The 4 Pillars of Your Peak Performance
If you’re reading this then it is likely that you are already a performing and highly ambitious individual. You probably feel like you can still learn and improve for more positive impact.
Before the pillars are revealed, success in this area starts with 4 questions.
1. What do I really want when it comes to my life?
Think about what you want to achieve in the different spheres of your life. Please keep it to one big goal in each. Think of the areas of personal life, work life, social contribution and extracurricular activity.
2. What are you willing to give up?
Maybe you will need to give up the occasional Saturday to work on your project. Or potentially cut down on Saturday evening drinking to have more productive Sundays. Potentially your biggest issue is acknowledging the nagging voice of doubt too much by letting it hold you back from positive and assertive action.
3. If you have passed question 1 and 2 and you still really want to work on your goals then you have got to set your mind to it.
Take on the mindset that you are not out for quick fixes. This journey is about healthy habit change which will make your life better in the short, medium and long term.
4. Get to work.
Action mindset is now the key. What next? Potentially you could commit to addressing the 2-3 areas which you feel are holding you back. Alternatively, could you create 2-3 healthy habits to help you create more time and energy in your life?
If you have read this far, then perhaps it’s time to go a little further. Now for the 4 pillars to your Peak Performance:
Physical Health
Sleep like the Stanford basketball who improved their 3-point shooting and free throw shots by 9% or more by committing to sleeping more for a 5-week period. Imagine what a such a big performance increase to whatever your prime activity could lead to?
Eat for short-term productivity not a long life. Eating to live longer is too abstract to help us make healthy decisions in the short term. Instead, think about what eating for a productive afternoon of work can help you achieve or think about being energetic for kicking around with the kids in the garden later that day.
Move to be at your creative best. A study has shown that we come up with more creative solutions to problems when we dedicate thinking time to them while walking outside.
Optimal Mindset
Live in a mindful manner to prevent rumination holding you back. It will be a sad life to look back and say I wish I had allowed myself to be happier and not sweated the little things so much.
Self-talk is a tool which can help you prevent yourself from being hijacked by negative thought patterns. It has been shown to help performers improve in the execution of tough tasks.
From performing under pressure to excelling at work, make sure to place emphasis on soft skills and emotional intelligence. It has been shown that 75% of job successes are predicted by the following (please note the absence of IQ):
- Optimism Levels
- Social Support
- Ability to frame stress as a challenge and not a threat
Confident Communication
Assertiveness to communicate clearly your needs, wants and emotions e.g. stop saying yes to every demand made on your calendar. Realise that to perform to the best of your ability you need to be good at saying no politely i.e. in a manner that trades popularity for respect.
Speaking in a manner which helps you to sell your ideas to small and larger groups. Not only what you say but how you say it. Have you ever tried assessing how many times you say ‘eh’ during a speech or normal conversation? Unfortunately, this is often judged as a lack of intelligence. Try replacing the ‘ehs’ with prepositions like ‘and, because, however’ etc. Begin practicing in front of the mirror…
Develop your charisma by expanding your comfort zone and going to enriching events and trainings. Think of your daily interactions and how you can bring them to life more e.g. responding to ‘what do you do for a living?’
Option A) “I’m a personal trainer” vs
Option B) “I torture people for a living and they keep coming back”.
Which answer would pique your interest more…?
Self-Actualisation
Learn to manage your energy levels better. Too often we waste our 3 most productive hours of the day by dedicating them to low value activities like less significant meetings, admin tasks etc.
Reflect on your purpose in life to help you pursue the meaningful few tasks instead of the trivial many. Your problem is not a lack of ideas but that too many good ideas will cancel each other out.
Lastly, be disciplined how you rejuvenate during evenings, weekends and holidays. We will rarely look back and wish we had worked harder. In fact, strategic rejuvenation can lead to better long-term productivity, ideas and more likelihood to avoid burnout.
For more details on how we can guide you to a 10-week Peak Performance transformation based on new and healthy habit formation then make sure to check out this page.
