The three R’s that most people don’t talk about that are critical to performing at your highest level are rest, rejuvenation, and reflection. These three aren’t a magic bullet to higher levels of success but they are absolutely necessary.
The first of the three R’s to performing at your highest level is REST. Work ethic is so important and you should strive to be the hardest worker you know but rest is where the growth lies. You have to play the long game and rest should be part of your high-performance plan. For example, I love 90-day bursts of all-out massive action followed by one week off. I also incorporate rest periods in my days and weeks. I max out my energy on the most important projects of the day and then I back off. Sundays are always rest days but I strive to push it to the max for four days and then back it up with three light days. It doesn’t always work out that way but that’s the focus. The key is to book your rest periods into your calendar and be nonnegotiable with them.
The second R of the three R’s is REJUVENATION. This is more than rest, its about protecting your energy. Its putting the excitement and enthusiasm back into your game. If you are feeling burned out when your feet hit the ground in the morning then you need to book rest and rejuvenation time into your calendar. They will both fight against burnout. A few tactics to rejuvenation is making sure you are drinking lots of water everyday, read inspiring books, listen to inspiring podcasts, and watch inspiring documentaries. When all else fails, I have found that getting out in nature is the medicine that I needed to restore my energy so that I can perform at the highest level when it counts.
The third R of the three R’s to high performance is REFLECTION. One of the things my father taught me was to reflect and study my past performances. Reflecting on your past performances provides a different lens to your work. It allows you to see opportunities that you may have missed and may provide different strategies that will level up your performance. The more you reflect the more clarity and focus you will have on your mission. I believe this is so important that I would never step back on the playing field without first reflecting and studying my past performance.
In closing, pushing your performance to your highest levels is going to take everything you have but ignoring the three R’s to high performance that most people don’t talk about could be fatal to your mission.
