by Abigail Ireland, Peak Performance Strategist & founder of Understanding Performance
January is the time of year for “good intentions”. We set goals, we have headspace to think about what we really want over the next 12 months, and we are motivated to take action. However, intentions need intent, and this can easily dissipate over the weeks and months when life throws us curveballs. Come March, many of us have forgotten all about those aspirational goals and plans we had set ourselves.
This year, aim to show up as your best self every day – with intent and purpose, with confidence and habitual commitment. Giving 1% extra every day will enable you to unleash your full potential when you look back in December and see how far you’ve come.
To get this year off to a powerful start and keep up momentum, apply the following tips:
- Measure progress against your starting point, no one else’s: We often compare ourselves to others, but this can cause demotivation and disillusion. The reality is that we don’t know what advantages or opportunities others have had, and everyone has their own individual path to take. Instead, look back on how far you have come at the end of every week and month, and celebrate your own progression. Then, keep going onwards and upwards.
- Take pride in what you do and why you do it: Pay attention to what energises and inspires you. When you are working on something or having a conversation, be fully present and attentive. Focus wholeheartedly on what you are doing, don’t multitask and do remove distractions that lead you away from your goal. Easy ways to keep focused include writing your top goal for the day on a sticky note that is always visible, keeping your phone out of sight to reduce temptation, and actively listening when speaking to others.
- Define what your ‘best’ looks, sounds and feels like: We throw around terms like “perform at your best” so frequently, but how often do we actually consider what this means? It will be different for each one of us. There are often misconceptions that peak performance means pushing yourself to your limit constantly, yet true peak performance means incorporating ebbs and flows (breaks and rest are crucial) so you can perform at your best on a sustainable basis. It’s about quality, not quantity. Take 5 minutes to write down and describe how you would show up if you were performing at your best tomorrow. Once you have this in some detail, you have more chance of actually achieving it. Jot down the top three actions you can take to turn this into a reality.
- Preempt derailers: When mapping out your day, identify what could take you off track and stop you from achieving your goals. You can then make a plan to mitigate obstacles and overcome hurdles ahead of time. Navigating daily stressors and ensuring they don’t sabotage your good intentions is the key to sustainable progress. For example, you might realise that you constantly say yes to new tasks when you’re already overloaded, so you could prepare a default response to say you will get back to someone before you commit.
- Focus on physiology: So often underestimated, true peak performance involves the whole human. Nutrition, physical movement and sleep have a huge impact on performance. We are not machines, so we need to nourish our bodies and brain to maximise our potential. Stay hydrated (don’t wait until you’re thirsty), have brain-friendly foods, make daily exercise a non-negotiable habit and get quality sleep. Guided meditation and self-care routines are an ideal way to end your day, so you can wake up ready to go the next morning,
Peak performance involves balancing psychology, physiology and productivity – you will have your own unique formula that blends these three variables to optimise your state and day. Experiment with what works best for you and what brings out the best in you, and you will start to perform at your peak every day without striving or stressing.
