The Bottom Line on Performance

In yesterday’s FREE webinar, I did an exercise that I often have groups do. This group, full of motivated coaches from around the world, is enrolled in our online course called Coach’s Prep 101. Depending on my mood, the exercise make its point with a serious example or a silly example. Nonetheless, the bottom line on performance is the same.

The exercise is simple. Pick a task in which you would like to exercise high performance. A silly example I’ve used in the past is the task of getting a reservation for two at an impossibly popular Michelin star restaurant. More serious examples would be tasks like earning a scholarship, scoring a touchdown in a big game, etc.

Once you’ve got your task chosen, you’ll make two lists. The longer the lists the better. One column is a list of all the things within your control regarding the task at hand. The other list is full of all the things you cannot control about the situation.

Regardless of the specifics, there are some general observations that can be made about both lists. For example, the list of things you cannot control is almost always longer than the other list. Another key observation is that, by definition, any time spent concerned with the list of things outside of your control is time wasted when it comes to performance. Lastly, and most significantly, the bottom line entry in both columns is always the same in any version of this exercise. Amongst the things within your control is always the process. Amongst the things outside of your control is always the results. 

Try it for yourself.

This cannot be underscored enough. The results will always be outside of your full control, so it seems that the highest performing approach to any pursuit will be a rigorous commitment to that which you can control. Masters of performance master the process. Period.

 

Logan Gelbrich

@functionalcoach