What does it feel like to perform at your best?

Performing at your best can be a profound and transformative experience. It's a state where you are fully aligned with your purpose, in harmony with your abilities, and engaged in your pursuits. It’s something that companies seek in their employees for the success of the business, and something individuals seek in order to progress. While the journey to ‘peak’ performance may be demanding and require dedication, the rewards can be immeasurable. The feeling of being at your best is not just about external success; it's about discovering your true potential, finding joy in your efforts, and experiencing the satisfaction that comes from stretching your limits and your beliefs - and feeling good in yourself.

High performance can feel different for each person, depending on their goals, abilities, and the context in which they are striving for excellence. It can come in a variety of outfits. 

For some clients performance is 100% related to work and target outputs. Two examples from my clients might be; a passionate team leader, where performing at their best means being present for their team members and supporting their development to build a sense of trust. Or a business owner and parent, where performing at their best means not burning out and growing into the person they aspire to be in their family and work relationships, which means managing time and boundaries is important so their capacity is maintained rather than drained.

What does performance mean to you?

This week I asked subscribers 3 questions about the highs and low points of performance - what does it feel like how do you manage it - and there have been some illuminating responses so far:

The Questions:

A What does it feel like when you are performing at your best?

B How does it feel when you’re at your lowest level of performance?

C What are the things you do to get yourself back to A?

Here are some of the responses I received:

When we’re at our best we are motivated, exhilarated, our shoulders don’t feel tight and we feel capable and more confident. We’re relaxed and in good humour.

At a low we are frustrated, our mental and physical is a mess, the inbox is a mess and it feels like every day is a battle. We can even feel paranoid and criticised by others, we’re disorganised and more emotional.

And how to we get back to A? We connect, try to put things in perspective, get sleep. Tackle the biggest issues first, try to get our houses back in order. Admit we’re struggling, practice self compassion and identify the causes of stress, talk to a friend or colleague. 

There are a range of approaches, questions and tools we can use in coaching to use to explore this wonderful and varied area. Coaching is forward facing and positively focussed, and so questions naturally lean to improvement and progress - how can we make this are better, what needs to change in order for this to happen, what shift in your mindset would allow for a broader thinking here…. for example. 

For clients wishing to pursue their personal leadership and performance, and who might be struggling to maintain the peak, or who have hurdles that are stopping their progress or come to coaching tinkering on burnout .. I have developed a tool to highlight and reveal the behaviours that are inherent in the cycle of performance highs and lows. I call it the circle of sanity, or circle of stability if you prefer that description.

The Circle of Sanity/Stability is a visual tool highlighting cycle of energies. Use the cirlce to create awareness of your own behavioural patterns and external influences.

HIGH = High performing, stable, sane, in control.

LOW = Low performing, instability, (insanity), lack of control. 

Where A is marked, list the habits, rituals, tools and top ups that bring you to your best.

Where B is marked, list the red flags, the less than good habits and the behaviours that signal a downward spiral.

Questions to reflect on and use as prompts:

What behaviours and activities support you to perform at your best and what things bring you down? What do you need to do (and keep doing) in order to regain and sustain an adequate level of sanity / stability? What do you recognise in your life that are red flags and where your wellbeing, performance and brilliance slip or are compromised? 

So over to you - how does it feel when you are at your high and low points? How do you recognise where you are at in the cycle? And what are your go-to rituals that help you get back on track?

If you’d like to join me live to look at this in more detail register your interest in a 1 hour webinar where I will share some coaching tools and tips to get us all back on track and at the top of the circle. Simply send an email to enquiries@kateb.co.uk or write in the contact form, and I’ll pop you on the attendance list. Or - just give me a shout and let’s have a chat.

The Circle of Sanity/Stability is a PDF worksheet as part of the RESET course pack. You can download the PDF here. Please get in touch for more info.

#performancecoaching 

#performance 

#wellbeing 

#personalbrilliance