The 6 Habits of High Performers

We all want to be high performers in whatever we do. I have been studying this topic and immersed myself in many books on this topic for well over 7 years. The most recent addition to the literature is Brendon Burchard’s High Performance Habits. He has identified 6 habits which I found to be simple but if implemented can be life changing for all of us. Here are 6 performance habits with my take on each.
Seek Clarity – I love this word because all of us need to have clarity or we will not be able to win big. The first step to develop clarity is to get to know yourself. You should know who you are, what your strengths are, what your weakness are, what your goals are and what your ambition is. One of the keys I have found is to write your own obituary and really get clear on what you want to be send at the end of your life. Once you are clear on that make sure every day you take steps towards that ultimate vision you have for yourself. Of course, we will not live to our highest ideals always because we are human. However deep joy can be found only when you are clear on what you want your life to stand for.
Generate Energy – Energy is the key of the 21st Century. You can develop elevated levels of energy by focusing on the physical dimension through exercise and yoga. Focus on your mental dimension by reading and listening to experts in your field. Focus on your emotional dimension by journaling, forgiving others and developing high self-compassion. Here is my article on developing high energy. 11 keys to High Energy
Raise Necessity – This is all about understanding the why of your life. Why are you doing what you are doing and who are you doing it for. Once you are clear on that you will do better.
Increase Productivity – This is all about identifying what are the key outputs you need to produce in your life to be satisfied. For Seth Godin it is cranking out blogs. Whatever it is for you develop the skills needed to produce the quality outputs. If we think about it we will be known at the end of our lives by the quality of outputs we produce or as some people say your body of work.
Develop Influence – We all can have an impact in this world through our own ways. If you are a good manager you influence the people in your team. You can also use social media to share your thoughts. There are so many avenues to show case your talent and develop influence.  
Demonstrate Courage – Our attitude towards our life will determine how much we enjoy it. Courage is one of the keys to ensuring you stay hungry and go forward in the direction of your dreams. The only way to develop courage is to keep doing the things that you are normally afraid to do. Once you develop your courage muscles you will be willing to fail and not taking it personally.
In addition to these habits Brendon identifies three traps we should all avoid. They are superiority, dissatisfaction and neglect. Superiority is when you become complacent and think you are better than anyone else. Dissatisfaction is when you are never happy with what you accomplish. Finally, neglect is when you don’t care for the important things in your life.
The one thing that you need to win big is confidence. You can develop confidence by ensuring you have great competence, you are good at connecting and develop congruence. The last one is key because if you are congruent in all areas of your life you will be more confident in everything you undertake.
The views expressed in this article are my own and do not represent my organization. Thanks for reading this post.

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