“We are born unarmed.
Our mind is our only weapon.”
Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead
If we want to achieve an extraordinary quality of life, we must cultivate an extraordinary mind-set. Where we are in life today is the direct result of the thoughts and emotions we think and feel every day. So to achieve more in the game of life, we must continually stretch the edges of our own mental envelope and push ourselves to the limits of our potential and fulfillment.
We must learn how to use our latent mind power to maximise our performance in all areas of life. Everything begins with the state of mind.
When you observe professional athletes or composed musicians or diva perform, they make their performance look so easy and effortless. Yet, behind the scene, the kind of physical – and more so mental – practices and rehearsals are the backbone of peak performance.
Let me share with you four peak performance habits that can substantially elevate your success to new heights:
1. Laser-Sharp Focus to Keep You on Track
To get the best return on our time and energy – on life – it is the modus operandi of peak performers to develop a laser-sharp focus on targeting and tackling the highest priority, one at one time. Too many people are trying to do too many things at the same time, thus stretching themselves too thin. Worse, they are busy running East looking for sunset, with nothing to show for in the end. To kick-start this habit, always ask yourself “what is the best use of my time and energy right now?”, “What must I do to achieve my goals faster?” and “What is the most critical action I need to take now?”
2. 20 Ideas a Day to Make Your Day, Every Day
To have good ideas, we have to generate more ideas. I learned this simple yet powerful tool from Brain Tracy and want to share with you how it would help you achieve peak performance. Whatever goal you aim to achieve, you simply phrase it as a question and, without pre-judgment, start writing down all the ideas or answers to this question. Don’t stop until you squeeze out the 20th idea (and continue to jot down more ideas if your creative juice continues to flow). Initially, coming up with the first five to seven ideas is a breeze. Then, this mental exercise gets more challenging. The last five ideas would demand your focus and stretch your thinking. For instance, if you want to make more money, you can phrase the question as “How can I double my income in 12 months?” and start listing all the ideas and ways to make this goal come true. Some ideas may include taking up a part-time job, getting promoted to earn higher pay, setting up a business on the side, branching out on your own, etc.
Once you have generated different ideas, examine and prioritise them for planning and execution. So generating ideas for a different goal every day in this systematic fashion will not only make you innovative but it will also sharpen your focus.
The beauty with this tool is such that, even when you don’t go first class by doing it every day, you still will have generated more than 1,000 ideas in a year – just by doing it once a week. This creative know-how and reservoir of ideas will give you the winning edge over many people who just try to think - anyhow.
3. Peak Performance State to Set Your Mental Gears Right
It has been said that success is a state of mind. To get yourself in the peak state, test-drive the following techniques:
A. Rhythmic Breathing (Mental Alertness) – To help our brain gain more oxygen and be mentally sharp, practise this technique three times a day (and avoid doing it before bed-time). Action: Inhale slowly and evenly for five seconds, hold your breath for a count of five, exhale slowly and evenly for five seconds, and pause for a count of five before beginning to inhale again. Repeat this cycle for two to three minutes each round. Eventually work your way up to a pause of 10 seconds.
B. Incantations (Peak State) – By combining your words, tonality and body movement in a confident and congruent way, repeat each statement aloud 10 times and feel the power of each belief:
“I can do it”
“I like myself”
“I believe in myself”
C. Positive Visualisation (Positive Mind-Set) – Recall and relive the moments of past successes and victories and see in your mind’s eye your doing great and achieving your goals. Practise it three times a day: in the morning, during the day, and before bed-time. This technique will give you an edge when you use it immediately before an important function such as giving a presentation or going for a job interview.
D. Mind Sanctuary (Mental Relaxation) – Think of a place, either real or imaginary, where you feel totally relaxed, comfortable and enjoyable. Be sure to use all your senses when you see yourself relaxing at this wonderful place. For instance, if lying on a beach is your feeling and image of total relaxation, in your mind, see the colours of the sky and trees around, smell the fragrance of flowers and the salt in the sea breeze, taste a cold drink, hear the birds chirping or the waves, and touch the texture of the sand. Go on this mental vacation when under stress or during bed-time for a good night’s rest.
4. Mastering Your Emotions to be the Captain of Your Soul
You become what you feel. A happy person lives in a happy world. A sad person lives in a sad world. To be a peak performer, you must master your emotions. The sooner you learn to harness the potency of empowering emotions, the sooner you will be more successful and, most critically, much happier and fulfilled.
Starting right now, build up your reserves of positive emotions and you will become unstoppable. Feel the 10 most Empowering Emotions daily:
1. Love
2. Gratitude
3. Passion and excitement
4. Determination
5. Confidence
6. Curiosity
7. Vitality
8. Adaptability
9. Cheerfulness
10. Contribution
Next time when you feel angry, disappointed, frustrated, jealous or overwhelmed, etc., you should call “time-out” and analyse what this negative emotion is telling you. Then you take action to overcome it. What is crucial is that you immediately replace the negative emotion with the positive ones, by easily and confidently tapping into your abundant reserves of empowering emotions such as love, gratitude, excitement, etc. The best way to combat negative emotions is not to kill them off entirely – which you can’t really do – but to weaken them by strengthening the roots and body of the positive ones.
Now that you know the four tips on peak performance, you are on the way to better your performance everyday. You can pride yourself on capturing the secrets top coaches and peak performers know in their bones. Go ahead and perform excellently!