Good performers give thought to their actions.  “What am I doing?  How can I do it better?”  To improve their performance they focus on their performance and the actions and skills needed to perform well.

Top performers focus attention on their habits of thought.  They already know and have learned well the actions and skills needed for good performance.  They focus instead on what makes the difference between good, solid performance and top performance.  In short, the difference is the mental game.

James Allen wrote a short book in 1902 titled “As a Man Thinketh”.  His main point is that we choose our thoughts, and our habits of thought show up in our circumstances.  Interview top performers and poor performers and you will see this demonstrated vividly.

An article yesterday in the Wall Street Journal on the neurobiology of cognition suggests that each person has a neuron (or cluster of neurons) that fire in recognition and response to specific stimuli.  Researches found that, yes, you actually have a neuron that responds specifically to Homer Simpson, the fictional cartoon character (or you don’t, as the case may be).

As intriguing as this discovery is, the real point that has practical usefulness is that by thinking of certain things repeatedly, by training ourselves in certain habits of thought, we can grown neurons that respond specifically to that stimulus.  Create a goal, then repeat it to yourself, focus on it enough, and you will have neurons firing anytime you encounter something that your brain recognizes as bringing you closer to that goal.  This is one of the keys to developing the mindset (and results) of a top performer.