Ep 27: 12 Keys to Sustainable High Performance

Episode show notes:

What is it that makes it possible to continously perform at a high level, and feel good doing so? 

Ever since my own burnout more than 10 years ago, I have been thinking about the topic of Sustainable High Performance. 

My own burnout experience, plus my passion for health & wellbeing, psychology, performance, brain science and personal development is what lead me to becoming a coach. I love to support ambitious women leaders to live great lives and have fantastic careers without burning themselves out.

Because life will throw you challenges all the time, at home and at work, but how can you stay resilient in that rollercoaster? 

There are things you can control and things you can’t, but let’s focus on the things you can control! Because doing so, will also support you to surf the rest of the things.

In this episode, I’ve compiled 12 key points into 4 main pillars, which I also have included in my new program that I call Sustainable High Performance.

I can’t wait to share it with you. 

Hi ladies and Happy New Years! 

2024 is here. Time really flies!

As you might have noticed, the podcast and I went on holidays so this is the first episode in a month. 

But I’m so happy to be back and that you are here!

The new year comes with so much positive energy and change, so let’s ride that wave and think about how you would like your life, career and health to unfold this year.

I have a great feeling for 2024 and I want to support you to make the most out of it!

Let’s dive into this episode. 

First I want to start by saying that I always want to look at wellbeing and performance from a holistic perspective, because so many things are interconnected.  

You can’t really separate one thing from the other, as the mind will affect the body and the body affects the mind.

So, with this in mind, I have created four pillars that I see as the foundation for wellbeing and sustainable high performance. 

Pillar 1: Mental and Physical Health & Energy

Without energy & health, you can’t do much. So this is always the first pillar to work on. 

Your mental and physical health and energy is a result of so many things, like sleep, nutrition, hormonal balances or imbalances, exercise, stress, relaxation you name it.

I won’t be able to cover all of the factors here, but I’ve chosen three here; 

Starting with Sleep. The most important cornerstone of health and performance. 

Without enough quality and quantity sleep, you can’t function properly, and this is something that I’m sure you all have experienced. So discovering your perfect sleep formula is key and understanding how to optimize your chances of good nights sleep. Even if you have kids. I know what it’s like to live with sleep deprivation and two small kids, so if this is you, you are in good hands and in good company. 

The next thing to look at is Energy management, both at home and at work. To understand what it is that gives you energy and what takes energy, and optimize this balance so you always are on a surplus. There’s a lot of energy leakage that you are not aware of, and by paying attention to that and work proactively on boosting energy, your life quality and performance will improve a lot.

The third thing in this pillar is something I call Peak Performance Primers. Those are the small but mighty habits that support your health and wellbeing so you can function optimally and and support your brain.This can be meditation, breathwork, walks, exercise and any other thing that improves your physical and cognitive abilities. 

This is all about finding rest & recovery in a busy schedule, becoming more present in your life, both at work and at home, and feeling sharper and more energized so you can tackle whatever life throws at you. 

To summarize:

• Discover Your Perfect Sleep Formula 

• Energy Management Tools at Home & at Work

• Peak Performance Primers

Pillar 2: Regain Control in Your Life

When you are stressed, you usually feel out of control. This is not a nice place to be in. I’ve been there, trust me. So to regain control, we need to understand what it is that stresses you out, and build awareness of that, and build resilience towards it.

And also finding the root causes of the stress in the first place. 

And some thing that is good to know is that stress is a natural part of life, and we are made for that. But only in short bursts, not long-term chronic stress. 

This is when we start noticing symptoms, both physical and cognitive symptoms. Which, I also made two episodes about that you can go back and look at, that’s number 12 and 13. They are called, How to Know When to Pull The Brake. 

But the whole idea here is to understand, what is the stress about, and where does it come from, to be able to do something about it.

All humans walking on this earth also have internal saboteurs that messes with us and impacts our health, performance and relationships. Episode 20 talks about that. Link HERE.

When you become aware of those saboteurs and work actively to decrease the volume of them, magic happens. There are 9 saboeturs; the Pleaser, the Hyper-Achiever, the Restless, the Hyper-Vigilant, the Controller, the Victim, the Stickler, the Avoider and the Hyper-Rational. 

And this all comes from the framework of Positive Intelligence. They also talk about the main saboteur which is the judge, the one that judges you, others and circumstances. 

And all of these saboteurs are really powerful indeed and they play such a huge role in the way we feel, and how we act in life.

We all self-sabotage in different ways and understanding our internal saboteurs is key to health, performance and great relationships. 

Saying no and setting boundaries is also a huge part of this pillar because respecting yourself and your limits is incredibly important and a way of increasing the sense of control and release stress.

I’ve mentioned the Pleaser when I talked about saboteurs, and people pleasers that have a hard time saying no and setting boundaries are very much in the risk zone of burnout. I’ve been on of them. 

Taking control starts with understanding and respecting your limits and this also builds your self-esteem.

So the idea with this pillar is to get in the driver’s seat of your life, to see patterns of overachievement, perfectionism, people pleasing, controlling so you can take on life from a place of empowerment and positive energy instead of shame, stress, fear, guilt, performance anxiety and all those negative emotions that are the reason for you to push yourself to the extreme.

To summarize;

• Replace Stress with Resilience

• Bust Self-Sabotage & Increase Self-Awareness

• Saying No and Setting Boundaries Like a Boss
  

Pillar 3: Boost Confidence, Mindset & Self-Esteem

Low self-esteem or confidence usually turns up like impostor syndrome, self-doubt, harsh inner critic, not daring to speak up, say no, not daring to ask for promotions and raises and take up space. And working around the clock and pushing yourself to the extreme to make up for insecurities. 

And this impacts both your wellbeing and performance. 

So this pillar is all about becoming aware of the inner critic and replacing that with more positive and empowering self-talk. 

Another important part of building confidence is to discover your zone of genius and leverage that. With zone of genius, I mean your strengths, passions and skills. When you get to use what you are best at, this will positive impact your wellbeing and performance, and also increase the likelihood of finding flow and meaning in the things you do. 

And another really important part of building confidence is to take courageous action. Confidence comes as a result of taking action, not the other way around.  

The result of this is a more secure and grounded version of yourself, that knows your value and can walk into any meeting and situation feeling empowered and trusting yourself. 

• Master the Inner Critic/Bitch 

• Leverage Your Zone of Genius (strengths, skills, passions) 

• Take Consistent Courageous Action

Pillar 4: Clarify Direction in Life & Career to Boost Motivation and Sense of Purpose

It's easy to feel lost in the myriad of career choices and paths. 

And sometimes we just keep on going without really thinking about what it is that you want to do and what is important to you in life.

Do you really know that by the way? Do you know what you want in life? Do you know what truly matters to you? 

By aligning your personal values with your dreams and career aspirations, you can find true intrinsic (inner) motivation and a driving force to make things happen. 

Knowing your personal values will also help you to prioritize in life, this is why it’s such an important part of ACT, Acceptance & Commitment Training, the third wave of CBT, because when we know our values, we can take what they call the valued direction. A valued direction is one that is meaningful to you, that is aligned with your values, and this is really important part of building a meaningful and happy life.

And then, when you combine this with your zone of genius you become unstoppable.  

In episode 24 I talk about Ikigai, which is a japanese concept meaning reason for being, or life purpose. This is when you do something that you are great at, that you love doing, that you can be paid for and that the world needs. 

And I love supporting my clients to discover theirs.

The result of this last pillar is that you know where you are going, have clarity around what’s important to you and how to prioritize between all the competing asks of you, which is a natural part of being human. And you also feel motivated and excited about the choices you make in your life and career! 

To summarize;

- Clarify Life Vision & Direction

- Align Intrinsic Motivation with Goals 

- Utilize Zone of Genius & Personal Values

These are the four pillars that I have found to be incredibly important when it comes to performance, happiness and wellbeing. 

Of course there are more things that affects our ability to perform, such as a bunch of factors in the work place, but those we can’t always control. 

So that’s why this is a focus on you, your wellbeing, mental health, mindset, values, goals, confidence and self-esteem, so you can be the best version of yourself and dare to go after your dreams and passions. 

I boil it down to energy, confidence, control and clarity.

So, there you have it – a sneak peek into the keys of Sustainable High Performance. 

And, after what I have seen with my clients, working on these areas make a huge difference in their lives and careers. 

So that’s why I also have based my new program, that I call Sustainable High Performance, on these four pillars.

So by becoming one of my clients, we would take on this work together. 

And don’t you worry, even if it seems like a lot, I will never overwhelm you in that program. We will take one step at a time and like I said, some of them are interconnected, so working on one of them will support progress in another area too. 

And I have some exciting news, I have teamed up with experts in nutrition and female hormonal health too, so this is also avaliable as a part of the program if needed. 

So now, if you are curious to find out more, send me an email or DM on LinkedIn or Instagram and I will invite you to a free discovery call. 

There I will ask you a bunch of questions to see if we are a good fit for each other and talk more about the details of the program. 

I would absolutely love to talk to you! 

And I have very limited spots available, and they will fill up quickly, so this is your chance to jump on at a discounted rate. Prices will go up very shortly. 

Until next time, take care of yourself, and go be a badass!