Page 13 - Getting to the Heart of High Performance

Preface

Houston’s July heat made the shirt stick to my back as I parked
my Chevy and walked into the Veterans Administration
Hospital. It was Thursday, time for my one o’clock session, and
I dreaded it like hell.

Nine pairs of eyes watched me enter the group therapy room. I
scanned the place and saw a range of expressions: simmering
anger on the face of the big guy…weariness and resignation on
a couple of others…a spark of hope and energy over on the left.
The air conditioner was raging and the sweat drooling down my
back began to cool, so I grinned and got down to business.

I was doing an internship for my Ph.D. in psychology. Twice a
week I spent an hour and a half counseling these veterans
who were transitioning out of the psychiatric ward and back
into the world of work. At least, that was the idea. But we
were struggling.

Once again my group of guys started down the usual depress-
ing road, sharing play-by-play accounts of how badly the
world was treating them. Maybe the heat got to me on this
particular day…I don’t know. But after half an hour or so of
their complaining and commiserating, I couldn’t take it any-
more, so I hit my feet and headed to the blackboard.

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