The Only Way Competitive Athletes Can Reach Peak Performance
There is only one way a competitive athlete can reach peak performance. To be clear, I’m certainly not saying there is only one element of input into peak performance.
Of course you first have to eat right, have enough mental and physical rest, as well as self-motivation, among other things. These are all among the basic prerequisites for peak performance. It’s hard to reach a good performance, let alone a peak performance without these basics. So for the sake of this article, let’s assume you know exactly how to satisfy the basics. Now what?
At this point, to reach peak performance an athlete requires the optimal level of challenge and skill. Without this optimal level of challenge and skill peak performance is elusive.
High Skill + Difficult Challenge = Peak Performance
While an athlete who is a beginner can momentarily thrive by their own standards given the right low level challenges, the truth is this is not their peak. A beginner will constantly push past the momentary peaks of low level challenges and still have more to give.
On the other hand, a high skill athlete given easy challenges will also momentarily thrive. However, a high skill athlete will eventually bore and their performance level will decrease when given easy challenges.
Therefore, in order to achieve peak performance an athlete needs both high skill and a challenge that is more difficult than normal. The challenge can’t appear to be insurmountable. On the contrary, the perception must be that the challenge is difficult but achievable. It’s at this point where you will see an athlete at their best.