The Essential P’s to Performance
If you have been following along with this blog, you are probably starting to get the sense that helping optimizing performance in all aspects of life is a huge part of our mission here at Aspire Athletic Performance. Appropriately, today, we are going to continue the conversation.
Over the next week, we are going to take a look at six essential elements to peak performance in any endeavor, all conveniently beginning with the letter “P” (because alliteration just makes things easier to remember).
The first “P,” and perhaps the most important, is Purpose. You have to know the driving force behind any goal or endeavor if you want the highest probability of success. The popular Simon Sinek book, Start with Why, highlights this very notion quite thoroughly.
In the book, Sinek sites numerous examples of successful companies who were able to develop iconic brands by having a deep understand for the purpose behind their mission. He discusses, while many companies know what they are trying to accomplish, even fewer know how to do it most effectively; but those companies that figured out the why behind it all, those are the ones that are truly able to make an impact.
The legendary Stephen Covey delivered a similar message many years prior in his writing within The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. One habit outlined in the book is to “Begin with the end in mind.” This habit asks us to reflect on where are we trying to go and why the goal is even a worthy one to embark upon. A deep understanding for one’s purpose will provide the courage to dive headfirst into even the most intimidating of undertakings and will help prevent us from losing motivation when times get tough.
Aside from coming to terms with the true purpose to any goal or mission in order to set yourself up for success, I believe it is also important to live a life of purpose. Search for the meaning in everything you do.
Those activities that seem to be void of any deeper meaning – scrolling through social media, channel surfing on your couch, participating in petty gossip at your kids’ sporting event – should slowly be filtered out of your lifestyle in favor of those ventures that you find to be more purposeful. Start to do that, and you may quickly begin to notice just how much more fulfilling and productive your life has become. So get to it!
Tomorrow, we will take a look at the next “P” to performance. Stay Tuned!
