You’ve managed to seal the deal. Maybe even save the day. Or turned up trumps. And you’re now riding high. The feeling of satisfaction that a winning situation provides can actually trigger the release of endorphins in the brain, which makes you feel better about yourself. But do you know what to do with all that euphoria?
Some people have feelings of optimism, excitement and self-confidence, which increases creativity and productivity. But on the flip side, some may share too much personal information, have short attention span and poor judgement, or even make risky decisions. Here are some tips on how to navigate this burst of happy feelings more smoothly:
1. Enjoy feeling good, but be willing to learn something about yourself too
Smart people arm themselves with knowledge. They approach new experiences, like a new job or working with a new business partner, as a chance to learn something new about themselves or learn what they can do to cope effectively in any situation.
2. Share the joy of feeling good with someone
Find a friend or someone you can share the experience with. Other people’s encouragement and feedback to keep going can be a big boost to your motivation to maintain a consistent approach to improving. Likewise, it gives you a different perspective on things and helps you improve too.
3. Don’t always fall back to the same tactics
After taking some time to celebrate the accomplishment, coaches of winning teams should meet with their athletes to talk about how they will deal with new expectations. The emphasis should be on refocusing and regrouping for a new chase instead of focusing on repeating or defending their title. So, treat each deal and day differently. Don’t expect the same tactics to work all the time. Don’t let your euphoria fool you. Always refocus and regroup for the next case.
At the end of the day, having a clear vision for success and designing quality training and competition plans often is not enough. Those who have been to the top of the mountain, and stayed there, know that sustained excellence requires a focus on continuous improvement, attention to how we speak about success, and recognition and expansion of our strengths and tactics.