Peak Performance. It’s everywhere. We want to be at the top of our game every freaking second. We strive to be perfectly optimized robot humans who are slaying every second of every day. My opinion? It’s absolutely ridiculous.
Peak. Like, the pinnacle. Like, the top of the mountain. Rational people usually hike or climb to the top of the mountain from the bottom. And then they climb back down. Why? Because we’re not idiots. The air is thin at the top. There isn’t a lot of room up there. And that breathtaking view, if you stare at it too long, will get boring as heck.
You don’t achieve success and then hang out at that apex for the rest of your life. The world doesn’t work that way. The world works in peaks and valleys. Summer fruit ripens, rots, and then the green leaves turn brown and fall to the ground. There are seasons. For nature and for us.
It is absolutely not rational to think that you can maintain peak performance 24/7. And, interestingly enough, society probably won’t let you do it even if you want to.
Celebrities hit the front page for a new project and then they disappear for a few years. We get super into a television series and then we find something else after a few seasons. When see the same faces in the media day after day and we eventually get bored. When one company or person dominates, our fairness monitor also goes off and enhances that already present predisposition toward novelty at all costs.
The point is that you can’t stay at peak performance all the time. It’s not sustainable. And even if you believe it is, the world will eventually make you believe otherwise.
So, what’s the point of peak performance if we can’t be there all the time? Well, the secret to achieving peak performance is simple. You need to know when you need to be at your peak.
So many people peak when it isn’t important and flop when it is. Peak performance is all about peaking at the right time. Giving the perfect presentation to the right people at the right time. And then having a beer in your pajamas and watching House of the Dragon.
If you’re going all the time, you will not hit your peak when you need to be there. Here are a few ways to time your activities so that you peak at exactly the right time to dominate your industry.
Choose what peak you want to climb. If you’re trying to slay everything all the time, you will end up moving much slower than you want (trust me, I do this all the time). I’m not saying you need to only do one thing, but I like to choose one main focus per month and plan my activities around it. Maybe it’s marketing for my company. Maybe it’s creating more content. Maybe it’s meeting more people outside my network. But, you’ll definitely climb higher if you have both feet on the same mountain.
Craft your incline. For important events for which you want to peak, it’s important to plan the days leading up to it. Whether you’re putting together a bitchin’ powerpoint or making an appointment to get your nails done, it’s important to schedule the ascent to your peak performance. That also means scheduling time for rest, moving your body, and saying no to those late night party invitations.
Don’t forget your descent. Many people plan up to an event, do whatever it is, and then shut down and lay under the covers. Resting after a burst of energy is great. But most peak performance activities require wrapping up whatever you just did. Don’t forget to follow up with new contacts you made, post some great photos on social media, and reflect on what you learned and what you could improve. And yes, celebrate your wins - because that is important as well.
The long and the short of it is that we can’t stay at the top of Everest forever. We’ll freeze and perish there. We’ve got to climb back down before we summit another peak. The secret to achieving peak performance is prioritizing which peaks you want to climb and then making sure to take care of your ascent and descent.
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Love,
Michelle