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Pillars of
Peak Performance
What is Peak Performance
Peak Performance is our primed state from which peak productivity flows.
It is a state of mental clarity, high cognitive processing, and our greatest physical performance.
Also known as the flow state, peak performance is not about competing with others but instead advancing one’s self.
It makes you the most productive you’ve ever been, and it does it effortlessly.
It allows you to flow with ease to develop the life you’ve always desired.
It helps you move, change, adapt, process, execute, deliver, and evolve, and it leaves you operating effortlessly in the top 10% of your peers.
Peak performance changes your life.
The Pillars of Peak Performance
The Pillars of Peak Performance are the foundations on which we are built.
When we focus on developing our pillars, we activate our individual state of peak performance.
Each pillar is as important as all others, meaning peak performance is achieved when improvements are made across all pillars, not focusing on only those that interest us.
This means we do not need improvements to be transformative before we hit peak performance. Instead, we hit peak performance when we make ‘small improvements‘ across all pillars.
Another way to explain this is that your focus needs to be on establishing a state of balance across all pillars. It is this state of balance that creates an optimal environment from which the body activates peak performance.
balance from which all productivity flows
It is from entering our peak performance that our peak productivity flows, moving us effortlessly towards our desires with mental clarity, high cognitive processing, and a powerful mind-body connection that is only available when operating from a flow state.
1. Understand the Pillars
If we consider the sunburst chart above, the pillars of peak performance are our foundations on the outer wheel.
These pillars have beneath them actionable improvements we need to make to activate our peak performance.
As we focus on improvements underlying each pillar, the improvements feed into our core self – our brain, body, and soul.
It is when our ‘core self’ is balanced, improving, and pushing beyond our comfort zone that we activate our state of peak performance.
As we become masters of our peak state, the improvements can become as expansive and unique as our individual desires. But for those just starting their journey, we provide a clear set of actions we know activate our state of peak performance | jump to the list here
However, irrespective of how extensive our list can be, we cannot truly execute improvements without first determining our deepest desires.
Only when we understand the purpose behind our improvements do we commit wholly to executing improvements.
Peak performance is activated by balanced pillars, our pillars are built by improvements, and our improvements are driven by the purpose formed from our deepest desire.
2. Determine your Desire
Desire is the things we dream of within the deepest parts of ourselves.
It is the dreams we have always had, the objectives we have not set, the goals we have not gone for.
Desire is the thing(s) we would have tomorrow if we could have it with a click of the finger.
By determining our desire, we are able to begin shaping a life that takes us there, one step at a time.
For example, my deepest desire has always been:
To be a successful business person, operating a number of small but high income companies under one umbrella, while retaining my unique and expansive personality that goes against the grain of the corporate culture. I want to be proof in this world that personality in the workplace is more successful than the corporate mold.
It may seem like an odd desire, but after fourteen years in the banking industry where my personality was relentlessly suppressed, I have a fundamental desire to challenge the corporate world by proving my personality is my greatest asset.
I consider these ‘financial‘ and ‘purpose–driven‘ desires.
However, your desires may be something entirely different.
For instance, your desire might be any of the following:
To achieve a state of peak physical performance that means I can leap, run, move, stretch, swim, climb, and ride a bike for hundreds of kilometres without my body giving up on me.
I want to be the best father to my children; overcoming the pain and trauma my father inflicted on me, and not repeating the unhealthy patterns of behaviour that he brought into our household when I was a child. I want my children to grow up feeling secure, loved, and knowing that I am there for them through everything, no exceptions.
I want to achieve a state of mental stillness that limits the damaging effects anxiety has on me in my life. I no longer want my life to be controlled by anxiety, I want to be in control of anxiety.
When we understand our true desire we can begin identifying underlying improvements that help us get there.
3. Apply Underlying Improvements
When we know our desire, we can begin identifying underlying improvements that help us get there.
It’s worth noting however, that this is different to setting a short-term objectives with clear sets of actions.
Desire is the commitment to be continually developing the life you’ve always dreamed of, therefore our underlying improvements are forever evolving.
As we begin to master our peak state and move closer to our deepest desires, we learn how to adapt our improvements depending on variable needs, outcomes, and changes in productive energy.
For those just starting on their journey, the key is to master the basics of bringing the pillars into balance.
Here we outline underlying improvements that begin to bring the pillars into balance and activate peak performance.
It’s impossible to make countless changes at the same time. Instead, select one or two categories under each pillar, and begin digest the content linked to each category.
Consume as much content as possible, absorb every word, and begin implementing the recommendations in your life in small ways, day by day.
Growth doesn’t happen overnight; it isn’t linear, and it our energy goes through waves of instability. But hold onto the idea that that the mightiest oak once was but a small acorn, and it will remind you to continue growing, keep expanding, and never stop moving in the direction of your desire.
Desire is what will drive your purpose, your purpose will drive your peak performance. Your peak performance is what will deliver on your desire.
1. Knowledge
“A person’s pursuit of knowledge is greater than his short comings and the limits of his vision”
We have all heard high performers and successful business people say it; ‘read, lots!‘. And it is true; the pursuit of knowledge should be a hunger we awake with each day.
Although not built into us naturally, the pursuit of knowledge is something we can cultivate in ourselves through desire.
Pursuing knowledge expands the mind immeasurably and provides you with the baseline from which peak performance is propelled.
Knowledge does not need to be books of academia, it is all forms of knowledge; knowledge of the world, knowledge of self, knowledge of others. Read, consume content, watch videos, travel, learn, listen to podcasts – the media formats from which you can consume are endless. Absorb as much as you’re able to, and commit to it being a life-long objective.
Outcomes:
- peak cognitive performance
- mental expansion
- knowledge growth
- personal growth
- professional growth
- subject expertise VS soft skills
- business acumen
- political acumen
- knowledge of self
- knowledge of others
2. Self-awareness
“Your perception of me is a reflection of you; my reaction to you is an awareness of me”
If you’ve not come across this quote before I recommend you sit to consider it for a few minutes. It’s an extremely powerful remark referring to one’s reaction to others is usually a reflection to how they view themselves. For example, someone who judges another for their body size is usually judging their own self on their body size. How humans respond to us gives us insight into the belief systems they hold towards themselves.
Self-awareness is one of the most evolutionary skills you can learn. When you become aware of the intricacies of your mind, psychology and behaviours, and your physical self, you gain the power to navigate the world in a new self-confidence.
When you become self-aware, you also become kinder, more compassionate, and gain complete self-control.
Outcomes:
- conscious growth
- awareness of self
- awareness of others
- awareness of your impact on others
- awareness of the impact of your communication
- spiritual growth
- kindness
- compassion
3. Emotion
“The size of a man can be measured by the size of the thing that makes him angry”
Tony Robbins said ‘the quality of your life is the quality of where you live emotionally‘, and it’s so true. Emotions are nothing but biochemical storms in the brain which we are in control of at any point in time.
We cannot stop ourselves from feeling emotions, but we can change how we respond to them.
Too often individuals operate from a place of emotion, resulting in erratic, unhealthy, and evening damaging behaviour. Erratic behaviour impedes cognitive clarity and causes widespread loss of one’s creditability.
Credibility being something we can spend a lifetime building and an instant losing.
Those who learn that emotions are passing moments which we do not need to interact with begin to see the true power we hold over ourselves.
Intense feelings of emotion are real, and deeply painful emotion like the grief of losing loved ones, especially unexpectedly, is a deeply traumatic experience that exists for us all. But when we learn that we can let go of emotion to move forward, we begin building a life that isn’t defined by the emotion we feel, but instead the actions we choose to take instead.
Outcomes:
- understanding emotion
- awareness of one’s emotions
- recognising one’s response to emotions
- awareness of one’s response to emotion
- awareness of one’s triggers of emotions
- changing how we respond to emotion
- not letting emotion control our thoughts
- not letting emotion control our behaviours
- letting go of emotion
4. Communication
“Communication is power. Those who have mastered its effective use can change their experience of the world and the world’s experience of them. All behaviour and feelings find their original roots in some form of communication”
At Humans we consider communication the core of your life’s success, by which we do not mean the workplace, but every aspect of your life like home, relationships, family, career, and self-growth.
Every action you take is rooted in a form of communication, whether communicating with others, or communicating to yourself.
When we analyse how we navigate this world with our communication, our self awareness flourishes. We hear our limiting beliefs that prevent our potential, we see how we lift others up or tear them down, we recognise the damage we cause and the disasters we could have averted.
When we master our communication our world shifts dramatically around us. We single headedly have the power to build and maintain highly effective relationships that bring abundance into our lives, through social bonding, love, wealth, and progress. And we also have the power to single headedly destroy the very foundations around us through hate, rejection, lies, and aggression.
Master your mouth, and you can make magic.
Outcomes:
- knowing the power of communication
- understanding the cause and effect of communication
- recognise that past experiences influence current communication
- communicate confidently
- understand how you communicate
- understand how others communicate
- know how to adapt your communication to others
- master influential communication
- build lasting relations with partners, family, friends, colleagues, and associates
5. Movement
“Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and exercise preserve it”
Movement forms the roots of all action.
If we do not move our bodies, we do not move our minds.
If we do not move our bodies, our physiologically processes are not primed for optimal efficiency.
If we do not move out bodies, we do not release the build up of negative energies accumulating within us.
Movement is the basis for all other pillars to process optimally.
Move, every day.
Outcomes:
- exercise, consistently
- move, daily
- peak physical performance
- peak physical longevity
- physical endurance
- stamina
- sexual stamina
6. Nutrition
“Take care of your body,
it’s the only place you have to live”
In an era of prescribed medicine, aim for prevention than cure.
Nature has provided us with the tools we need to enhance our health and limit the risk of infection and disease.
If we nourish our bodies with foods that treat us well, our deep cellular processes are optimised to operate at maximum efficiency.
We become more alert, focused, healthier, and more able.
Care for what goes in your body, its the only place we ever live.
Outcomes:
- eat for peak cognitive performance
- know that gut microbiota severely affects mental health
- natural diet, as often as possible
- Mediterranean diet for the mind
- adaptogens for stress reduction
- organic supplements for sexual energy
7. Self-optimisation
“the biohacker; one who utilises science and technology to make their mind and body function to its greatest potential”
We live in an age where science and technology give us the tools and understanding to optimise ourselves at the few clicks of a button.
With natural biohacking strategies and biohacking technologies widely accessible there is no excuse not to optimise the self.
Creating the optimal internal operating environment activates peak performance, and peak performance pays back in dividends.
Invest in self-optimisation, it has the greatest ROI.
Outcomes:
- Understand the benefits of biohacking
- Recognise biohacking for body and brain
- Recognise natural biohacking VS tech biohacking
- Build your individual biohacking system
- Adapt your system using data and biomarkers
- Optimise self for optimal efficacy
8. Love
“Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die“
Love is an interchangeable concept; we can love our partners, family members, friends, colleagues, or associates.
We can also fall out of love and it be replaced with anger, hate, resentment, and bitterness.
Forming healthy relations is the foundation to social bonding and releases oxytocin throughout the body, the hormones that leaves us feeling gooey inside.
But do not underestimate the commitment needed to build and maintain love. Know your part within the process of love, and own responsibility for it.
Outcomes:
- understanding true family
- healthy dating
- healthy relationships
- the importance of communication for relationships
- the importance of compromise for relationships
- the importance of compatibility in relationships
- recognise future compatibility VS current compatibility
- build boundaries, and maintain them
- create shared responsibilities, and hold them accountable
9. Sex
“Sexual energy is the creative energy of
all geniuses“
Sexual energy has the ability to harm, and to heal. Our intent behind it defines how it effects others.
The wounded person uses sex to build their self-power; sleeping around without intention, cheating, and not valuing the energetic exchange that can occur from positive sexual energy.
Without you realising, sexual energy can enhance your creativity and sense of wonder, just as it can leave you feeling empty and void of emotion.
Who we choose to sleep with can be the contributory factor to our sexual energy – choose people who you are sexually compatible with. It builds positive sexual energy that heals from the deepest parts of yourself.
Outcomes:
- positive sexual energy
- sexual curiosity
- sexual exploration
- sexual health
- reproductive health
- fertility
- sexual satisfaction
- sexual confidence
- sexual boundaries
10. Sleep
“the best bridge between despair and hope is a good night’s sleep“
It remains unclear to us how people still do not see need for a quality night’s sleep.
To maintain maximum productivity, our body needs to be rested and recovered.
Sleep is the most healing process your body and mind can go through; repairing you at a cellular and neural level, sleep is the superpower that can always mend your mind.
Do not make a habit of cutting short your sleep; doing so will prevent you from ever achieving peak performance. Even if all other pillars have been optimised perfectly.
Outcomes:
- recognise why quality sleep is the foundation to all pillars
- build an environment for quality sleep
- build healthy sleep patterns
- know your individual quantity of sleep
- align with your circadian rhythm
- reduce stress to optimise sleep
- reduce anxiety to optimise sleep
- recognise sleep disturbances
- analyse your dreams for current stressors
