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PEAK PERFORMANCE PARADOX EXPLAINED
PEAK PERFORMANCE PARADOX EXPLAINED
The word ‘Peak’ is a great differentiator. It denotes a zenith, an ultimate state of being at, whether its academics, career, or performance. Somehow, when you say someone has peaked, your outlook towards that person changes immediately.

 You now associate that person with the highest levels of accomplishment, confidence, high levels of motivation, and sustained performance levels. Is that all really possible, to achieve, firstly and then to sustain for long? That last phrase matters a lot, because it may be easy and possible to attain peak performance levels but how are you going to sustain it for long?

All success it seems (I don’t understand why it should be so) comes after hard work. Take Malcolm Gladwell’s 10000-hour rule. Per this rule, all achievers must put in a lot of practice and effort to reach that peak level. However, that success can be sustained only when you start functioning effortlessly. In a flow state. That is the peak performance paradox.

Does this seem complicated? Let me elaborate.

Take the skill model developed by an employee of the Gordon Training Institute, Noel Burch, in the 1970s. Noel Burch developed the Conscious Competence Ladder which can be used to manage your emotions during a potentially challenging learning process.

 

It has four learning levels :

  • Unconsciously Unskilled: This is the level 1. This is when you do not know that you need this skill.
  • Consciously Unskilled: This is the level 2. This is when you know you are not skilled but you need to learn.
  • Consciously Skilled: This is the level 3. This is when you know that you are skilled.
  • Unconsciously Skilled: This is the final level. Level 4. This is when you are unaware that you possess a skill and are also quite good at it. Read more....