Author : John Eliot, Ph.D.
The road to greatness is not a path one takes alone. Navigation requires the assistance of what is called a support system—a small group of very special people, in some cases just one person, who helps you stay the course during times when you have trouble doing it for yourself.Sometimes is appears as if a champion is doing it all him or herself. I have yet to hear of a performer for which this was entirely the case. Somewhere along the way there is an aunt, a coach, a church representative, the memory of a lost friend, that fulfills this need. Many times these people go unnoticed—often they seek to avoid attention for their contribution, nor do they want it. That's part of what makes them a true support system. Their interest and heart is in helping their loved ones push themselves to be the very best they can be.It's not really difficult to understand the concept behind support systems. The difficulty lies in separating a real support system from a host of people whose primary interest is safety and comfort. With good intentions and genuine care, the latter are easily mistaken for supporters. They are quick to lend a shoulder for crying; they welcome your frustration with open arms. False supporters are all ears when you want to complain about competition, obstacles, hardships, or just how unfair a shake it was that you received. But moments of discouragement, failure—and even moments of success—are often the times when you most need another person's help getting back to a peak performance mindset. Real support systems find a way to help you do just that. False supporters allow you to hold onto sub-optimal thinking for long periods of time. They may think they are being supportive by listening or by letting you lean on them. In reality, they are letting you fall short on your commitment to thinking great.Why this happens is, for the most part, a factor of these folk's unwillingness to really go for it themselves. The don't shoot for greatness because they are afraid of getting hurt or of losing some of their creature comforts. They're into the safe route. And when they see a friend or family member hanging it out on the line, they get nervous. With all good intentions, they want to offer protection and shelter. Frankly, they are much more comfortable when they see a performer struggling and they offer to "make it alright." That reality is much more akin to their own.But peak performance never comes from doing it the safe way. It comes from putting everything you've got into your dream, being willing to fall flat on your face and then getting up and doing it again. For that, you need supporters. And you need to be surrounding yourself with the kind that push you to keep great thinking on track.JOHN F. ELIOT, PH.D., is an award winning professor of management, psychology, and human performance. He holds faculty appointments at Rice University and the SMU Cox School of Business Leadership Center. He is a co-founder of the Milestone Group, a consulting firm providing training to business executives, professional athletes, physicians, and corporations. Dr. Eliot's clients have included: SAP, XEROX, Disney, Adidas, the United States Olympic Committee, the National Champion Rice Owl's baseball team, and the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Eliot's cutting edge work has been featured on ABC, MSNBC, CBS, ESPN, Fox Sports, NPR, and highlighted in the Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, Entrepreneur, LA Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, and the New York Times. Dr. Eliot serves on numerous advisory boards including the National Center for Human Performance and the Center for Performing Arts Medicine. His latest book is Overachievement: The New Model for Exceptional Performance. For more information, visit Dr. Eliot's site at http://www.overachievement.com
Keyword : peak performance, support systems, success factors
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