It doesn’t matter whether you are a student, a business person, a parent or an athlete, we are always wanting to change something about ourselves or the world around us. We’re all looking to bridge the gap of where we are right now to where we want to be. If that sounds like you, read on for my top five points to boost your mindset for peak performance.
So… this article is about the mindset for peak performance. Which is perfect timing considering the Commonwealth Games are taking place down the road. What does it take to achieve peak performance? What separates the gold from the bronze, what separates the good from the great?
Peak performance is the ability to continually expand your own comfort zone. Its your ability to adapt, change and grow. I’ve chosen a list of the 5 tips, or five programs to install; to update your approach, your mindset, to be better equipped to adapt, to make change and to grow in any part of your life.
Top 5 programs to install for peak performance:
1. Where are you Heading?
Could you imagine setting off in your car and not knowing where you are going? Could the same be said for your parts of your life?
Stephen Covey’s book ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ pretty much nails the point I’m trying to get across: Begin with the end in mind.
‘To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.’
Like I said, he pretty much nails it.
2. The Pursuit of Perfection.
Once we have figured out where we are going we can get caught in the pursuit of perfection. We set ourselves lofty expectations, we layout (in our mind) what we need to do to reach our vision. We tell ourselves we need to be perfect in order to achieve our goal.
Have you ever set a goal and then given up on it just quickly because you broke a rule you had imposed on yourself? Lets say, you set a goal that you would do something everyday for a year. Something like you wanted to exercise everyday. You start off exercising everyday, then one day something happens and you miss out on exercising that day. What do you do next? I know you say that you exercise the next day but that rarely happens. If you don’t agree with me check the stats on how many people have already given up there New Year’s resolutions, even though its only April. We give up on the goal because a tiny element of our idea of perfection was broken.
Tim Ferris, author of The Four Hour Body, talks about the minimal effective dose. Basically it is the bare minimum that we can do to get the most effective result. Or, if you like Pareto’s Principle, whats the 20% that I can do that makes up 80% of my performance? Peak performance is not about being perfect, its not about perfection, nothing is ever perfect. Let go of perfection.
3. Failure is Feedback.
Holding us back from achieving peak performance, standing right along side our pursuit of perfection, is our fear of failure. Our fear of failure stops us from moving forward. How can we try something new, how can we try to change if we are afraid of making mistakes.
As Thomas Edison put it,
‘I have not failed. I’ve just found 10 000 ways that won’t work.’
Each time something doesn’t work, it’s just that, something that didn’t work. If we don’t try something new we won’t change, if we don’t change – nothing changes.
‘I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that’s why I succeed.’
-Michael Jordan
4. It Happens
Yep, as Forrest Gump said, ‘It happens’.
Something will go wrong. You will stuff up at some point. No matter how much you plan, something will go wrong. We can sit there and dwell on it. We can throw a tantrum and ask ‘why is this happening to me?’ But that’s not going to change anything. Jumping up and down like a pork chop isn’t going to help you. As mentioned above, there’s no such thing as perfection, failure is just feedback. It won’t all go to plan, that doesn’t matter, it’s what you do next that counts. Look for a solution rather than focus on the problem.
‘Fall down seven times, stand up eight.’
-Japanese Proverb
5. Take Action.
Talk is cheap — Actions speak louder than words — Take action now!
‘The journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.’
-Lao Tzu
‘Action is the foundational key to all success.’
-Pablo Picasso
‘Even if you are on the right track you’ll get run over if you just sit there.’
-Will Rogers
‘Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence ad courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit at home and think about it. Go out and get busy.’
-Dale Carnegie
Undoubtedly you’ve probably heard or know everything I’ve written here. The change comes from taking action on that knowledge. The change comes from installing these tips rather than knowing them.
If you want to upgrade your performance, if you want to install a mindset for peak performance come and join us at our upcoming event. See below for the details
SAM
