Book Review – Relentless Solution Focus: Train Your Mind To Conquer Stress, Pressure And Underperformance

A Book You Won’t Be Sorry You Picked Up

Description

From bestselling author and mental toughness expert Jason Selk comes a mind-training regimen for reframing every problem into an opportunity for productive action.

The most common cause of failing to reach our professional and personal goals is hardwired in us: Humans instinctively focus on problems. Over millennia, our very survival relied on our ability to be alert to any potential dangers that could threaten our existence. But today this negativity bias significantly limits our potential and increases stress, pressure, and underperformance. 

The one characteristic all phenomenally successful people share is mental toughness. Mentally tough people are better at making decisions more quickly and with better results. They possess the uncanny ability to control what goes on between their ears. Instead of allowing their minds to focus on their problems when adversity strikes, the most successful people have learned to direct their thoughts in a systematic manner that produces positive emotions and productive actions: they have a Relentless Solution Focus. 

In this book, top performance coach Dr. Jason Selk―former Director of Mental Training for the World Series champions St. Louis Cardinals―and his colleague Dr. Ellen Reed provide the insight, tools, and proven step-by-step framework for you to do the same. When you have Relentless Solution Focus, you think better. Your decisions garner positive results. You take action and follow through―every time. And when you do get off track, you get back on with less effort and less drama. Weakness shrinks and strength grows, creating confidence and momentum, taking you and your team to higher levels of performance and achievement.

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Details

• Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
• Title: Relentless Solution Focus
• Author: Dr. Jason Selk and Dr. Ellen Reed
• Genre: Nonfiction, Management Skills
• Audience: Adult
• Length: 256 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education; 1st edition
• Release Date: January 5, 2021
• Book Tour Link

My Thoughts

With nonfiction I don’t usually, okay never, know that I’m going to fall in love with the contents as quickly as I did Relentless Solution Focus. As I finished reading the first few paragraphs of the Preface, I knew this was the book for me.

. . . Is there anything wrong with my health? What about my family’s health? Did I say anything the day before that I regret?

My focus was primarily on avoiding problems. That focus on avoiding problems kept my focus squarely on problems. I didn’t even consider this an issue. In fact, this is the way the human brain is designed to work. In this sense, this is normal and common.

Normal, in this case, is not a good thing.

Wow! Pretty much daily I had a silent battle going on with life. You see, like many people, I felt I needed to be in control and anticipate every situation. Why? Because feeling out of control and unprepared brought on bad feelings. Feelings I didn’t want to experience. So my goal has always been to anticipate and conquer. Hmmm, a frustrating battle to say the least. Since winning is impossible. At least not the way I was preparing for battle.

But I could tell this book was going to offer me answers. And that it did. Relentless Solution Focus offers a very simple formula for becoming a more relaxed, in control, happy person. And in only a few days I can testify to how much better I feel. You see I couldn’t control my surroundings, but I could attempt to control my thoughts.

How many times do we have negative opinions and thoughts enter our minds? Far too many times in my case. After all, if I’m to be prepared for all events, I have to anticipate negative things so that I can make a plan to counter them. Though this book is far deeper than this, one statement will begin to change you forever. It has me.

…within 60 seconds, replacing all negative thoughts with solution-focused thinking.

You might wonder if that wasn’t what I was doing. Dredging up everything negative so that I could make a plan. In my opinion, this means to replace ALL negative thoughts with a simple positive one. If I’m traveling and anticipating everything in the world that could go wrong, instead replace those thoughts with I have AAA and a cell phone, I can handle it. I’ve created a positive solution to many problems.

Now bear in mind, I’ve read this book one time and these are things that I’ve gleaned from it that are helping me. I don’t pretend to say that I completely understand it. What I do know is that I will be reading it again. This time with a highlighter.

Doctors Jason Selk and Ellen Reed provide exercises and many thought-provoking examples of putting Relentless Solution Focus (RSF) into practice. Imagine being a major league pitcher and having negative, self-doubting thoughts occupy your mind when you’re getting ready to throw the ball. Wouldn’t that be a good time to practice the 60-second rule? Stop the brain chatter and quickly replace it with a solution.

Many of our obsessive thoughts do little more than cause worry and take up part of the day that could be spent in a much more productive way. This book offers simple techniques (though they aren’t always easy to put into practice) that you’ll wish you’d known about years ago. I’ve only addressed a small part of what is covered in this wonderful book But I’ll leave you with a final quote.

If you want to win in life, you must stop running from your problems and instead learn to attack and defeat them.

RSF is basically a simple technique that I promise will change your life. And after all what do you have to lose? But you have a lot to gain. This fabulous book is a Must-Read!

My thanks to TLC Book Tours and the authors for a copy of this book and the ability to post a review without any limitations or expectations.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

About the Authors

Dr. Jason Selk, one of the nation’s premier performance coaches, has worked with business titans and superstar athletes. As Director of Mental Training for the St. Louis Cardinals, he played an important role in the team’s first World Series victory in over 20 years, in 2006, and their second in 2011. He is the bestselling author of Executive Toughness, 10-Minute Toughness, Organize Tomorrow Today, and Lead Any Team to Win.

Find out more about Dr. Selk on his website, and follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Dr. Ellen Reed has worked side by side with Dr. Selk for 15 years, and has extensive experience in mental training for consistency, accountability, and execution in business, athletics, academics, and the performing arts. She helps business leaders and elite athletes reach their peak performance by developing the mental toughness necessary for success.