Learn about the evolution of a mental performance approach that works under pressure because you train under pressure.
PERFORMANCE & WELL-BEING THROUGH MENTAL FITNESS
It’s not what you know that makes you fit; it’s about how skillful you are in translating knowledge into action.
Mental health refers to an individual’s or community’s emotional, social, and psychological condition. The World Health Organization defines mental health as the state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn and work well, and contribute to their community. Mental fitness is the component of mental health that can be affected by training.
Mental fitness refers to our cognitive and emotional capacities to address challenges. Just as physical fitness is a component of physical health, mental fitness is a component of mental health. Mental fitness not only affects mental health, but it is also a key determinant of performance. Mental fitness is optimized by training mental skills and attributes. Mental performance fitness focuses particularly on the skills and attributes that impact the ability to thrive under pressure.
ZOOMING IN ON MENTAL PERFORMANCE FITNESS
Generally speaking, a fitness level depends on the functional applicability of skills and attributes under pressure. Like physical performance skills and attributes, mental performance skills and attributes improve with training and deteriorate without it. The distinction between skills and attributes facilitates the choice of appropriate methods to address them:
Mental performance skills
Mental skills are abilities that originate in the brain. To reach a functional level that translates to performance, they require training that progresses in technical difficulty. Mental skills are essential for controlling switches between thoughtful contemplations and focused operations. Mental skills take time to develop and take time to deteriorate.
Examples: The skills to calm thoughts and emotions, relax the body, reason with clarity, visualize vividly, or focus intensely.
Mental performance attributes
Mental performance attributes are cognitive or affective mental properties that affect functional behaviors. Whereas changes in mental skills are always based on training, attributes tend to be more sensitive to insights. Cognitive attributes can be characterized as perspectives, beliefs, or convictions. Affective attributes can be characterized as feelings or emotions.
Examples: Determination, confidence, and a growth mindset are primarily cognitive attributes. Gratefulness, lightheartedness, and curiosity are more affective attributes.
Mental performance fitness, particularly the level of mental skills and attributes, is a strong determinant of mental health and the ability to thrive under pressure (perform to potential). To develop good mental skills and attributes, you must go beyond learning and start training. Although the word “fitness” is often used synonymously with training, it is more accurate to see training as the means to achieve fitness. Let’s have a look at how that works for mental performance fitness.
REDEFINING MENTAL TRAINING
The problem with most mental training is that it is not training. Training oneself (rather than others), in a general context, can be defined as developing fitness related to functional competencies. As such (and as mentioned earlier), it is the activity that results in fitness. However, in exercise physiology, specific criteria determine whether an activity, such as a set of exercises, should be considered training. These criteria are sometimes referred to as training principles. The following graphic shows the main training principles in logical order.
A careful examination of this graphic reveals the issue with referring to many clinical and performance psychology exercises as training, as most training principles do not apply. For example, the two most important ones, progression and overload, are rarely applied in modern mindfulness-based approaches. Progressive overload has been the backbone of physical performance training for decades, but it remains relatively uncommon in mental performance training.
Example 1: Many athletes (and coaches) refer to journaling as mental training. However, journaling addresses cognitive attributes (what you understand about yourself) and does not train specific mental skills (except perhaps the skill to articulate experiences).
Example 2: Guided meditations in meditation apps rarely progress systematically to challenging levels. As such, a series of meditations without an escalating challenge cannot be considered training a skill. That does not mean guided meditations are useless. They can produce important insights and experiences. However, without adherence to training principles, meditation cannot lead to the mental fitness that is required for performing critical activities under pressure.
CHANGING THE PARADIGM
While mental health support has become a hot topic and addressing issues has become less and less stigmatized, the problem is that we are still addressing issues, not preventing them. We are reactive and therapeutic, with interventions that are almost invariably gentle and supportive. Simply put, the paradigm in mental health is still to wait until we break and then limit the damage. This is very different for physical health: we train to prevent issues and ensure our fitness increases over time by continuously increasing the training stimulus.
The prevailing answer to our mental health crisis has been more therapists and more 24/7 support apps. Throw in the occasional inspiring video or motivational talk, and it may seem we’re on the right track. However, epidemiologic reports of mental illness incidence paint a different picture.
It’s time to shift the paradigm for mental health and learn from the successes of performance fitness interventions in physical health. It’s time to integrate exercise physiology into psychology and move the emphasis from therapy to training. From diagnostics to early screening. From reactive to proactive. This requires a shift in thinking from everyone. For therapists and performance coaches, providing training is distinctly different from giving therapy. For someone struggling with issues, a training regimen is very different from a consulting session. And lastly, for someone without mental issues, including mental fitness training in their weekly routine is not the same as simply hitting the gym and pumping some iron. This is why it is crucial to have screening and training tools that fit inside the toolbox of therapists and coaches and, at the same time, can also integrate easily into existing (fitness) activities for individual users. One such tool is Flow 255® by 2Mynds.
FLOW 255® – AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO MENTAL FITNESS
2Mynds has pioneered a unique mental fitness training approach: Flow 255®. This proprietary solution integrates exercise physiology into mental fitness training, delivering testing, training, and thriving content within a gamified online ecosystem. It focuses specifically on mental performance fitness – the ability to operate optimally under pressure.
Flow 255 refers to two states of mind, five core skills, and five core attributes. Flow 255 begins with tests and analytics that utilize proprietary psychometrics (SPE-20® Mental Edge Index), biometrics, and performance metrics. Training content is delivered via audio guides called Mind Flows, which first isolate mental techniques and subsequently integrate them into skill flows. These mental workouts fit seamlessly into cool-downs of physical workouts. Generally, training takes place under increasing levels of adrenaline, making the skills highly transferable to functional situations of pressure. The last step, transitioning from fitness to performance, is approached equally systematically through routine-building steps and repetitions. In essence, Flow 255 provides performers under pressure with an online gym that addresses mental fitness in the same way as a physical gym would: with proper training.
MENTAL PERFORMANCE FITNESS
FOR EVERYONE
Individual Performers
While introducing mental performance fitness training at an early stage in life provides a stable and promising foundation for future performance and well-being, mental fitness training is literally for everyone. Whether it is sports, performing arts, or school, our brains respond and act more rationally and effectively in light of adversity when they are not hardwired to react poorly. Individuals can fully customize how they use their Flow 255 app, from high-intensity solutions that resemble top collegiate and professional sports to simple weekly support that helps maintain relaxation and refocusing skills for everyday life.
Professional and High-Performance Sports
Many professional athletes find themselves in an incredibly demanding environment that becomes mentally exhausting without carefully designed periodizations that include mental development and recovery. Meanwhile, student-athletes at the collegiate level experience immense pressure both on and off the sports field. 2Mynds’ Flow 255 web app supports mental performance fitness in professional and collegiate athletics in the broadest way possible. It provides athletes with the training tools to optimize their mental health and performance and empowers coaches and sports psychologists with scalable mental fitness tracking tools.
Corporate High-Stakes Professions
The physiology of stress is no different for a corporate professional making critical decisions, a surgeon performing cardiac surgery, or a professional athlete competing at televised events. As such, the methodology for training cannot be anything but identical. However, the applications are very different, and Flow 255 accommodates this with highly personalized training content and routine development. For organizations, our coaches utilize Flow 255 to assess mental performance fitness at individual and team levels, mapping the results directly to training recommendations.
Examples Of Mental Fitness Training In Real Life:
Raised the level of my game!
The 2Mynds platform has greatly improved my game by providing a simple approach to developing and training mental skills. The workouts are especially helpful as they create a challenging environment that prepares me for competing at a high level in tournaments. By working with 2Mynds and Leon I’ve developed match routines that help me be relaxed but focused.
~Michela Moore
Nationally ranked tennis player / USA
A practical tool for collegiate athletes!
I am finding 2Mynds extremely helpful and applicable to high-stress situations that consistently occur on the tennis court. It is a lot more practical in its approach by getting yourself in situations that are uncomfortable and you practice mental training within those situations. There are a lot of good programs on the platform that help you practice the way you want to play on the court. 2Mynds helped the MIT Men’s Tennis Team perform throughout our season.
~Daniel Papacica
Collegiate Athlete / MIT Men's Tennis Team
Helped me return from an injury mentally stronger
2Mynds helped me do what I couldn’t to return to professional soccer after my ACL and meniscus repair. My mental fitness needed work and I had no idea where to begin. Adding 2Mynds Mind Flows to my routine was essential to getting me back on the field. Among many other training tools, visualizing allowed me to confidently attack obstacles I had never faced before. Now that I have returned to sport, I find using the “Quick Reset” routine flow to prepare for a game is extremely helpful.
~Claire Constant
Professional Soccer Player / USL Super League
A big help with my performance
The 2Mynds system has really helped me improve my game. I have learned many useful skills that help me perform at a better level in tournaments. I also really like the idea of being able to do mind and body exercises on the court, to address mental aspects as well as physical fitness. I really enjoy working with Leon as it helps me transfer what I learn online to the court.
~Anushree Shekhera
Nationally ranked player / USA
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