“People perform best when they are under pressure,” we are told. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. People can use both pleasure and pain as the triggers for achieving peak performance. Let’s explore how to make this happen.

1) You can use pleasure to achieve peak performance.

Can you recall a time when you have grown through pleasure? You may have learned a skill, written a book, travelled to new country, refurbished a flat, coached a football team, raised money for charity or whatever. What did you do right then? You may have pursued your positive energy, set a clear goal, thrown yourself into the activity, overcome setbacks and finished successfully. What did you learn from the activity? How have you since used pleasure – rather than pain – as a trigger for performing fine work?

Pleasure is the starting point for many adventures. Great educators, for example, believe in providing their students with many forms of stimulation. They see which activity – idea, model or tool – a student ‘reaches out’ to pursue. Building on the student’s interest, they help them to set specific goals - then encourage them to flow, focus and finish. Certainly the student must be prepared to sweat – but desire is the starting point. The student is then more likely to develop the discipline required to deliver.

Try tackling the exercise on this theme. First, describe a specific time when you used pleasure as the trigger for doing fine work. Second, describe what you did right then to achieve peak performance.

The specific time I used pleasure as the
trigger for achieving peak performance was:

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*

*

The things I did right then to
achieve peak performances were:

*

*

*

2) You can use pain to achieve peak performance.

Can you recall a time when you have grown through pain? You may have lost a job, suffered an illness, experienced an injustice, seen money disappear, lost someone close, missed out on a dream or whatever. What did you do right to shape your future? Perhaps you spent time in a ‘sanctuary’ to reflect – then emerged saying: “I am taking charge of my future.” Fired by determination, you set specific goals – to get a better job, build a relationship, appreciate life, care for your health or whatever. Following a creative rhythm, you did the right things in the right way every day. You overcome setbacks, worked hard and eventually reached your goal.

Try tackling the exercise on this theme. First, describe a specific time when you used pain as the trigger for doing fine work. Second, describe what you did right then to achieve peak performance.

The specific time I used pain as the
trigger for achieving peak performance was:

*

*

*

The things I did right then to
achieve peak performances were:

*

*

*

3) You can plan to use both pleasure and pain to achieve peak performance.

How can you use pleasure to achieve peak performance in the future? One approach is: a) To describe the things that give you pleasure – such as painting, gardening, renovating houses, leading teams or whatever. b) To focus on one such activity and translate it into a specific project. c) To set aside time to tackle the project – then do everything possible to achieve your picture of success. Setting aside time is crucial – because then you can concentrate, be creative and, if appropriate, achieve concrete results. Try completing the following sentence.

The specific things I can do to use pleasure
to achieve peak performance in the future are:

*

*

*

How can you use pain to achieve peak performance in the future? One approach is: a) To anticipate things that may cause pain – such as a deteriorating relationship, frustration at work, failing health or whatever. b) To take steps to prevent the pain happening – or to be instantly aware when it does happen. This calls for understanding your ‘warning signs’ – such a feeling uneasy, falling ill, getting angry or whatever. c) To use the potential pain as the trigger for improving the quality of your life. Over the years you will improve at anticipating and acting upon pain in your life and work. Try completing the following sentence.

The specific things I can do to use pain to
achieve peak performance in the future are:

*

*

*

“Whatever feeling you have – whether it is happiness or sorrow – you can use it to improve the world,” said one of my teachers. He saw feelings as ‘material’ – a springboard for helping others, rather than the cue for self-indulgence. The same can be said of pleasure and pain. You can use both as the starting point for achieving peak performance.