Elite performance physiotherapist Dr. Jo Brown has coached some of the world’s top athletes, from American sprinter Noah Lyles to the Australian Swim Team and Jamaican Bobsleigh Team carrying on the legacy of Cool Runnings at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Key Points
- Dr. Jo coaches people to “see your elephant” and become a hunter of big things barricading in your purpose.
- An appreciation of, and desire for, greatness is common, but as a New Zealander Jo thinks the rest of us need more permission to explore it.
- “Greatness’ is about how we impact others and how we impact the world, whereas success is quite personal.”
- Listen to the full episode of UNDISTRACTED with guest Dr. Jo Brown in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts.
For 20 years “pursuing greatness” has become Dr. Jo’s mission, but she sees it as something beyond a luxury of the uber talented and an essential quest for all of us: to discover what we’re great at, what’s prohibiting us from excelling at it and finding a way to offer it to the world.
The methodology Dr. Jo uses as a coach is to “see your elephant” and become a hunter of big things barricading in your purpose.
“[Our elephant] is the thing that we’re pushing away and choosing to ignore,” Jo told Hope 103.2’s UNDISTRACTED podcast.
Be it fear, distraction, disillusionment or burnout, “sometimes we think we’re putting [our elephant] away for later but it’s still impacting our performance”.
Dr. Jo coaches people to “see your elephant” and become a hunter of big things barricading in your purpose.
Dr. Jo was a preteen when her “fear elephant” was born, recalling a fight she had with her sister that saw her committed to a padded room in a mental-health facility by her parents.
“In that moment I learnt that I was a monster,” Jo said.
“I lived the rest of my life in fear of being that monster again [and] causing damage, hurting people.”
In the years since, Jo realised that incident fueled what’s become her “mission and life purpose: to do the opposite”.
“[My goal] is to fix people,” Jo said.
“To raise them up, to never be a monster [but] to be a shining light, be the guardian – whatever it is for that person.”
In the ecosystem of elite sports an appreciation of, and desire for, greatness is common, but as a New Zealander Jo thinks the rest of us need more permission to explore it.
“What I realize when I come back to Australia,” Jo said.
“Is that we are so bad at bringing people down rather than lifting them up and celebrating success.
“’Tall-poppy syndrome’ is real, and when step outside of Australia or New Zealand [you] see it’s a real problem in our society.”
“’Greatness’ is about how we impact others and how we impact the world, whereas success is quite personal.”
Perhaps “greatness” is viewed as an egotistical and selfish endeavor, but by Jo’s definition that isn’t quite right.
“Greatness is different from success,” Jo said.
“’Greatness’ is about how we impact others and how we impact the world, whereas success is quite personal.”
To want to be great and find the energy to go beyond mediocrity’s comfort “always has to start with a choice”.
“A choice to want something different,” Jo said.
“It starts with being authentic, being vulnerable [and] having courage and curiosity.”
Dr. Jo Brown’s book See Your Elephant is out now.
Listen to the full episode of UNDISTRACTED with guest Dr. Jo Brown in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts.
Feature image: Photo by CanvaPro
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