Inner Work for Inner Excellence
Objective & Focus: popular book review, share entrepreneur story, suggestions to overcome hard mental challenges
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Hang on Health was founded on the guiding principle that when entrepreneurs build their mental resilience, they can achieve peak performance.
In the early pages of the #1 bestselling book Inner Excellence, pro-athlete performance coach and author Jim Murphy writes: “It takes clear intention, devotion, and the willingness to be vulnerable in order to develop your inner world. This enables you to grow in your belief, focus, and freedom — three key essential elements to extraordinary performance.” He goes on to say, “In order to have both sustained peak performance and fullness of life, we must examine who we are, how we’re put together, and what drives us.” This is the inner work that true excellence requires.
Early in my career, success came easily. It wasn’t handed to me by any means — I worked hard for it. My commitment, dedication, reliability, and work ethic consistently led to the outcomes I desired, and I rarely faced adversity. I felt on top of the world, letting my professional achievements define me. Life was good, and I didn’t see a need to stop and examine my thoughts or feelings. Why would I? Everything seemed to be working.
Then, in July 2021, my business and I hit what felt like a brick wall. In the span of just 30 days, I saw years of professional accomplishments and the reputation I had built unravel. For the first time, I didn’t know who I was anymore. It was embarrassing on so many levels. For months, I wished and hoped the situation would resolve itself, but nothing changed. By October 2021, I was faced with a choice: either begin the hard inner work to confront my anger, shame, guilt, jealousy, selfishness, and even suicidal depression, or let those emotions consume me entirely. Giving up wasn’t an option for me.
That October, I started therapy and began examining my beliefs, behaviors, and the ways I process things. It’s been an ongoing journey of digging deep to understand who I am and how I can shift my mindset to serve not only myself but also the people in my life — my teams, my husband, my parents, my friends, and even strangers. I’ve come to realize the importance of being better, not just for me, but for others as well. Murphy’s explanation of why we should strive for inner excellence resonates deeply: it’s about the bigger picture, the motivation to grow beyond ourselves.
Murphy reminds us…
Life is not a zero sum game. It’s not about temporary happiness, short term wins or surface level attachments.
Life is meant to be a journey. Connecting with others. Always growing and evolving. Discovering new and amazing things.
We don’t pursue peak performance for the trophy or the adoration, but to discover something within us and experience something we’ve never experienced before.
We compete for the competition itself, to fully experience the moment and feel fully alive.
We don’t climb mountains to get to the top, we climb mountains to see who we can become in trying to get there.
(Adding my own commentary to this one… Think about it. The feeling we get from reaching a goal is ecstatic and thrilling. But, if you look deeper, what is it that really makes you so happy? It’s that you overcame whatever challenges you faced to reach that goal. That’s the sense of accomplishment that truly fulfills us. That’s the journey up the mountain.)
Adversity gives us the greatest opportunity to grow. It pushes us to understand ourselves better: why we feel the way we do, why we make certain decisions, and how we treat others. By committing to the inner work and achieving “inner excellence,” we become better leaders. We make rational decisions instead of emotional ones. We create stable, supportive workplaces. We set intentional, strategic goals that drive meaningful growth.
Most importantly, our blinders come off. We leave behind self-centered pursuits. We stop chasing temporary highs and external validation. By doing the inner work, we step out of our own bubble and gain an expansive perspective, as Murphy describes. This allows us to live with passion, confidence, and a sense of true fulfillment in all areas of life.
To me, that’s a life worth living.
If you want to achieve peak performance with HOH, then hang on. We’re just getting started. 🦥
Tina
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Hang on Health, a Nashville, TN nonprofit, empowers entrepreneurs with mental resilience. By supporting entrepreneurs with mental wellness resources such as education, community and coaching, they are emboldened to achieve peak performance.
