Peak Performer

Most people you meet and know are caught in linear time consciousness - the idea that we live along a line from birth to death and everything that happens is based on cause and effect. Someone must have made that thing happen; someone did something. And if that thing happened to me, then there must be a reason for it, either out there in the world or closer to home. We think in terms of what happe...

Every Sunday evening UTC+1, you can join me live on Zoom for a 30-minute Mental Skills Workshop. I walk you through assessments and worksheets that I use with clients to help them develop the mental skills for life and work. Go here to get the Establishing Values Worksheet that I mentioned in the video. And go here to RSVP for the next Mental Skills Workshop. About Values Establishing Personal Val...

Over the past number of weeks, we have taken a deep dive into the nine mental skills of peak performance. But performance is not only about objective achievement and attainment of reward and recognition; it is also about mental well-being. The nine mental skills we explored are; * Mindset serves as the foundation, encompassing your fundamental beliefs about ability, challenge, and growth that shap...

These final sessions serve as your roadmap for implementation of Mental Skills, providing a structured approach to developing these skills systematically while maintaining momentum through the inevitable challenges that accompany any meaningful change process. The journey from knowledge to transformation requires more than understanding—it demands deliberate practice, strategic implementation, and...

Have you ever been so completely absorbed in something that time seemed to slow down, speed up, or even stand still? You were playing a musical instrument, solving a complex problem, or engaged in a physically demanding activity and you then realised hours had passed in minutes. This is the experience of flow—what researchers call the pinnacle of human performance and the psychology of optimal exp...

The popular neoliberal narrative in modern capitalist societies shouts loud the idea that success hinges on willpower—that internal grit and self-discipline are the secrets to consistency, focus, and high performance. Anyone can make it, and if you want to succeed, it’s up to you. You’ve got to make it happen. This idea is flawed on so many levels, not least how some parts of society are not affor...

Exploring the drivers behind exceptional performance in business, sports, and art, we inevitably encounter the presence of what Csikszentmihalyi referred to as autotelic personality and Flow State. These two concepts are closely related, with the autotelic individual being motivated intrinsically, seeing activities as valuable in and of themselves. Flow, on the other hand, represents the optimal s...

I’m discussing composure today, on Day 25 of the 30 Days of Mental Skills series. In the heat of performance—whether delivering a speech, competing in sports competition, or leading a high-stakes meeting—emotions can either enhance or sabotage our efforts. Emotional regulation, the ability to manage emotional responses in ways that support performance goals, is one of the most vital mental skills...

Despite its honourable and legitimate origins, positive thinking has become somewhat of a toxic term. What was once a skill for psychological flexibility—emotional agility and emotional intelligence—has, in corporate culture, become a coded expectation of self-regulation and obedience to the machine. To the other extreme, and in efforts to counter this trend, we are encouraged by internet gurus to...

In her book, Emotional Agility, psychologist Susan David tells the story of a British battleship that was on manoeuvres in heavy weather. While navigating through the fog, the lookout in the crow’s nest reported a light directly ahead. The ship's captain ordered the signalman to send a message: “We are on a collision course. Advise you change course 20 degrees east.” A signal came back: “Advisable...

Accepting conditions for what they are is probably our greatest challenge, because our surface-level mind is almost always active and almost always looks to the past for evidence of the apparent future. If you take time to contemplate it, you’ll realise that neither the future nor the past exists in reality. Our experience only exists now, all we have is this moment that seems to be both fleeting...

Stress is a normal part of life. It represents the challenge that being alive presents, and without it, life would be very boring. What do you want, an easy and challenge-free existence? Best of luck with that. Yes, I know that pretty much every marketing campaign out there promises you an easier life, a hedonistic life, even, but the truth is that it is idealistic and naive. To live a life full o...

We’ve all felt anxiety at some point in our lives, the apprehension associated with possible adverse future outcomes. It’s usually associated with something important to us, like performing well in a job interview, going to a social event with people that we’re uncomfortable being around, or running our first marathon. We hope things will go well, but we’re uneasy about the unknown and imagine som...

The paper "Mental Imagery and Its Potential for Physical Therapy" by Warner and McNeill (1988) reviewed the existing literature on mental imagery (MI) and mental practice (MP) and their effects on physical skills. The authors aimed to explore the feasibility of these techniques as a supplement to physical therapy. The core premise is that mental processes, particularly imagery, have a tangible inf...

The PETTLEP model of mental rehearsal is a comprehensive framework that enhances the effectiveness of focused and purposeful imagination. The practice of Mental Imagery (MI) is used to enhance performance across various fields and domains of work, including medicine and sports and physical activities. This model, developed by Holmes and Collins in the early 2000s, represents the following componen...

What do you imagine about yourself and others? What images and pictures appear on the movie screen of your mind as you move through your day? Do you imagine how good you are perceived at your work and how great it will be when you obtain that promotion, or do you imagine being sacked because you’re not quite as sharp as you think you should be? What about knowledge, skills, ability, talent and int...

Challenging negative thoughts is a mental skill essential for managing the demands of not only high-stakes situations but also those of everyday life. We talk to ourselves in almost every moment. Except for those situations where we are completely engrossed in something, our minds can be consumed with inner dialogue. Now, that’s not such a bad thing where the thoughts are supportive and encouragin...

Did you know that referring to yourself by your first name or as "you" (instead of "I" or “my“ or “me”) may help you step back from challenging situations and see things more clearly? Studies have shown that it gives you emotional and psychological distance. For example, after a difficult encounter, I might think to myself, “That was a stressful situation, I really felt under pressure, and I thoug...

There is a conversation ongoing inside our heads at every moment. I say inside our heads, but this is a little misleading, because you won’t find this conversation anywhere. There may be neurological activity related to inner conversation, but just like mental images (which we’ll get to in a few days), you won’t find the words or the sounds anywhere inside your head. We don’t know where it is, if,...

Personality is obviously not a skill, but understanding oneself and, by extension, others is important when pursuing goals and objectives. The ability to work successfully with others is a skill—a social skill—and personality theory can give us a lens through which to view behaviour. Therefore, understanding human personality is essential if you want to live successfully. We’re on Day 13 and discu...

Emotional Intelligence (EI) has gained considerable attention in both academic and popular literature since the 1990s, to the point where it has perhaps become just another tick-box exercise for people. If you want to be successful, you must become more emotionally intelligent, or so they say. In other words, you must work at it. This is a flawed approach, in my view, because, on the one hand, it...

Leadership is not only about leading others, it’s about leading oneself. It is what you do when nobody is watching. It doesn’t require you to be extroverted, though. In fact, you're more likely to be effective with others if you are more inclined towards introversion. Jim Collins pointed this out in his 2001 book, Good to Great . It has a kind of unseen impact on those with whom you associate. You...

We have, over the last few days, examined the reasons why goal-setting the SMART way is a good idea . That said, while goal setting is widely regarded as a powerful motivational tool inside and outside organisations, there are problems when it’s over-prescribed. In other words, too narrow a focus can bring about negative consequences. Research by Ordóñez et al. (2009) highlighted that when goals a...

SMART goal setting is the gold standard for achievement and success. Michel & Daniels (2002) said that goal-setting is “quite easily the single most dominant theory in the field, with over a thousand articles and reviews published on the topic in a little over 30 years.” In 1990, two researchers published a book that caught the attention of many people in business and management circles. Edwin Loc...

Establishing and recording personal values is a beneficial practice for several reasons, and psychological research provides valuable insights into the advantages, including greater clarity and awareness, increased intrinsic motivation, and sharper decision-making. Goals that are aligned with those things in life that are important to you are more likely to be achieved. Once you have established y...