Unlocking Peak Performance

Unlocking Peak Performance: Strategies for Sustainable Excellence

In today's fast-paced and competitive world, maintaining peak performance is a common goal for individuals seeking to excel in their personal and professional lives. While the concept of peak performance may seem elusive, there are practical strategies that can help optimize your physical, mental, and emotional well-being, enabling you to consistently operate at your best. Let's explore the key principles and actionable tips to help you unlock and sustain peak performance in various aspects of your life. This isn't Rocket science!

1. Prioritize Self-Care:

Self-care forms the foundation for peak performance. Pay attention to your physical health by adopting a balanced diet, regular exercise routine, and sufficient sleep*. Nourish your body with wholesome foods, engage in activities that promote strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular fitness, and ensure you get ample restorative sleep. Remember, self-care also extends to your mental and emotional well-being. Practice stress management techniques, cultivate healthy coping mechanisms, and take time for activities that bring you joy and relaxation.

*My key hack for high quality sleep. Lighting. The upper neurons in the eye, receive the angle of the light. The angle of entry of the light, triggers a neurobiological response, i.e., directly overhead lights, perhaps your LEDs in the kitchen and the lounge within your home, will intimate to the brain that the sun is still high in the sky, and the time of the day is between 12 pm and 2 pm, despite it being 10 pm at night.

If you were to turn off your overhead lights as early in the evening as possible (6-7 pm) and replace your light source with wall lights, or lamps, your subconscious brain would receive this information as 'the sun has set' the angle of the light into the eye, emulating the sun moving over the horizon. Thus, your body would immediately begin its tasks of producing your sleep 'drug' melatonin. The sun has set, it's time to prepare you for sleep. This hack will have you and your children primed for bed with much higher levels of melatonin than usual. And for peak performing, incredibly busy and stimulated adults, your ability to sleep, particularly being able to maintain continuous sleep through the 1-3 am wake-up zone, will be phenomenal. Try it and track it; the results will be measurable.

2. Develop Daily Rituals:

Consistency is key when it comes to maintaining peak performance. Establishing daily rituals* can help create a structured framework that supports your goals. Start by identifying the activities or habits that contribute positively to your productivity, focus, and well-being. Most coaches, and wellbeing guru's will have you work on a morning routine that incorporates meditation, visualization, journaling, or exercise. Absolutely experiment with those different rituals to find what works best for you and commit to them consistently to build momentum and optimize your performance over time.

*My life hack for rituals and routines. I'd love you to invert your morning purpose. Change your thoughts about your first few hours in the office. Meaning? Generally we park our car, get off the train, or lock up the bike, and head to our office with the delusional belief that we "are going to work on XXXXX when we get to our desk". We walk into the office believing that we will work on a specific project, nail some big work and get shite done. And guess what? That's a fail. "Have you got a minute? Can I catch up for 30 seconds? Would you just...." and so on. As soon as you enter the front door, someone wants a piece of you. You're stretched and pulled from multiple directions. Feel familiar? The neurobiological response to this diversion of attention, or interruption is an intense fight flight response. Our cortisol spikes, in our head we are thinking 'oh for phecks sake', and we are totally pissed at not to be able to tackle what we had planned. Two hours later, you drag yourself to your desk, distracted, stressed, tense with a feeling of being behind the ballgame. And of course, the day doesn't get better because we are now primed to see the very worst in our circumstance. Cortisol and nor-epinephrine at unhelpful levels, setting us up for the downwards spiral of doom.

The hack - take a moment upon arriving at work, to set your mind to inverting your purpose. Your task upon arriving in the office is to serve those around you, not to complete work or tasks that are important to you. Reverse your purpose.

"Good morning, what do you need from me right now?" "Do you have what you need to be successful for this morning?". Engage, answer, inspire, serve. And then once the team is set, focused, with their needs met, head to your space, and close the door. And I mean 'close' the door. No cell phones, no emails (unless that's what you've chosen to do uninterrupted for the next 45 minutes to 1 hour). In my IMPACT4Q Model, this chunk of time is called Q2. High Value, High Controlled work, that you need to commit to without interruption. Why no more than one hour behind a closed door? Your team know that they can 'hold' their questions for the next hour, they feel psychologically safe that they can 'have another piece of you', in just over one hours' time. Over and above that time, you risk the knock on the door, the interruptions, and the distracted brain follows. This rhythm allows several things to happen. You achieve one hour of uninterrupted peak performance at least once a day, with planning, multiple times, per day. Your brain can enter a flow state ensuring decreased distraction and the ability to control your stress state. Your team have been nurtured and know the rules around how and when to interact with you. And when you physically walk back out of your office one hour later, you'll experience the elation of achievement, making it much more likely that you're ready to serve those whom you lead, with the knowledge that you'll get another chunk of peak performance on your next 'off-grid, door closed adventure'.

3. Set Clear Goals:

Clearly defined goals are essential for maintaining focus and direction. Take the time to identify both short-term and long-term objectives that align with your values and aspirations*. Break down larger goals into smaller, actionable steps to maintain motivation and measure progress. Regularly review and refine your goals to ensure they remain relevant and challenging enough to stretch your capabilities. Additionally, consider sharing your goals with an accountability partner or coach who can provide support and help keep you on track.

*My life hack for this uses visualization to allow you to see and plan for your future. Stand in the future 5 years from today. In that space, articulate, what you are doing, how much you are earning, who you are serving, even exploring the details of how many weeks holidays you are enjoying each year. Once you've clarified the 'dream you' of five years, look back to today, and dig into the specifics of what you had to do to get there. Skills gaps, fiscal requirements, scalability; whatever you will need to do to achieve this. From there, each of those steps or needs become a Q2 action. These go into your diary to be chunked into your ongoing weekly, monthly or annual plans and tasks.

You can go into your diary up to 18 months out and allocate 1 or 2 hours a week to each part of the plan. Each week, fortnight or month, you will work on a small part of the plan for a set period of time. Concurrently growing skills, closing gaps, and walking towards your dreams and goals.

The other remarkable thing that occurs during this 'dreaming' process - your Reticular Activating System (RAS), is put on alert. Your RAS helps you to start filtering out those pieces that can help you with your articulated intention/s and so the conscious mind brings that into your subconscious mind and so you start to see and hear and understand the things that will help you get to what you're intending. The brain starts seeing synergies in conversations, people and events. Ever thought about buying a particular model of car, and immediately, you see that model of car everywhere. That's the RAS, seeing the synergies and association with your intent.

4. Embrace Continuous Learning:

Never stop learning and growing. Seek opportunities to expand your knowledge and skills within your field of interest. Stay up-to-date with industry trends, attend workshops, conferences, or enroll in relevant courses. Surround yourself with mentors* and like-minded individuals who inspire and challenge you. Embracing a growth mindset will enable you to adapt to new challenges, innovate, and continuously improve, propelling you towards peak performance.

*Life Hacking Mentor vs. Coach. Spend some time being curious about the difference between these two distinct people in your life. There will be a time for a mentor and a time for a coach. Choose wisely.

5. Cultivate Mental Resilience:

Resilience is a key attribute of high achievers. Cultivate mental resilience by practicing mindfulness, developing emotional intelligence, and reframing* setbacks as learning opportunities. Build self-awareness to recognize and manage stress triggers effectively. Incorporate stress-reducing techniques like deep breathing, meditation, or engaging in hobbies that promote relaxation. By strengthening your mental resilience, you can navigate challenges more effectively, maintain focus during high-pressure situations, and bounce back stronger than before.

*Hacking Mental Skills | Gazing Performance | Red2Blue. This mental skills model allows you to move from Red Head, the state of overwhelm, stress and poor decision making to Blue Head, your space to make fantastic critical decisions under pressure. Curious? reach out to learn about this simple and clever model that will provide you with the tools to build the skill of changing states rapidly to best serve your needs. Used by the NZ All Blacks, international elite athletes and the US Marine Corp to support performance under pressure.

Maintaining peak performance is a holistic endeavor that requires a combination of physical, mental, and emotional well-being. By prioritizing self-care, establishing daily rituals, setting clear goals, embracing continuous learning, and cultivating mental resilience, you can create a sustainable foundation for excellence in all areas of your life.

Remember, peak performance is not a destination but a continuous journey of growth and self-improvement. So, commit to these strategies, adapt them to your unique circumstances, and enjoy the fulfillment that comes from operating at your best.

Watch my website for mentoring and retreat opportunities where you and I can walk beside each other in the pursuit of peak performance. www.sallyduxfield.com