Since we know that a vast majority of our stress and emotions come from the mind. Are there basic paradigms contributing to the hyper active stress response in most individuals? The answer is Yes! We are going to focus on one called The Achievement Gap or simply A to B.

Have new possessions or achievements caused you to stay happy or be fulfilled for very long?     

Is it possible your mind is deceiving you by making your believe that more possessions and achievements in the future will fulfill you even though they never have in the past?

Is your best chance for succeeding at something increased more by wanting to succeed or by consistently putting forth effort to succeed (contribution)? 

Have you experienced greater fulfillment from wanting and getting things or from giving and creating things?  

Is it possible your mind is causing you to stay in a wanting and getting posture instead of a contribution and creation mode even though it is not as productive or fulfilling?

Do you believe that to be motivated you have to be dissatisfied with what is and what you have and want more?

If this is true, doesn’t this mean that you will be either dissatisfied or unmotivated your entire life? Is that the way you want to live?

Most of us believe we need to constantly improve our situation and ourselves to find fulfillment and happiness. This is because we are conditioned to believe our self worth or value is based on our appearance, possessions and achievements. As a result we think it is detrimental and even wrong to be satisfied with who we are and what we have. We believe that being satisfied or fulfilled will make us complacent and lazy. 

We call this mindset A to B. A is what you current have, and B is what you want. A is never good enough and B is where it’s at. You must constantly be dissatisfied with what is (A) and strive to get more and be more (B) because your value and fulfillment depend on it.

Is this the best method for optimal performance and enjoyment? Consider some of the consequences of this paradigm:

Life long dissatisfaction with short hits of fulfillment: If you can’t be satisfied with who you are and what you have achieved (A), then by definition you are choosing life long dissatisfaction. If you have talent and good fortune, you will periodically achieve things (reach B) and will get short hits of fulfillment that will quickly turn back to dissatisfaction as you reload and strive for more.

Emotional roller coaster: No matter what you do, your appearance, health and skills will ultimately diminish and they will always be subject to things outside of your control. Focus on wanting and getting: This mindset puts the emphasis on wanting and getting things in the future. Thus you do not emphasize the work and creation in the present that produces the best results. Even worse, you rarely enjoy life because it is often a means to an end to get what you want in the future. This is a process most people repeat until they die.

Consider VP’s Expanding A as an alternative to A to B. Once you improve the brain and create Performance Mindset, you no longer need to control the external world to feel okay. You no longer need to achieve, need to get to a “B”, to feel good about yourself. You already feel alive and worthy. You rid yourself of the anxiety of having to get what you want in order to feel a certain way. This allows you to naturally appreciate and enjoy your current situation, your “A.” When you feel alive and you like what you have and what you are doing, you naturally and consistently apply effort and energy to your life. You are all about connection, contribution and creation. When things don’t go your way you are naturally resilient because it’s about contribution, you don’t need to get anything to feel good. You have become the person who can get great results, but you don’t need the results. You automatically start to expand all the areas of your life that you value; you expand your “A”.

This mindset fits perfectly into the latest in performance science, which is to focus on the process and not the result. To de-emphasize getting something in the future and emphasize applying yourself with great energy and consistency to a good process. This is difficult to do with the conditioned mind, but easy to do with Performance Mindset. Everyone wants great performance and success, but your greatest chance to get there is not from wanting it more, it is from applying yourself with passion to a great process.