Self-Awareness and Peak Performance

Self-awareness: The critical foundation for peak performance

As a young boy, my dream was to represent India in cricket. I almost succeeded too. I played alongside some of the 'greats' such as Virender Sehwag. Virender and I trained together, played against each other, and were equally skilled at the game. We both held the promise of greatness.

Virender went on to become the number 1 test batsman in the world. He represented India in 104 Test Matches and served as Vice-Captain of the Indian team. On the other hand, I quit cricket at age 18 and began a career as an IT professional.

Why is it that two people with the same skill set can end up on vastly different life paths? It is a question I've been researching for over two decades. And here's what I discovered:

It's all about mindset.

A person's mindset – be it an elite sportsperson or business leader – is the single biggest influence on their performance.

But the mindset training I am talking about goes much deeper than encouraging people to think positive thoughts. Yes, we need mental fortitude but we can also cultivate something infinitely more powerful – self-awareness. My cricketing career would have looked different if I had the self-awareness I have now.

In essence, self-awareness is self-reflection. And it is a practice that requires guidance and training.

Coaching and self-awareness

The role of a good coach is to gently guide elite athletes and leaders inwards to investigate and reflect on their own personal beliefs, conscious and unconscious biases, thoughts, feelings and actions. This takes time. A good coach will provide a safe space for people to dive deep into themselves without fear, guilt or shame.

This investigation is the first part of self-awareness. In order to change our thoughts and actions, we need to first understand them. Then once we know them, we can begin to change them, to form new habits and behaviours. This is where the rubber meets the road.

The great Muhammad Ali--the heavyweight-boxing champion, Olympic gold medallist, and civil rights activist--personified peak performance. Why? He had cultivated self-awareness and mastered his mind. He said, "A man who has no imagination has no wings."

I interpret this as: if we cannot change who we are in our mind and imagination, we cannot reach our potential. This is what self-awareness does. It gives us wings.

What is it about self-awareness that allows us to change behaviours?

The ability to look out our thoughts and behaviours with awareness and compassion gives us a vital life skill – the ability to choose. We get to decide: am I going to act out of this old, conditioned thought pattern, or will I respond and act differently? The pausing, the moment of self-reflection, the ability to choose – this is where our power lies. This ability to choose is far more powerful than teaching someone motivational thought patterns because the change isn't external but rather cultivated from within.  

How does self-awareness impact performance?

Working with a coach over a period of time is the key to integrating self-awareness into peak performance. Coaching does a number of things:

Firstly, like you, the coach becomes familiar with your limiting beliefs and behaviours. When the ego rears its head (because it will), a coach is a sounding board to help you disrupt the old thought patterns.

Secondly, you can decide what you want to accomplish with your coach. A coach will help you cultivate new beliefs and actions to set you on the path to achieving your vision. Overcoming self-limiting beliefs is critical in reaching one's goals, and self-awareness lays the groundwork.

How do we get self-awareness?

Self-awareness takes time, practice and guidance. But you can begin the path to self-awareness right now, at home, with present-moment-awareness. When we are present – e.g. not stuck in the past or worrying about the future – we have greater control over our thoughts and actions. The present moment gives us more space to observe our thoughts and actions with greater clarity. I teach meditation and deep breathing as tools to help cultivate present-moment awareness. And, as Olympic diver Greg Louganis said, "Peak performance is meditation in motion."

I believe every human has the potential for greatness. It requires a process of redefining our beliefs and unearthing our potential with a trusted sounding board. It requires self-awareness.