Optimizing Human Performance
Before exploring the process of achieving high performance, it is important to understand what it means to actually ‘perform.’ Depending on who you ask, performance can have many applications and connotations; it is highly contextual. One person’s concept of high performance is likely to vary significantly from the next person. For our purposes, we will refer to ‘performing’ as the general optimization of human performance.
Four Pillars of High Performance
Therefore, to achieve peak performance in any domain, it is essential that the individual is properly primed to execute with a high degree of efficiency, accuracy, and consistency. Beyond abiding to the classic belief that deliberate practice is the key to talent acquisition and development, as discussed in Robert Greene’s Mastery and through Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hour rule from Outliers, we can apply fundamental daily practices to optimize our human potential [1, 2]. Through personal experience and a review of scientific literature, I believe there are four key principles to becoming a high achiever, optimizing health, happiness, and performance.
1. Take care of yourself
We have one body and one brain. Everything we seek to accomplish is facilitated by the health of our body. Paraphrasing what stoic philosopher Epictetus once said, we are on a long journey from birth to death and we only have one vehicle, our body [3]. Self-care is one of my three personal guiding values because I believe that it is impossible to achieve happiness or positively impact other people’s lives without first taking care of your own personal health: physical, mental, and spiritual. A great quote from former Canadian Politician, Norm Kelly, sums up the importance of self-care in achieving high performance: “You can’t pour from an empty cup. Take care of yourself first” [4]. Therefore, establishing healthy habits is the first step to elite performance. These are discussed in further detail in the subsequent section: What to Do.
2. Adopt a growth mindset
History’s highest achievers adopted a growth mindset. Rather than accepting that human potential is finite, those who change the world seek constant growth and improvement. As established in Carol Dweck’s Mindset, the ability belief that you can constantly improve can be leveraged into massive growth [5]. And by capitalizing on neuroplasticity, the development of a growth mindset may be the difference between greatness and mediocrity. For more information on growth mindset, neuroplasticity, how to incorporate into your life, check out episode 004!
3. Discipline, Momentum, and Patience
High performance is akin to mastery. Achieving true mastery, or a relative level of greatness, requires incredible amounts of time and effort. Even the most naturally gifted and those placed in ideal circumstances will require extreme discipline and patience to realize optimized performance. As Robert Greene says, “Mastery is not a function of genius or talent. It is a function of time and intense focus applied to a particular field of knowledge” [1].
Discipline is necessary to remain committed to the process of incremental improvement, following the growth mindset. Momentum, meanwhile, refers to the consistency of practice that results in exponential growth – see episode 004 for a detailed explanation!. Even just ten minutes a day of skill acquisition every single day compounds to massive long-term growth. Finally, patience is necessary to remain optimistic when results are not immediately observed. High performance is a long game; there is no such thing as instant gratification in the pursuit of greatness.
4. Maximize Efficiency
Time is finite and resources are limited. There are a lot of people who are very talented, and even more who work very hard. To reach to pinnacle of high performance, you must be the most efficient. Not only with your time, but also with your energy. Think about the high performers you know in your life, or famous performers you admire. How do they manage to get so much more done than everyone else? Prioritization and constant process refinement are crucial to maximize efficiency.
Equally important, an open-mind and willingness to experiment with different ideas and processes is critical to transform limiting factors into limitless performance. You must continually iterate and redefine your process model. One of the simplest and most practical tools to guide your journey to optimized efficiency is the Pareto Principle, also referred to as the 80/20 rule [6]. Essentially, this means that 80% of the outcomes come from 20% of the effort. Determine the 20% of the process that results in 80% of the outcomes (either good or bad). Focus your time and energy into what drives the greatest value.
Following these principles, you will be able to unlock higher levels of performance and optimize your life. Is there anything I missed? Do you have any experience or opinions on these principles?
I’d love to hear from you all so that we can collaboratively create improved models of high performance!
References
[2] Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The story of success. London: Allen Lane.
[3] Epictetus. (2004). Enchiridion. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications.
[4] Kelly, N. [norm]. (2018, January 2). You can’t pour from an empty cup. Take care of yourself first. [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/norm/status/948422630377271296
[5] Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House.
[6] Investopedia Staff. (2019, August 29). Pareto Principle. Investopedia. Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/paretoprinciple.asp#:~:text=The%20Pareto%20Principle%2C%20named%20after,and%20outputs%20is%20not%20balanced.