Let’s imagine two different situations for a moment.
One is a 100m race. It’s a sprint. You’ve been preparing for it the whole year. Probably even longer. All your training, nutrition, sleep, and recovery are optimized for peak performance on the day of the race. There is that one day, one moment, those handful of seconds where you have to perform at the highest level possible. The race takes place in a controlled environment. You know what to expect. It is up to you to prepare and peak.
Now let’s imagine an ultra-distance trail race. The race course stretches over 100 miles. You’ve also been preparing for this race. But you are not preparing for peak performance. What you are preparing for is optimal performance. You know what the course looks like, and you know its length, but that’s pretty much it. There are countless factors outside of your control, factors that you cannot specifically prepare for. The race will take multiple days, and the weather will change. There will be ups and downs, twists and turns. The terrain changes along the race course, and where you decide to step on the rough surface might change the whole race for you. You cannot prepare to be at your peak throughout the race. What you can prepare for is doing your best in any given circumstance. You are not seeking peak performance but optimal performance.
Now tell me, which of these two situations sounds more like life?
Peak is something that you can plan for. It’s something that’s scheduled.
Peak performance is: "Let’s prepare and set up all conditions perfectly so that, on that specific day, in that specific moment, I can perform at the absolute highest level of my possibilities."
This doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with peak performance. When you can plan for peak performance, when you are in control of all, or almost all, variables, by all means do it.
But to expect that you can go through life being at your peak every single day is unrealistic.
On the other hand, optimal performance is: "Let’s set up a system so that I can do my very best on any given day, in any given moment, whatever my 'best’ looks like under those specific circumstances."
In the case of optimal performance, that "best" varies. Sometimes, your best is peak. And, sometimes, your best is putting one foot in front of the other, taking one step at a time. Sometimes, your best means not quitting.
Which brings me to why this distinction is so important to me.
Focusing on optimal rather than peak performance sits at the foundation of my philosophy on how to build consistency.
Peak performance will come as a result of consistency. But making peak performance your priority in any activity will prevent you from building that consistency.
On the other hand, optimal performance and consistency cannot be separated from each other. If you want to build consistency, you will, by definition, want to perform every day. And since you know that every day will be different, what you are seeking is not to perform at your very best every single time, but to do the best that you can under those specific circumstances.
Consistency and optimal performance are the building blocks of what you are trying to make of yourself. Peak performance is the reward you occasionally receive as you keep building.
Thank you for reading.
This is part 4 from my series of essays where I share parts of the book I am writing on consistency. If you haven’t already, you can read previous 3 parts here:
How Consistency Saved My Life
The Missing Link For Developing Consistency
5 Lessons from 3 Years of Writing Every Single Day
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