Peak Performance: Part I

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you were constantly at a state of peak performance? Because lets face it, not a whole lot of us are there, especially not now in the present environment. As the days, weeks and months of masks and social distancing and isolation have worn on life has become numbingly repetitive. Its like watching a fast shore break where the water continues to recede and crash on the shore with a kind of grating repetition. Or as another person put it, every day is Blurs-day. Its kind of hard to

Self-care is important to your success on all levels of your life. The current situation will not last forever and when it ends we want to be in the position of coming out of the gates strong. We want to hit the ground running with confidence and speed. We want to be able to put our best foot forward as we strive to bring some normalcy back not only to our lives but to society as a whole. In order to accomplish this we should strive to be as close to peak performance as we can be given the circumstances.

What is Peak Performance?

We know what you are thinking, what is peak performance and how can I get some? Peak Performance is the state of being at your optimal level of performance for whatever task you are performing at any given moment in time.

Technically the definition is: : a state in which the person performs to the maximum of their ability, characterized by subjective feelings of confidence, effortlessness and total concentration on the task .(ref.)

It has been referred to by athletes as being “in the zone”. Musicians, writers and other artists call it being in the flow. There is even a peak performance for mystics known as finding the balance, walking the path, and our particular favorite taken from Navajo tradition: walking in beauty.

All of these descriptions are describing the same thing, being in a state of peak performance. The task at hand becomes effortless and your level of concentration becomes laser-focused. It’s a concept that experts in every field are familiar with.

Back To The Source

So, where does peak performance come from? As it turns out the foundation on which we build our ability to reach peak performance is mental and emotional. This is why the major characteristics are self-confidence and concentration. Our state of mind has a profound effect on our ability to effectively perform tasks.

A lot of people think about athletes and sports when they think about peak performance. When people think about athletes they think about hitting the gym and ridiculous amounts of physical training. And while physical fitness is an important part of peal performance its not everything.

If we are constantly in a state of self-doubt and fear it is virtually impossible to achieve a state of peak performance. This is also true if we are tired or emotionally confused. Without having a harmonized and balanced mental and emotional state true peak performance will remain elusive.

Join us next week to find out how you can get closer to your state of personal peak performance and closer to being the best version of you that you can be.