It CAN actually be that simple

Can I share a little story with you ?

A few weeks back, I caught up with a client of mine at a cafe for breakfast. It was cold and it’s threatening to rain. We were seated at a table outside, savouring our coffees, and grinning  as the waiter brought eggs for my dog, Snoop.

We spent a few hours, heart to heart, diving deep into his growth journey, and most potent areas for development.

He’s flexible and adaptable. He’s a good learner and can pick up a skill and get to a decent level pretty fast. No problems there. 
But his inner game was ordinary and I told him so.

As a high achiever, a business owner and a leader he has accomplished so much to be proud of in spite of the head noise, self doubt and needing to validate his value. But his enjoyment of the adventure and of living a life of growth and challenge was suffering as a result of what was going on between his ears. Having arrived at an even higher level playing field, he couldn’t get away with not mastering his inner game any longer. This new level of leadership and success was demanding he step into the extraordinary

A couple of weeks later we caught up again and he said:

“I’ve noticed if I run, my inner game is easy and my day just flows. If I don’t run for a couple of days, I feel like a toddler. So I go for a run and I feel better and there’s no inner game to manage. It CAN’T be that simple.”

While I did offer some additional things to help him master the inner game even when he can’t go for a run, it CAN actually be that simple to step into the extraordinary.

You see he thought high performance and resilience meant being able to work incessantly without needing any maintenance. 

A high performance vehicle needs a pit crew and frequent servicing. More than most. You can’t just drive with the accelerator flat out and never stop to refuel or check the oil and water. High performance isn’t about transcending human needs, it’s about mastering yourself, including giving yourself exactly what you need in order to achieve extraordinary feats and mastering the game going on inside.

A lot of this comes back to a simple formula:

STATE = BEHAVIOUR = RESULTS

If you can get your state sorted, get yourself feeling optimal, then you have much better quality decision making and will choose improved behaviours and reap the results of those choices and capabilities.

While I still like to work with the kinds of stories people tell themselves that have them spinning their wheels, going straight to routines and rituals that lead to being consistently in a more optimal state of body, mind and soul is a fast, powerful and necessary step for high achievers.

Step out of the ordinary choices that lead to unnecessary stress, burnout, overwhelm and procrastination and into extraordinary experience of living in flow, with routines and rituals that promote an optimal sense of wellbeing.

With love and warmth,

Amy