Each and every one of us owns our own performance through the conscious choices we make coupled with an attitude of constant curiosity for learning.
A great scene in a movie called The Blind Side, starring Sandra Bullock, reinforces the importance of this point. In the scene, she is dropping her birth son and adopted son at the school gates, and her parting words to them both are; ‘Have fun and learn something new today’. Now, while the ‘have fun…’ part is important, it’s the second part that really struck me as central to success: ‘…learn something new today’.
Sometimes, particularly as adults, we slip into the trap of complacency, operating in a state of unconsciousness where it feels like we are just going through the motions. It’s the day you slip into a place that I call ‘the groove or the grave’ – no man’s land. It’s the day you accept your place in the world of mediocrity where just enough is good enough. It’s the day when you lose your edge and stop being your best self.
In an increasingly competitive world, there is no such thing as standing still. All around you, people are actively moving forwards and standing still really means you’re falling behind.
Learn something new today should not be just a lesson from when you were a child, it should be a lifelong lesson. High achievers know this and it becomes their daily ritual.
Why?
Because high achievers have this insatiable thirst for learning, for showing up every day being the best version of themselves they can be. They spend their life being their own performance coach, ensuring they reach their true and maximum potential.
One of the six core human needs is the need for growth – for emotional, intellectual or spiritual development. If you are not learning and bettering yourself every day then you are not growing.
Maintaining relevance in the fast-moving arena of life is about being fresh, living life with deliberate conscious intent as the architect of your own destiny. It’s about learning and developing self…perhaps most importantly it about applied learning and having the attitude of action.
So, how do you ensure you’re on the pathway to becoming the best version of you? How do you become your own performance coach?
Let me ask you a question. When was the last time you read a biography, a business or educational book? A book which feeds your mind, emotions or spirit? If you’re not a keen reader the same question applies; when did you last purchase an audio book?
If your daily commute is for example 1.5 hours a day, that’s 7.5 hour per week. The average audio book is 7 hours. That’s one audio book per week!
If you don’t have a long commute or drive to work what about on the train, in the gym, or whilst out running? Turn your mode of transport into a learning environment (your university on wheels!) and imagine your potential you could unlock with just this one strategy!
Download podcasts, watch a TED talk, get active on Pinterest, join and participate in groups on Facebook or LinkedIn, attend a webinar, enroll in a course, get active in the community. Choose something to help you grow personally or professionally and more importantly which creates the accountability to follow through.
Personalise your preferred learning plan and start to apply the concept of Being YOUR own performance coach. Ask yourself the question; what have I learnt new today? and reflect on your successes, achievements and learning opportunities at the end of each day.
Remember, the day you stop learning is the day you stop earning! Keep feeding your mind, growing personally and professionally in order to become the best version of you every single day. Nobody is going to do it for you, this is one job which definitely has your name on it.
By: Royston Guest
Royston Guest is a global authority on growing businesses and unlocking people potential. He is CEO of Pti-Worldwide, author of #1 best-selling business growth book, Built to Grow and founder of livingyourfuture™. Follow him on Facebook or Instagram. Connect with him on LinkedIn or check out his weekly blog at https://www.roystonguest.com/
