People with a lot of natural talent(strong arms) often become self reliant and don’t reach out for help

Smart people get help from the right people at the right time

Lesson 1: Use Mentors

4 Lessons from the performance curve

1) Constant pressure tends to cause a decrease in performance because of the accumulation of cortisol

2) The secret to increasing performance on the right hand side of the curve is to reduce pressure

3) The greatest source of pressure is the pressure we put on ourselves

4) Increasing our capacity means we need to learn techniques for decreasing pressure

Lindsay Vonn talks about why high performers fail at the Olympics

Lindsay Vonn shows how taking care of herself and rituals can help exceptional performance

Self care is the fastest way to start building your resilience

“Putting the priority back on myself” to win gold- Lindsay Vonn

Dr Mike Evans shows just how easy it is to do High value recovery

Resilience and the Graduate training Programme

A Guide for developing Resilience

Introduction:

Congratulations on completing your first year in Lilly.! This industry is both challenging and rewarding. Resilience isn't just about enduring challenges but thriving amidst them. This guide will guide you in fortifying your resilience and managing stress as you progress.

1. Understanding Resilience:

Resilience is your ability to bounce back from adversities and adapt in a positive manner to challenges. It involves building your capacity to overcome and recover from the challenges of working and living in a high demand world.

2. Key Components of Resilience:

a. Self-awareness: Recognize your feelings and triggers. Self observation is the key skill that improves self awareness

b. Self-regulation: Manage your reactions to stressors. Relaxation and meditation techniques (See section below) are the

key skills for down regulation 0f the activation we experience as stress and pressure

c. Optimism: Keep a hopeful outlook. Problems are just looking for solutions. Our thoughts and beliefs are

crucial to solution focus.

d. Problem-solving: Develop strategies to tackle challenges effectively. Effective problem solving is a function of the prefrontal cortex

meaning anything that reduces cortisol improves capacity for more effective problem solving. Exercise burns

up cortisol and relaxation reduces its production

e. Social Support: Feeling connected into the world you live in

3. Stress Management Techniques:

a. Relaxation and Meditation: Focusing on the present moment can ease feelings of anxiety. Evidence based relaxation techniques

reduce the human stress response. These techniques also improve the quality of sleep

b. Physical Activity: Engaging in regular exercise can diminish stress hormones and elevate mood and improve sleep.

c. Sleep Hygiene: Prioritizing good quality sleep is vital for cognitive functions and mood balance.

4. Building Resilient Mindsets:

a. Reframe Challenges: See challenges as growth opportunities.

b. Stay Connected: Nurture supportive relationships with peers and mentors.

c. Set Realistic Expectations: Understand that errors are part of the learning curve.

5. Practical Resilience-building Activities:

a. Journaling: Writing about your experiences can provide clarity and a space for reflection. Journaling stimulates the prefrontal cortex.

b. Gratitude Practice: Regularly focusing on the positive aspects of your life can change your perspective.

c. Simple Breathing: Focused abdominal breathing exercises can help regulate immediate stress reactions. Long slow exhalation

is the key to regulating the stress response

6. Seeking Support:

Always remember that seeking guidance is a sign of strength. Smart people know where to get good help fast. Use your mentors, talk to peers. Vulnerability once seen as a weakness is now seen as a leadership trait.

• Peer Support: Engage with fellow graduate trainees. Shared experiences often provide solace.

• Professional Support: If feelings become too overwhelming, consider seeking professional counseling or therapy.

Conclusion:

Resilience is a quality that can be nurtured and developed. Embrace each challenge, prioritize your well-being, and understand that every experience, be it positive or negative, contributes to your professional growth in this dynamic industry.

Note: This handbook is meant to provide a foundational overview. As you continue your journey, it's crucial to explore and find the resilience and stress management techniques that resonate with you personally.

4 Relaxation/Meditation techniques

These techniques have been proven to reduce cortisol production, improves quality of sleep, improve energy production (mitochondria) and have peen proven to reduce gene expression for oxidative stress (aging) and inflammation. Relaxation and meditation is at the core of fast high value recovery.

We recommend you try all 4 tracks and practice the one you prefer or gives you the most benefit 3/4 times per week

The first track is Progressive Muscular Relaxation (PMR) and is useful for improving sleep and reducing fatigue and muscular tension. Try and lie down to get the full experience

The second track and the most popular is Autogenic Meditation developed in Germany by two doctors who showed this technique is especially good for digestive disorders, migraine, improves sleep and reduces cortisol

The third track is a sound meditation that was developed with a sound designer to bring you on a sensory/auditory journey that many find very relaxing. For best results use a speaker and listen to the sound with your whole body and not just your ears.

The final technique is visualisation which found popularity after many high performing sports people began utilising the benefits for performance and recovery in the 1970’s. Visualisation is very powerful in helping people recover from certain diseases

Thinking Skills

As discussed from the training how we think can be a source of great pressure pushing us to the right hand side of the perfromance curve

Below we have a thought’s questionaire to give some insight in any negative thinking patterns you may have

Just push the button

Dr Mike Evans gives some great insights into how we think and the impact of thinking styles

Thinking and behaviour are very closely linked

Tim Urbane gives a humorous insight into one of the biggest factors that inhibits behaviour change

Sleep is an essential component of a high perfroming brain

Sleep onset insomnia and early waking insomnia usually happen when we are overly active when going to bed

Practicing a relaxation technique (PMR or Autogenics ) when you go to bed will help

as well as practicing some simple sleep hygiene