High performance* has always been a part of my life. I may not have called it that when I was in grade school but the desire to achieve, do well, make my parents proud was embedded at an early age. But it was never something I could sustain consistently. I would have these fantastic days, months and sometimes even years but then there would inevitably be the other side to this – the dips in performance, the feeling of standing still and worse yet moving backwards. And this had always confounded me.
Maybe it just wasn’t something that was sustainable was the thought that kept running through my head. Maybe it’s unrealistic to expect to have it all – health, wealth, fantastic relationships. Maybe I’m just not good enough… Maybe, maybe, maybe…
So I let time get away from me, I set short term ‘goals’ rather than a vision for my life – I finished school, I went to university, I got married, I had a child, I got divorced and remarried, I had two more children and all the while continued to advance steadily in my corporate career. From an outsider’s perspective it may have appeared that I indeed did have it all. But I wanted more.
I didn’t want to continue just passing through life, letting time get away, ticking off the acceptable societal milestones. Letting each day, month and year be just like the ones before. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing noteworthy. Just average.
I wanted things to be different. And one day I was lucky enough to be introduced to Blair Singer, who is now one of my mentors. Blair showed me that there was so much more in me to offer the world and I just needed to decide to take control of my life.
But first I needed to Master My Mind. I needed to own the fact that I felt I wasn’t living my truth and decide what I was going to do about it. I needed to get clear on who I wanted to be and what I wanted my legacy to the world to be. However this meant I needed a significant shift in mindset from the maybe, maybe, maybe… to try, fail, learn and grow…
In her book “Mindset” Carol Dweck refers to this as changing from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. Dweck refers to a fixed mindset as one where you obstruct your own development through a belief in innate talent and fear of failure. Versus a growth mindset where you work hard and train hard to ultimately realise your potential to the fullest. And by confronting your own attitudes and ideas, anyone can develop a growth mindset. Dweck says:
For twenty years, my research has shown that the view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life. It can determine whether you become the person you want to be and whether you accomplish the things you value.
So I finally made the decision to Master My Mind, change my mindset and believe I am and will continue to be a high performer. The journey is ongoing but one that will allow me to fully embrace my potential and be of service to the world.
* High Performance is the result of heightened and sustained levels of: clarity, energy, courage, productivity and influence. www.highperformanceinstitute.com
Are you living your truth? What words really define who you are as a person? Are you living by those words? Are you realising your full potential? Or are you holding back?
Take the High Performance Quiz to find out more.
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