High Performance Living: What got you here won’t get you there… It’s time to change gears!

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to be the guest speaker at a ladies lunch and share my story – both personally and professionally. I would talk about building my business and my brand to starting a family (to now having four children) and the challenges that came with that including post-natal depression. In that talk I spoke about how working on my mindset during those times lead me to the life that I have now. This talk got me thinking.In our lives, why are we so reluctant to change tactics, and why are we often so afraid of change, even though our current situation is not giving us the results and the outcomes that we want?

In our lives, why are we so reluctant to change tactics, and why are we often so afraid of change, even though our current situation is not giving us the results and the outcomes that we want?

Firstly, it required me to realise that my feelings weren’t so great and needed some, actually a lot of work. Then, I needed to chat to a professional or two about it and get some guidance. But ultimately in the end, it was my mindset that had to get me out of that period of my life. The buck stopped with me. What I had always done was not sufficient to get me out of the rut that I was in. I needed to find a way to regain control.

When it comes to our performance, it is often very similar. Professionally, we get to the stage that we are in because we have worked hard to get to that point. But what got us there, won’t get us to that next level. It won’t elevate us and in turn our lives won’t reach the potential that they can reach both personally and professionally.

When we look at our life and we look at what we want for our future there are usually three fears that prevent us from reaching our goal.

1)  We fear loss pain – what will I lose if I really go for this goal?
We may not be happy with what we have currently, but at the same time, at least we know what we have so we stay in our comfort zone and lack fulfilment.

2) We fear process pain – will the process be too hard and therefore should I give up now and not even try?
Some of us fear the effort needed to get to their destination may just be too much and so we stop.

3) We fear outcome pain – will I achieve the outcome that I want if I go for it? Is the grass greener on the other side?
They may also have people around them saying, ‘you can’t have it all’ or ‘be happy with what you have’ and so we don’t make the change.

The secret with High Performers is that they are always striving for more, always striving to gain that edge, to learn that skill, to build those relationships. The learning never stops and that’s why High Performance are in the top 15% of the world’s most successful individuals. It’s definitely not by chance.

If we talk about the mindset in a High Performer, we would refer to it as an open mindset. High Performers want to be challenged, want to improve, to strive and to grow. They get curious about what else is out there that could get them what they are after and how they (not the external), can control what is needed and gain competence in that area.

Here are some questions that you can ask yourself daily to stretch your thinking and begin to elevate your life – both personally and professionally.

1) PURPOSE: How can I stay on my purpose today?

2) PERSUASION: Am I developing influence? Who can I be a role model for today?

3) PRODUCTIVITY: What must I accomplish today to progress my life?

4) PHYSIOLOGY: Am I rested? Fully hydrated? Am I giving my best energy to situations?

5) PSYCHOLOGY: what are 3 words to define me as a person and am I living those words daily?

6) PRESENCE: How present am I in conversations both emotionally and physically?