The second area of high performance is energy. It seems like hear so many people complaining about being exhausted, stressed, overwhelmed. This is awful! If we don't have enough energy, we can't be our best for our family, friends, career and ourselves. We want to sustain high levels of energy so we an be motivated to achieve our goals and be happy.
How's your energy level? If it's not good, what's sucking the energy out of you? It could be poor nutrition, lack of proper sleep, or stress.
If you are eating processed, sugary or fried foods, you must have feelings of being bloated, lethargic and just plain crappy. Sick to whole foods—they give us the nutrients we need for vitality.
If you aren't getting enough quality sleep, you're paying for it—whether you believe it or not. We need 7-8 hours. I hear many people say they're "fine with only 5 hours of sleep". Despite those claims, they're not. Studies have shown that lack of proper sleep causes negative effects—both physically and mentally. Even people that are confident they "are fine" with fewer hours have performed worse on cognitive tests than when they had the full 8 hours.
If you need to be up by 6:00 am, figure out how to be in bed at 10:00 pm. And, make sure your bedroom is is conducive to getting a good night's sleep. Your room should be dark and cool. Your bed should be comfortable. Make sure you've turned off your phone and laptop/ipad off so that you don't hear dinging through the night.
Are you stressed? Why? What can you do to alleviate your stress? Some stress-reducing activities are: meditation, deep breathing techniques, exercise, getting a massage, playing with a pet, discussing your stress with therapist, friend or loved-one. It's vitally important to address your stress. Studies have shown that stress not only takes a toll on us emotionally, but physically as well.
Energy is a key component to living a High Performance Life. Take some time to think about what adjustment you can make to give yourself more energy so you can feel better, be your best and live a High Performance Life :)
Friday, July 24, 2015
Monday, July 20, 2015
The Saboteurs
These are my exercises saboteurs. They're VERY cute, but nonetheless, they're manipulative saboteurs :) When I exercise in the house, they appear right where I'm about to exercise—in all their cuteness, usually with a toy—wanting me to play with them, rather than do my workout. It takes some willpower to stick to my routine.
Saboteurs come in lots of forms and you might not even have thought about the ones in your life. Sometimes the people closest to us sabotage our efforts to make changes, even if those changes are in our best interest.
I hear about this a lot from my fitness clients. One client who is trying to lose an enormous amount of weight tells me stories of his wife bringing him cookies when he's already gone up to bed and making dinner plans that conflict with his scheduled training sessions. Another client's friend tried to convince her to cancel her training session and go shopping. The stories go on and on.
It's tough to create a new habit when you don't have a support network; and, it's REALLY frustrating to have your family and friends make it even harder.
If the people who are sabotaging your efforts are close to you, you need to have a serious conversation with them. Explain that what you're trying to do is really important to you. It would be great if they want to join you in your efforts, but if they don't want to, they still need to respect what you're doing. Support would be wonderful, but at the very least, they shouldn't be trying to sway you.
If you don't see those people often or you aren't close to them, you probably just need to avoid them—at least for now, while the habit is something you're still struggling with.
Lastly, find people who are also committed to the same thing(s) you are and connect with them—either in person or online. Support & accountability are keys to success. Making change is hard. You don't need to (& shouldn't) do it alone!
Feel free to share your struggles. And, I'd love to hear your stories of success :)
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Starting Over
Being in my 40s, it seems like most of my peers have already started over, or are just starting over—in their careers and/or marriages. Some of us have had the luxury of initiating the change. Some of us did not. Either way, starting over is hard.
Some of us are filled with excitement and optimism. Some of us are filled with fear and anxiety. Some us feel like pioneers and are exhilarated. Some of us feel like failures and are ashamed. Most of us feel a mixture of emotions.
I remember when I was in my early 20s and complaining about my job, my mother told me "don't worry, this is probably only your first career". She told me that everyone she knew wound up doing something different than they started doing when they first started working. That was not what I wanted to hear.
My mother had not only made a career change, she was divorced—which meant she had started over twice. Most of the parents of the people I had grown up with were also divorced. So, a "starter career" and "starter marriage" weren't out of the realm of possibilities for me.
But in your early 20s, you are naive enough to think that you know what you want and are making the best decisions. You only envision yourself having a successful career and marriage. You don't yet know people who have become disillusioned, unfulfilled and willing to start over after they have spent 10, 20, or 25 years doing something or being with someone. You can't imagine that. You may know someone older that has made a career change. You may have heard that the odds are against the successful marriage. But, you think you're different.
Then, you find out you're not different. And, you think about starting over.
Starting over is hard, but TOTALLY DOABLE. Whether you're starting over with something like an exercise program, diet, school, or something as big as a career or marriage, commit to making the change, stay focused and look forward and keep moving on your new path. You can do it. You control what you do now. Don't think about the past as time lost or as something that you failed at. Think about what you learned from the past and make your future BETTER.
Some of us are filled with excitement and optimism. Some of us are filled with fear and anxiety. Some us feel like pioneers and are exhilarated. Some of us feel like failures and are ashamed. Most of us feel a mixture of emotions.
I remember when I was in my early 20s and complaining about my job, my mother told me "don't worry, this is probably only your first career". She told me that everyone she knew wound up doing something different than they started doing when they first started working. That was not what I wanted to hear.
My mother had not only made a career change, she was divorced—which meant she had started over twice. Most of the parents of the people I had grown up with were also divorced. So, a "starter career" and "starter marriage" weren't out of the realm of possibilities for me.
But in your early 20s, you are naive enough to think that you know what you want and are making the best decisions. You only envision yourself having a successful career and marriage. You don't yet know people who have become disillusioned, unfulfilled and willing to start over after they have spent 10, 20, or 25 years doing something or being with someone. You can't imagine that. You may know someone older that has made a career change. You may have heard that the odds are against the successful marriage. But, you think you're different.
Then, you find out you're not different. And, you think about starting over.
Starting over is hard, but TOTALLY DOABLE. Whether you're starting over with something like an exercise program, diet, school, or something as big as a career or marriage, commit to making the change, stay focused and look forward and keep moving on your new path. You can do it. You control what you do now. Don't think about the past as time lost or as something that you failed at. Think about what you learned from the past and make your future BETTER.
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Living a High Performance Life: CLARITY
The first area of high performance is clarity. This refers to being really clear about who we are, who we want to be, the directions we want to go, and how we want to interact with others.
This sounds so basic and IT IS! We're talking about our identity and what we do on a daily basis. But, it's something most of us don't give much thought to. We're so busy getting tasks done or putting out fires every day, that we don't think out the bigger picture of our lives. Some of us do set goals, but without defining our larger framework, we may work towards and achieve goals that aren't totally in line with where we want to end up.
Once you have a clear vision of your identity and purpose, you can use that clarity to guide all of your decisions. You'll be more productive because you'll be focused on doing things that serve your best self and that are leading you towards achieving your life's goals. You won't be distracted by the things that aren't serving your mission.
Take some time to give this some serious thought. It may take some soul-searching. You may come to some difficult conclusions. You may realize you need to distance yourself from some activities or people that are distracting you. But, in the end, it'll be worth it! You'll be living a high performance life: motivated, fulfilled, happy and energetic :)
This sounds so basic and IT IS! We're talking about our identity and what we do on a daily basis. But, it's something most of us don't give much thought to. We're so busy getting tasks done or putting out fires every day, that we don't think out the bigger picture of our lives. Some of us do set goals, but without defining our larger framework, we may work towards and achieve goals that aren't totally in line with where we want to end up.
Once you have a clear vision of your identity and purpose, you can use that clarity to guide all of your decisions. You'll be more productive because you'll be focused on doing things that serve your best self and that are leading you towards achieving your life's goals. You won't be distracted by the things that aren't serving your mission.
Take some time to give this some serious thought. It may take some soul-searching. You may come to some difficult conclusions. You may realize you need to distance yourself from some activities or people that are distracting you. But, in the end, it'll be worth it! You'll be living a high performance life: motivated, fulfilled, happy and energetic :)
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Living a High Performance Life
I'm back from getting certified as a High Performance Coach and am so excited to share what I learned! As a High Performance Coach, I will work with people to help them reach their fullest potential to achieve prolonged satisfaction and happiness.
It seems like I'm constantly hearing people talk about feeling stressed, overwhelmed, tired and unfulfilled. How depressing! Yes, life can be challenging, but that doesn't mean that we can't still be productive & enjoy it. REALLY.
It takes introspection and mindful action, but we all CAN live a life of FULFILLMENT and JOY—in all areas: personal & professional relationships, career, personal life. This is what we (at the High Performance Institute) refer to as a "High Performance Life". It is achieved by reaching high levels in 5 key areas:
I hope you all agree that even if you are doing pretty well in these areas, you can always go to a higher level. The world's most successful people constantly push themselves to reach even higher levels.
I will briefly talk about each of these 5 key areas in upcoming posts, so be sure to check back soon :)
It seems like I'm constantly hearing people talk about feeling stressed, overwhelmed, tired and unfulfilled. How depressing! Yes, life can be challenging, but that doesn't mean that we can't still be productive & enjoy it. REALLY.
It takes introspection and mindful action, but we all CAN live a life of FULFILLMENT and JOY—in all areas: personal & professional relationships, career, personal life. This is what we (at the High Performance Institute) refer to as a "High Performance Life". It is achieved by reaching high levels in 5 key areas:
- Clarity
- Energy
- Courage
- Productivity
- Influence
I hope you all agree that even if you are doing pretty well in these areas, you can always go to a higher level. The world's most successful people constantly push themselves to reach even higher levels.
I will briefly talk about each of these 5 key areas in upcoming posts, so be sure to check back soon :)
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