PILLARS OF PEAK PERFORMANCE

When it comes to performance, learning how to execute to your potential regardless of the circumstance should be the goal.

It doesn't matter what you can do today in comfort (or under limited stress). What is really of value is your ability to show up and execute when it counts.

We begin the process of developing this skill by disciplining ourselves to effectively perform our job, role, duty, responsibility, etc. to standard day in and day out regardless of how we feel.

This is the mindset we are after here...building mental toughness through intention and consistency. This is the true definition of discipline.

High performance comes down to an individual's mental, physical, and spiritual strength, resilience, and durability. If you neglect any area in your preparation (mind, body, spirit), expect to come up short when things don't go as planned. Training for your specific worst-case scenario or "high-stakes" moment is vitally important to ensuring your success when it matters.

Let us dive into the four pillars behind an effective framework for driving elite performance.

Pillar # 1 - Mindset

Mindset is a huge buzzword at the moment. I can't help but feel that a lot of people misunderstand what mindset actually means and how to effectively develop or train it respective to their current situation to yield powerful results.

Mindset ultimately comes down to how we are postured for a given situation, endeavor, or circumstance. Are we aggressive and proactive or passive and reactive? An aggressive mindset is derived from confidence. This confidence is developed through adequate preparation.

Whatever it is you need to be ready for, effective preparation is the first stage in developing your confidence and enhancing your overall competence as a result.

Take action by identifying the challenges within your current situation or endeavor that pose the most risk and or create the biggest points of friction/ problems. Your next step is to create a path of negotiating said problems and getting to work in your preparation.

As an athlete, this may look like frequently drilling quality repetitions of a particular skill set in a myriad of conditions that mimic game-time scenarios. For those in the corporate field, studying up on the latest trends, rehearsing presentations, conducting the appropriate research, etc. may prove to be very beneficial given your current circumstance. Military, LEOs, and first responders are required to know specific skill sets that must be mastered through repetition to create an ingrained response crucial to effectively responding and opening up situational awareness in a high-stakes moment.

The onus is upon you, as an individual to figure out what your challenges are and how to effectively solve them.

The next three pillars will help shape this mindset to a varying degree.

Pillar # 2 - Attitude

Your perspective on a particular matter will heavily influence your ability to execute. Do you view your challenge as an opportunity that excites you to take action or are you burdened and apprehensive?

Which view do you think will negatively impact your performance?

What perspective will enable you to commit with confidence and vigor?

We can always adjust our attitude by identifying purpose and value within our current struggle. The cost has to mean something. Again, the onus is on you to figure out this step in the process and develop the appropriate perspective that will enable your success.

The choice is always up to you!

Pillar # 3 - Preparation

Adequate preparation leads to competence and ultimately confidence. I touched on this earlier in the post. The more time you spend intentionally knocking out quality repetitions, the more effective you will be at executing your respective skill set.

I'm not talking about going through the motions and wasting your time with garbage reps. I am referring to the discipline of committing your attention and focus to executing your respective skills/tasks right, every time, regardless of how you feel. You may feel tired. Cool! This is a training opportunity to perform the task or event to standard even when you aren't feeling your best.

Be smart about when and how you train a specific skill set to maximize progress moving forward. Including the mental side of your training is critical to decreasing the time and distance from point A to B.

Example # 1

You are a jiu jitsu practitioner and or competitor and are learning a new skill or system to add to your game. Not only do you need to frequently drill this new technique with perfect form, you need a lot of repetitions to ensure you can pull it off under stress. 

The next step in this process of learning said technique is to visualize yourself performing the skill in a myriad of situations for 2–5 minutes everyday. These succinct mental rehearsal sessions should be intentional and as realistic as possible. You should be conscious of how everything feels, what you see, smell, taste, etc. These rehearsals should mimic reality and will serve as extra repetitions in your preparation. 

Finally, you need to pressure test your skill through live resistance. This doesn’t mean you have to go 100%. Gradually increase the resistance or pressure to ensure you can effectively hit the technique during a live roll and or competition. 

Example # 2

You conceal carry a firearm and go to the range at least once every two weeks to ensure that your ability to shoot accurately is on point. This is good!

However, you are going to get even more out of your preparation if you practice daily a series of dry fire techniques and visualize potential worst-case scenarios in your head and how you will respond.

Think through the real-life challenges associated with these situations, the consequences, and how to effectively navigate these circumstances from both a physical, mental, and psychological standpoint.

These mental exercises coupled with the physical repetitions (both during the dry and live fire) will help to adequately prepare you for that worst-case scenario.

The situations we aren’t prepared for are the ones that catch us off guard and end up devastating us!

The most critical aspect of preparation is stress inoculation. This is achieved by effectively recreating the stresses and adversity of the event or situation you are getting ready for.

Again, training for your worst-case scenario is a must if you aim to perform to your potential under stress regardless of the endeavor.

Pillar # 4 - Experience

Experience is such a crucial pillar to our ability to increase performance. Regardless of the experience, whether good or bad, we can always learn from it and extract the valuable information needed to make us better.

We can then implement this knowledge into our preparation moving forward to increase our overall state of readiness for future endeavors.

The more experiences we have that relate to what we are trying to accomplish, the various looks we have been given, and ultimately the more tools we possess to leverage at our disposal increase our confidence and the likelihood of success.

Conclusion

High performance is for everyone no matter your background. We just need to utilize the right framework to ensure our success moving forward. To increase your readiness and performance, be mindful of the four pillars above and ensure that you give each one its due diligence as you commit, prepare, and execute.

Click HERE for more information on how to increase optimal readiness and performance.

Get Ready! Stay Ready!