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Submitted by: John Potter PhD
Many years ago, two psychologists Yerkes and Dodson created an insightful law relating how people perform under pressure. If a person is under no pressure at all they can be demotivated and run the risk of rust-out. If the person experiences too much pressure and becomes stressed they run the risk of burnout. Somewhere in the middle is the optimum level of pressure which creates peak performance and generates what Czikszentmihalyi called the flow state where the individual performs her or his tasks effortlessly to a very high level of quality. Sports psychologists and drama coaches have used this principle for decades and it is now time to apply it to the business world.
So how can we place ourselves in this peak performance state where we are in a state of motivated well-being?
Firstly, our beliefs are very important. We need to believe that we can develop our ability to perform and that whatever the result of our attempts to do something, we will always learn something and develop our ability for the future. Identify your negative beliefs and think what it would be more useful to believe. Pretend that the new positive beliefs are true and imagine how your life would be different. Beliefs trigger action and also emotional state.
Secondly, before attempting a performance in sport, or a presentation or some other activity, go back in your mind to the time when you were really successful at performing that activity. Relive it in terms of what you saw, heard and how you felt. Luxuriate in the sights, sounds and vision and give the experience a name to enable you to recall it easily. Finally use what the NLP practitioners call anchoring. Squeeze for example the first knuckle joint of the index finger of your left hand whilst you silently say the word you have chosen to recall the experience and then create a picture in your mind of that experience. Make the colors brighter, the sounds clearer and double the positive feelings. In this way you can anchor the optimum experience and put your mind and body in the same state that you were in when you performed well so that you can carry out the new performance effectively.
Thirdly, use Natures anxiety mechanisms, particularly breathing and tension reduction. When we get stressed we experience a sympathetic reaction or stress response. The opposite to this is the parasympathetic swing or relaxation response. The easiest way to trigger the parasympathetic response is through controlled breathing. Simply breathe in for a count of 3, hold your breath for a count of 1 and then breathe out for a count of 9. This will slow down your breathing and increase the flow of oxygen to your brain.
We often tense parts of our body without realising that we are doing so. Practice tensing the muscles in your left hand, holding that tension for a couple of seconds and then relaxing the muscles. Your left hand will feel different because you will have removed some of the residual tension of which you were almost certainly not aware before you tensed your hand deliberately.
Our Fourth technique is mental rehearsal. Imagine you are about to run the meeting, make the sales call, give the presentation etc and visualize the person who you think would be most effective in the world at carrying out that activity. Picture them in your mind off and up to the right of your view and see them carry out the activity. Then imagine you can float into their body and that you can then experience what it would be like to be in their shoes giving the performance. The third stage is to imagine their body melting away leaving you delivering the performance in the most effective way. It really works!
Number five is to use the three ways of deflecting your personal energy from the risk of rust out or burn out towards the peak performance zone. These three ways are goal setting, gaining control over your work by developing personal effectiveness and time management skills and identifying and developing the core competencies you need to be a peak performer. If you develop your capability in all three areas you will be able to manage your personal energy more effectively and be less stressed.
Number six is to build your self esteem. Keep reminding yourself of your successes to date in your present and other activities. High self esteem tends to create positive attitudes and behavior and is a great support to developing peak performance.
About the Author: Did you find this article useful? John Potter is a leading international business psychologist who regularly gives out free information. Working towards becoming a peak performer is vital if you want to create significant revenue from your business through marketing and selling your products and services. You can also develop your self confidence and peak performance in your business by creating multiple streams of income. If you would like to know more about how to develop a second source of income with full video and tutorial support please visit the website www.MaverickMoneyMakersWinsOnline.com
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