- You see it regularly in the performance of athletes.
Whenever a commentator says
that someone was performing "above their level,"
the implication is that someone has exceeded
what was expected of them.
There's a growing body of knowledge
that psychologists say can help
to encourage high performance,
performance that's so far beyond
what we thought was achievable
that we thought it was impossible.
So, what are some of the ways
that we can dramatically step up performance?
The first is to invest in learning techniques
that can change the context of performance.
That means using techniques such as mindfulness,
meditation, and yoga to give your mind the chance to focus
in ways you may not have been able to achieve before.
You'll also benefit from exercises
that improve your creativity,
and therefore your ability to solve problems.
The second is to seek out the expertise
and experience of others you respect,
who perform at the level you're looking for.
Sometimes the slightest change in perception
or technique or process can have a huge impact
on your ability to perform.
The third is to branch outside your work arena.
We need alternating rhythms in our lives,
a range of activities that give us variety
and avoid the potential for boredom
by doing the same thing over and over again.
Immersing yourself in a hobby or a sport
or some other pursuit outside of your work
can give you the opportunity to learn
a tremendous amount about yourself,
which you can then apply to your field of work.
And then fourth, and probably most important,
is to put yourself in situations
where you have stretch goals,
the combination of high expectations and limited resources.
That is, you're not necessarily certain you can succeed.
Only by getting out of your comfort zone
will you find yourself motivated to do more
than you might have otherwise thought possible.
That might mean deadlines that don't seem quite doable,
or goals that aren't initially feasible,
but without those stretch goals,
you won't know what you're capable of.
Let me give you an example.
I helped to start a magazine called Interactive Week
back in the dawn of the internet era.
We set ourselves a tremendously aggressive goal
to print our first issue
based on an available date with our printer.
Remember when we made magazines
by smearing ink on dead trees?
Anyway, as our deadline approached,
we realized we didn't have enough runway to get it done.
So I remember in that final week
getting four hours sleep a night, then three,
then two, and then none as I took the hard drive
with the final issue to our designer
and then we flew to our printer in the Midwest.
I could barely keep my eyes open
as we proofread these pages coming off the press.
The only thing that kept me going
was that we had accomplished something
we had thought was patently impossible.
Remember though that I've talked in another video
about the dark side of performance management.
The last thing you need to do is put pressure on yourself
to work perpetually in that high state of performance.
That can lead to burnout and a raft of personal problems.
There's an increasing body of knowledge in sports
that tells us that strength and endurance
comes from sprints, short, intensive bursts of activity
that increase our overall performance capacity.
For example, I'm an avid cyclist,
and when I'm training for endurance rides,
I ride the hills of San Francisco in rapid climbs,
forcing myself past my typical pace,
and then I slow down to store energy for the next climb.
So for you, think of your attempts
to achieve high performance as a ratcheting process,
moving yourself up a few notches,
then allowing yourself to relax back.
Three steps forward, and then one or two steps back.
You'll gain tremendous insights into what encourages you
to perform at a higher level
while still ensuring that you're avoiding burnout.