Empowering Outperformance: A contemporary strategy for grandgoal achievement

By Dixie Dansercoer

Do you have the dedication, discipline and concentration to finish what you set out to do? To be a high performer?

This book is not meant to come up with the typical ten point plan that you find in the plethora of books on “how to…” or “finding the shortcut to…”. It is simply not realistic to impose the one and only way to become a performance beast. We cannot be made immune to personal emotions and our brains work in a very unique way and therefore it seems illogical to accept the restrictions of such ten-point-plans. Dixie Dansercoer surely does not want to preach, generalise or standardise training methods to manipulate people into becoming high performers. Our brains may be trained just like muscles, but people cannot be as easily manipulated as flesh and bones.

The goal is to provide the reader with inspirational insights with respect to high performance, provide him/her with practical guidelines and stories to be read and shared without drowning in all-too-academic theories. The red line of polar exploration allows the author to write from the heart with accounts of his direct experiences. When confronted with the monotony of infinite white, wide-open spaces, one cannot but study the mental and psychological impact of these ambitious expeditions.

Throughout his book, the author offers a lived and original example of what is needed to be(come) a top performer.

EXTRACT

There is nothing more exhilarating than the intensity of amazement. To be subjected to forces bigger than us, to be part of it, live it, touch it, smell it, feel it, love or hate it... only then can you be part of the real thing. In order to find that intensity, the only thing we need to do is put our mind to it, go out there
and do it. Does it come for free? No. Is pushing the limits an easy thing to do? No. To get the most out of our potential, we must commit. If we want or need to deliver, we must be ready to work hard and be resilient. To follow a dream, we must be ready to fail as well. Stop dreaming and you will have a hard time falling asleep.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dixie Dansercoer is a lifelong adventurer who has placed his focus on Polar exploration during the last 26 years, running many record-breaking expeditions that raised the bar for what seemed impossible. Parallel scientific missions, educational projects and enthusing the public at large are tools he uses to objectively raise awareness regarding our individual and collective responsibilities vis-à-vis the pristine character of our precious Earth. Together with his wife Julie Brown, he runs Polar Circles, with which they present keynote speaking, corporate-supporting campaigns and productive retreats. As one of the very few International Polar Guides Association few Master guides, he provides guiding services with Polar Experience for which he has designed polar trips ranging from soft immersions in the Polar Regions to extreme ski-kiting expeditions to (Ant)Arctica.

Dixie is the author of 24 expedition, photo, children’s and corporate books and does not hesitate to include in his publications that belief in a good world, positive attitude and much humour can save the world. He is a father of 4 and sharing his time between Belgium, Switzerland, Oregon and … wherever snow and ice are the icing on the cake !

• Language: English
• Publisher: Die Keure Publishing
• Release date: Jan 18, 2018
• ISBN: 9782874034923

Book preview

THE WILL TO WANT

My real self is my will

- Bula Matari

Do we have a right to ‘want’, to ‘desire’, to ‘need’?

In Buddhism, greed is considered not good. Greed is one of the ‘Three Poisons’ that lead to evil and that bind us to suffering. It also is one of the ’Five Hindrances’ to enlightenment. Calvinism teaches that freedom is the ability to act according to your desires. Furthermore, it teaches that the will always chooses according to its greatest desire. If you have no desire for something, you simply will not choose it. In Catholic circles, desire and need are widely discussed and quickly related to sexuality. Materialistic desire for example, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, denies the existence of both deities and ‘souls’. Materialism is therefore incompatible with most world religions including Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

The wide variety of people on this planet makes for a wide range of opinions. Sometimes based on culture and tradition, sometimes based on current values, the matter of ‘wanting’ or ‘desiring’ can be interpreted in many ways.

To ‘desire’ simply means wanting something very much. Our modern culture doesn’t attach moral judgment to ‘desire’. On the contrary, desire in the romantic sense is celebrated in music, art and literature. A desire for material possessions is encouraged, and not just through advertising. People who have earned wealth and the possessions that go with it are held up as role models. The old Calvinist notion that wealth accrues to people who are worthy of it still clanks about in our collective cultural psyche and conditions how we think about wealth. Desiring things isn’t ‘greedy’ if we feel we deserve those things. The problem comes when people get addicted to it.

The English word ‘greed’ is usually defined as attempting to possess more than we need or deserve, especially at the expense of others. We’re taught from childhood that we shouldn’t be greedy. Webster tells us the meaning of ‘desire’: The natural longing to possess any seeming good; eager wish to obtain or enjoy, or in its abnormal or degenerate sense: excessive or morbid longing; lust; appetite."

Many use the word ‘desire’ in the sense of an unworthy longing or craving, instead of in the true sense of ‘aspiration’. There is no sense in endeavouring to escape the fact that desire is the natural and universal impulse toward action, regardless if the action is good or bad. Without desire our will does not spring into action, and nothing is accomplished.

And if you ever doubt why you would want to strive for something, it is good to know that being good at one carefully chosen path offers the greatest pleasure and fulfilment we can ever imagine.

Desire as an overpowering master?

Is it so that we get hooked on desire or is it a tool to get the energy out of our will? It all depends how well you can manage this drive to accomplish what we dream of or what we aim for. In itself, that is surely not a bad trait. We just need to know that there is a big difference between channelling a full flow of energy towards positive goal achievement and losing yourself in a wild outburst of a sudden midlife crisis (or man-o-pause as I once heard). If you are doubtful that fulfilling your desires will add to the happiness of you and your close relatives and friends, you must first find answers to that question. It is always a good idea to talk it over with the parties who will become part of the process. Discuss the intricate reasons why you have this urge to follow your passion. Maybe you are not a talker and find it hard to make it clear what you have in mind? Write it down and present it that way, but you will quickly understand that you may find extra support when the reasons for your actions are well lay out.

If you think that none of your secret desires is worth talking about because you fear rejection or you hear comments like are you crazy?, it is good to know that man cannot and should not be desire-less. It is ok to crave! It enriches our lives so that we can truly feel alive and burn with desire. Desire is the motivating power behind everything we do – it is a natural law of life. Desire is the motivating force that runs the world. Look around you and see the effects of desire in every human act. In order to achieve a mental state in which we consider all things as attainable we must admit that we ‘can’ because we want.

Using self-control to reach higher goals

You may have heard of the ‘marshmallow test’, the legendary experiment on self-control that Mr Mischel invented nearly 50 years ago. He invited a multitude of 5-year-olds to sit at a table with cookies on it (the kids could pick their own treats). If they resisted eating anything for 15 minutes, they would get two cookies; otherwise they just get one.

Famously, preschoolers who waited the longest for the marshmallow went on to have better high school results than the ones who couldn’t wait. In later years they were thinner, earned more advanced degrees, used less cocaine, and coped better with stress.

When we, anxious parents would choose to time our kids in front of treats, we would be missing a key finding of willpower research: whether you eat the marshmallow at age 5 isn’t your destiny. Self-control can be taught and practised. Grown-ups can use it to tackle the burning issues of modern middle-class life: how to go to bed earlier, not check email obsessively, stop yelling at our children and spouses, and eat less bread. Poor kids need self-control skills if they’re going to catch up at school. The children who succeed to turn their backs on the cookie, push it away, pretend it’s something non-edible like a piece of wood, or invent a song. Instead of staring down the cookie, they transform it into something with less of a throbbing pull on them.

Adults can use similar methods of distraction and distancing. Don’t eye the basket of bread; just take it off the table. In moments of emotional distress, imagine that you’re viewing yourself from outside, or consider what someone else would do in your place. When a waiter offers chocolate mousse, imagine that a cockroach has just crawled across it.

If you change how you think about it, its impact on what you feel and do changes,

There are two warring parts of the brain: a hot part demanding immediate gratification (the limbic system), and a cool, goal- oriented part (the prefrontal cortex). The secret of self-control, Mischel explained, is to train the prefrontal cortex to kick in first.

Self-control alone doesn’t guarantee success. People also need a ‘burning goal’ that gives them a reason to activate these skills. Would it not be great to be like Walter Mischel? At 84, instead of slowing down, he’s preparing for his American book tour and fielding questions from Polish journalists. The secret seems to come straight from the marshmallow test: distraction. It’s to keep living in a way one wants to live and work; to distract constructively; to distract in ways that are in themselves satisfying; to do things that are intrinsically gratifying, Mr Mischel says.

Red-hot passion:

Passion is a practical necessity. Nothing brings out hidden qualities like passion does. It is a driving force of heart and soul. It engages your excitement for activities that matter most to you and that lead to inner happiness. Passion is also easily recognisable by the sheer realisation that you lose track of time because whatever hard work you are doing, it does not feel like it; you have transcended the innate resistance to hard work.

Suddenly, you are walking around with the biggest grin on your face because you are making the most of your current capabilities while embracing something that is very close to your heart. Just thinking about that private bubble of energising interest puts a spring in your step, a sparkle in your eyes and gives you a point of focus like no other. Pursuing your passions – even in small doses – here and there each day, also encourages you to develop new ones and that keeps you feeling younger throughout life.

The will to want:

We all have an innate desire to be the best we can be. We want to discover our limits and push, maximize these limits. But for some, this ambition remains in the waiting chamber and the older we get, the more we file that desire in a place where dreams are labelled as ‘non-reality’. Maybe some of us romanticise the goals we seek, seeing only the end and not the whole process. We must honestly ask ourselves if we have the practical commodities of time, financial means and intellectual expertise, desire and unwavering commitment. We must create our most powerful ally: will.

Willing myself to get out of my polar sleeping bag

Everytime I am out on a polar expedition and after a solid night’s rest, I look at the thermometer to see temperatures of minus 30°C or lower, I know what’s ahead. The inside of the tent is laden with frozen moisture that will fall on you with the slightest movement of the canvas, the shock of coming out of the relative warmth of your down cocoon is horrendous and the assault of deep cold stops any desire to perform. How do I get out my sleeping bag, knowing that I will be attacked by immense cold? I have only two options: stay within the safety of the warmth of the sleeping bag, or get out. What makes me manifest my will? Clearly I must choose for the second choice. But again, there are two choices: HOW, IN WHAT STATE OF MIND do I get up? I can internally moan and groan and pity myself while opening the zipper of the sleeping bag and even get a little aggressive with the zipper that is frozen shut with the crystallised moisture of my breath, or … I can look forward to the privilege of seeing the wonders of the frozen parts of our planet. I can let myself be torn between the two choices contemplating pros and cons, let indecision play ping pong with my mind… Eventually, I know that I will be forced to get up because there simply is no option. What a waste of time it is to let temptation to fight off the inevitable! I know why I have to get up and pride myself for being stronger than the elements that would keep me in bed or would lure me in the tug-of-war of yes/no.

In the beginning of my polar career, I still had to find out how I could find a solution to not give in to the easy way, giving in to my weaknesses. Soon enough, though, I would learn to anticipate these situations and I developed my pump-me-up-monologues. It progressed from calling myself a weakling to patting myself on the back for graciously crawling out of my sleeping bag to finally not even thinking about it anymore and being amazed that it had become such a routine. When the time had come to wake up and get out of my sleeping bag, I knew that I would be attacked by immense cold. I actually only had two options: stay within the safety of the warmth of the sleeping bag, or get out. In the beginning, I let myself be torn like a yo-yo between the two choices but there was clearly just one option if I wanted to progress that day. What also helped me being firm in ‘just doing it’, was the realisation of letting myself waste time and energy in my inability or unwillingness to even consider not getting out the sleeping bag. The short moment of ‘let’s go’ is so much easier than ‘let’s wait a little longer’. Transforming desire into will can be trained by choosing the difficult route and not just accepting the easy way out. This is something we can all do personally as we do not all feel difficulty in the same manner. The more we practise dealing with our normal reaction of rejecting difficulty, the easier we will go into autopilot and acceptance of difficulty. This way, we will develop a talent to go beyond pain, discomfort or even boredom.

Are we predestined to be high achievers?

Do we inherit genes from