Chōsen Experiences

Life is a series of negotiations. We negotiate everyday in our lives, negotiating with your kids to sleep early, negotiating for a better salary, buying a home, etc. Negotiation is a basic means of getting what you want from others. It is a back-and-forth communication to reach an agreement between you and the other person when you have shared interests. Here are our top 6 techniques on how to negotiate better, taken from former FBI Hostage Negotiator, Chris Voss' Never Split the Difference.

As a crisis negotiator, peacemaker and clear communicator, Dr. Marshall Rosenberg has initiated peace programs in numerous crisis zones including the Middle East, Rwanda, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Northern Ireland. Dr. Rosenberg explains how non-violent communication (NVC) breaks patterns of thinking that lead to anger, depression and violence. NVC is often associated with self-help communication skills, but it goes much beyond. Rather than a format, NVC is a consciousness based on the intention to create positive connection — recognizing that mutually enriching outcomes will emerge from the quality of the relationships. Rather than be motivated by fear, guilt, or any coercion, people give freely and happily when they feel good about each other and trust that their needs matter to the other person.

Former FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss outlines four ways to improve our stronger negotiation skills, whether in boardroom or bargaining for the best deal at a local souvenir shop in Bali. To ensure the success of a business deal, how many of us still hide our cards, deliberately don't lay out our needs and play mind games? According to Voss, negotiating with empathy will get you more than if you negotiate as an adversary.

As a crisis negotiator, peacemaker and clear communicator, Dr. Marshall Rosenberg has initiated peace programs in numerous crisis zones including the Middle East, Rwanda, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Northern Ireland. Dr. Rosenberg explains how to break patterns of thinking that lead to anger, depression and violence and transform potential conflicts into compassionate dialogues to create greater depth in our relationships. ​ ​After years of working with many high performing leaders, from Olympians to VCs, to leading entrepreneurs, and business executives, a big part of what makes the Chōsen founders and alumni successful is how they communicate with each other balanced with how they check-in with themselves. Being in tune with how we are feeling and knowing what we need is the basis of effective communication and strong relationships.

To boost our brain’s health and keep performing at higher levels, we must first make a choice to take responsibility for our mental performance, then practice it. The capacity to change the physical architecture of our mind at any time is a biological mechanism that exists for our benefit. Whatever we consistently practice will grow stronger.

Each one of us has the power to define our own life experience by using our brain’s plasticity to drive behavior change. Defined as our brain’s ability to rewire itself through new experiences, it turns out that our brain is constantly changing throughout life by sculpting new “practiced” pathways and pruning away unused ones. This process was once thought to exist only for children during their formative learning years.

Each one of us has the power to define our own life experience by using our brain’s plasticity to drive behavior change. Defined as our brain’s ability to rewire itself through new experiences, it turns out that our brain is constantly changing throughout life by sculpting new “practiced” pathways and pruning away unused ones. This process was once thought to exist only for children during their formative learning years.

What does living a balanced life mean to you? For us, it's about feeling calm, grounded, clear-headed and motivated. Achieving balance allows us to reach our goals and our purpose in life while creating less stress to do so. If you are struggling to balance your health, family, business, and social life, you are not alone. In a bid to accomplish our goals and to succeed on all fronts, we often fail to understand the importance of having balance in our lives. Like yin and yang, balance is a continuous conversation; a series of “over-corrections.” Balance is the ability to feel a shift in one direction and correct it moment to moment. The question is how far you go in one direction before you realize its time to shift in the opposite direction. When we are out of bounds, there can be a number of negative consequences. The further we go in a single direction, which we often do unknowingly, the harder it becomes to come back.

Remember when we were kids, how we were curious about everything? It turns out that cultivating a curious mindset has some incredible benefits, from boosting achievement, increasing empathy and making us happier. When we are curious, we always want to improve ourselves. This is linked to the idea of having a growth mindset, which means that we believe our skills, abilities and knowledge are not fixed, but can be developed. It is more vital than ever, as we grow older and more demands are put on our time, that we stay intellectually curious.

Curiosity is a combination of intelligence, persistence, and hunger for novelty, all wrapped up in one. When we are curious, we always want to improve ourselves. This is linked to the idea of having a growth mindset, which means that we believe our skills, abilities and knowledge are not fixed, but can be developed. It is more vital than ever, as we grow older and more demands are put on our time, that we stay intellectually curious. Here are our top 10 tips on how to cultivate a curious mindset!

Here at Chōsen, we define resilience as the ability to bounce back to a fundamental state of calm after facing adversity. Interestingly, being resilient has a lot to do with being present. But what does that really mean? Presence stems from “believing and owning our stories.” It has more to do with the everyday, ordinary moments than an enormous transformation - and not about waiting for the next moment to be more fulfilling than this one. For us, presence is the foundation of resilience and mental tenacity. Learn more about how you can harness the power of presence to bounce back quickly to a fundamental state of calm after facing adversity with our online Foundational Resilience Course! Our 5-week Foundational Resilience Program to guide you to create a customized program to support yourself through challenging times, practice a mindset of continual growth and transform your lifestyle. Designed by our team of global performance experts composed of Gold Medal Olympians, Wellness Doctors, Nutritionists, Neuroscientists, and Business Leaders, our self-paced, online program is was nominated Finalist for “Best Wellness Program” by Destination Deluxe in 2020. Learn more: https://www.thisischosen.com/foundational-resilience

Your body is your vehicle, your mind is your engine. Each plays a critical role in your ability to perform well in your business and your life. For any athlete, achieving success begins first in the mind and is supported by the preparedness afforded by consistent, proper training. The same is true as an entrepreneur. Here at Chosen, we believe the strategy of "success at all cost" is no longer appropriate. The result can be costly for your health, time, energy, relationships, income and life.

As vaccines roll out and restrictions ease, life is starting to return to normal in some parts of the world. But are we sleeping better than we did in 2020? Millions of people are still working from home and sleeping in later hours due to the lack of commute. Looser schedules mean looser bedtime and wake up time. It's also reasonable to assume that those working at home are also likely to move their body a lot less than pre-pandemic days. Do these threats to sleep quality and productivity sound familiar? Enter COVID-somnia. For this week’s #ChosenInsightSeries, we return to where Chōsen Co-Founder John Stanton uncovered how our universal need for slumber is the crucial ingredient of optimal productivity, and shares actionable steps on how you can take control of your sleep for better energy.

If you spend a lot of time in the performance zone, then you need even more time in the recovery zone. The optimal ratio? 3x recovery for 1x performance. We know, this might turn everything you believe about recovery upside down. However, science proves that prioritizing recovery actually advances your career and training goals more than burning your longevity to the ground in pursuit of your goals. Check out our latest YouTube video where Chōsen co-founder John Stanton discussed why and how we can recover like an elite athlete in order to improve teamwork, performance and resilience.

Our lives can be very hectic. Many of us feel pulled in different directions and resort to multi-tasking and technology to help us keep up and stay in touch with others. Winding down from our day is important to help us relax and initiate sleep. It’s a process where we intentionally put aside the events and worries from the day so they don’t get in the way of our having a restful night, something that’s essential to optimal brain restoration and functioning, memory, and learning. How do you wind-down from your day?

Our daily habits are an indicator of productivity and achievement. Instead of scrambling through the morning, which can lead to feeling depleted, we can do better! When practiced consistently, morning routines can boost your mood, increase productivity and reduce stress levels. When you start your day with intention and groundedness, it makes space for feeling positive, confident, and at peace with yourself. Read our latest article on how to establish a morning routine, link in bio.

“Flow state” is a term coined by one of our favorite psychologists: Mihály Csíkszentmihályi to describe being fully immersed in a task, to the point where everything else fades away. Your creativity and productivity surges and you lose track of time. In fact, flow state is a key part of our program design at Chosen. The experience of flow in everyday life is an important component of creativity and well-being. The more you practice it, the more you seek to replicate these experiences, which help lead to a fully engaged and happy life.

“Flow state” is a term coined by one of our favorite psychologists: Mihály Csíkszentmihályi to describe being fully immersed in a task, to the point where everything else fades away. Your creativity and productivity surges and you lose track of time. In fact, flow state is a key part of our program design at Chosen. The experience of flow in everyday life is an important component of creativity and well-being. Inducing flow is about the balance between the level of skill and the size of the challenge at hand. Here are our top 5 ways to achieve flow state based on Csíkszentmihályi’s research findings.

“Flow state” is a term coined by one of our favorite psychologists: Mihály Csíkszentmihályi to describe being fully immersed in a task, to the point where everything else fades away. Your creativity and productivity surges and you lose track of time. In fact, flow state is a key part of our program design at Chosen. In many ways, Flow State is the next iteration of mindfulness. It’s giving your full attention to the moment and task at hand, and not worrying about anything else.

Purpose is adaptive - it helps us survive. A sense of purpose appears to have evolved in humans so that we can accomplish big things together - which may be why it’s associated with better physical and mental health. Though many believe that purpose can only be based on our natural talents, we believe that this is only part of the truth. Purpose also grows from our connection to others, which is why a crisis of purpose is often a symptom of isolation. Once you find your path, you’ll almost certainly find others traveling along with you, hoping to reach the same destination. Here are four ways to overcome isolation and discover your purpose in life.