Are You a Hulk or a Sensei?
Are You a Hulk or a Sensei?
I often ask my pro athletes and heavy-hitting executive clients this question - mainly to generate new ideas about how they show up for their work. It’s frequently met with a blank look of “What do you mean?”
What I mean is this: are you behaving reactively, driven with passion towards an outcome with little awareness of what's happening around you? Or, are you centered and focused yet always ready to take swift and effective action?
The truth is, if you're a high achiever, a startup entrepreneur, a CEO, a high-performing athlete, or any human being who cares passionately about what they do and how they do it, you're probably some of both.
When we talk about high performance, your state of being is everything. Driven by the thoughts that go through your mind in response to your environment and your internal cues, your state is defined by what you feel emotionally and physically. It’s enhanced by how connected you are to your purpose.
Your performance state—your state of being when engaged in an activity—impacts what you do and how effectively you do it. So, whether you are driven by reactive energy and passion (“Hulk”) or focused, calm, centered, and aware (“Sensei”), both states hold immense power for your performance.
When you access both states of being, Hulk and Sensei, simultaneously, magic and success can happen.
For example, many of the hardest-driving professional football and hockey players I’ve worked with have also been some of the most centered humans I've met.
Some of the slightest, seemingly most peaceful entrepreneurs are passionate warriors for excellence in disguise.
Sometimes, the strongest person on the mat isn’t the biggest but the most intentional and strategic one who uses their whole body for impact.
What if you could be energized, powerful, and driven by passion while also being focused, centered, and fully embodied when you show up to do your work in the world?
I asked this follow-up question of a startup founder client who, by his admission, works a lot. Many people have told him he works too much and it's not sustainable. Others have told him he's a workaholic.
Perhaps?
But what if his work style is part of being a human unicorn entrepreneur, part of the passion that has driven him to be successful? This style becomes even more powerful when you combine self-awareness and presence with the ability to express your power with intention.
Then, you can move mountains - and inspire children.
To integrate both aspects of himself, my client realized he could build moments of reflection and presence into his very full day—not to be relaxed and weak but to strengthen his ability to focus and work more efficiently. Like micro relaxation reps, these moments of pause help keep his nervous system in balance while he executes his highly ambitious plan.
So, rather than resisting your natural way of being, embrace its strengths and incorporate more aspects of you - such as the driver and the self-reflective sage - into how you show up.
By Integrating, rather than rejecting, what may appear as conflicting ways of being, you draw upon the inherent strengths of each. Looking for synergies will make you more resilient and more beautifully human as you break through your personal glass ceiling.
Then, you can begin to realize your dreams and more authentically seek your yet unmet potential.