far. Most notably, this past weekend I got to watch my brother cross the finish line of the LA Marathon.
LA Marathon 2010 | Los Angeles, CA
At the end of last year, right after publishing last quarter’s newsletter, I obtained my official American College of Sports Medicine certification. The training for the certification really paid off as I was able to provide support to Brian throughout his journey. I got him about halfway and then his body failed him, so he relied on pure heart and inner strength to complete the job. Truly an inspiring, remarkable guy!
While on the topic of being inspiring let me introduce this quarter’s business interviewee, Lloyd Nimetz. Lloyd is a successful serial social entrepreneur who, as a student, helped found HelpArgentina. He is now the managing director of Blitz Bazaar, a campaign hosting solution which puts the tools of professional campaigners in the hands of citizen organizers. He is an amazing guy and my five questions about social entrepreneurship with Lloyd are located here.
Equally amazing in caliber is this quarter’s wellness interviewee, Dr. John Monagle. John owns and operates the Marin Center for Natural Medicine, which is a state of the art medical clinic in Marin County. John (JK) is a lifelong neighborhood friend who has dedicated himself to helping others through natural medicine. He is an expert in a variety of progressive sport therapies and my interview with John about Naturopathic Medicine can be found here.
Anna and I have been on a tight budget since the move from Southern California up North, so going into this quarter I figured the life experience had to be close to home. However, we have moved to arguably one of the most admired cities on the West Coast, so I also knew it would not be too hard to come up with something. Celebrating Chinese New Year in San Francisco is on countless Internet lists as a “must do,” so I did it.
Chinese New Year 2010 | San Francisco, CA
This quarter I would like to thank Mona Liza for letting me sponsor her CLEM7 Tunnel Run which entailed her running the entire length of the Clem Jones Tunnel in Australia. Her efforts raised funds to support the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation in their effort to assist sick children in time of need. I was excited that I could help.
If you have clicked through to any of the interviews you will see that I have finally begun to delineate up the material to various depositories. I would love your feedback on the new sites, so if you have the time to write back or leave a comment on one of the blogs please do so.
Wishing all of you a fruitful and joyous spring time!
Warm regards,
Michael
