Best Performance Practices – Top Tips 5 – 8
Top Tip #5 "Desire Promotes Passion for Successful Outcomes"
While I was in the middle of a big project, new clients came my way. I need to help pay the bills after all and so thought it was prudent to take the work. So how do I manage to keep clients and big project work going simultaneously?
My Desire or Goal Desire as I call it was what kept me going. It was tested for sure I employed some general tactics to help, such as pressure boxing backed up with some hard-core prioritisation. But I was also happy to do extra hours in the evening although by no means promoting this as a healthy scenario to regularly engage in.
It’s very hard to make yourself have desire for something---------you can only work to understand if the goal or activity drives enough desire to take it on and continue to do the work even when hard. My desire was so strong that it lead to plenty of passion or using general vernacular; excitement to continue working on many fronts. Desire trumps most things, especially will power so always ensure what you do drives desire then employ your organisation and productivity tactics to turbo boost its impact.
Top Tip #6 - “Show-up with Presence”
I can read up on the facts, learn the principles, and practice the techniques----—---I can perform wonderfully in that controlled environment that is my bedroom, the office with the closed door or on a training ground. But if I want to embed the new learned skills and make a difference to my performance, I need to show-up with a presence of mind and stature to perform where and when it really matters. There is no way round it, If I want to progress, I need the courage to jump from that safe place (comfort zone) and show my true colours, my true-self with the presence of awareness to perform exactly how I’ve practiced when and where it matters most----------live on stage, in competition, in front of peers or customers. Then I will improve and those skills I’ve practiced alone will now become my new level of public performance habit.
Top Tip #7 - “Gather Progress Feedback”
Deep down, lets be honest, we don't love receiving feedback, even though urban legend says, "it's the breakfast of champions.". That might be true, but the reality is most of us don't receive or are open to feedback until we have to or its pushed our way.
At times for sure feedback might knock the wind from your sails and be a cause for your passion to wane some. But know that feedback is normal and just someone's opinion. You still have your plan, it's still the same, but now it can be a little bit better if the feedback stands up to reason and you come to see it helping empower you to continue persisting with your plans. All you really need to do is say, “Thank you” and reflect in your own time.
Even when you practice on your own you need some mechanism of feedback to avoid ingraining bad habits you cannot see. If I swing my golf club in the front room of my house with the goal of performing a better swing, but have no feedback, I.e., from a person observing, from a video or ball flight of a hit ball, then I will engrain bad habits, for sure. I know this because I’ve started to video these swings and what I’ve seen tells me exactly that. Feedback is your uncomfortable friend.
Top Tip #8 - “Make it easy to Take Action and Perform”
Perhaps you want to give a presentation at work that will aid your career development or set a new vision and strategy for your business and sell it to the team to follow and execute? Maybe you want to start going to the gym or run a 10k race? As all-up goals these might seem daunting until you apply 4 simple practices that will help you take easy action.
Set a time in the future when you will start the work; for practice or when you will give the presentation to the team. Add the event to your calendar and have it ticking down, reminding and motivating you to take action and prepare.
Tell someone about your goal or task; find a partner in motivation and action. This person will help you be honest, accountable and a good source of motivation.
Don’t let disorganisation ruin your chances; prepare what you need beforehand and have it ready at hand, like your gym bag, it's put in a handy place so aids action versus being an excuse; I can't find what I need or I'm not ready with the materials or I forgot to book the meeting room etc.
Employ a motivation tool when the procrastination feeling arises; we all fall foul to procrastination and prefer to do something we are good at versus something else new or potentially difficult. Use Mel Robbins 5 second rule - count down from 5 towards 1 but before you reach one, jump up and start to move, start the work. Take the path of positive outcomes and first steps to change.
