John C.

As a teacher I am often confronted with the dilemma of how much to push students so that they can realize their own potential and actual ability in contrast with pushing the student too much and destroying all confidence they have built up in their newfound skills. It is a fine line and not only does it vary from person to person it is also greatly effected by the situation and circumstances.
Many of us feel under the gun all day long both at work and at home it is hard to imagine that there is an optimal amount of tension to keep you at your best. While that level is different for everyone most of us can be more by doing more and getting to a higher level of performance by taking a little time to examine our performance in various situations. Doing this, we will be able to discover the peak stress level for each of us.

So how do we reach this peak?  These 7 tips will help you to reach new heights:

• The best way to find your optimal working range is to go too far and then scale back. This way you will know what is possible and what to look for as a breaking point.Think about what you are processing and draw links between you current knowledge base and the new skills being employed.
• Keep a journal noting your successes, progress made and the areas you still need considerable work on.
• Do one more. In my martial arts class our instructor always encouraged us to do one more repetition or exercise to find out, for ourselves, how far we could really go.
• Don't sell yourself short. You are a person of key intellect and ability accept that you can be better at what you do if you only improve by 1% or 2% that is a substantial gain.
• Take a break now and then to relax and prepare to unleash new found energy. A break means 5 - 10 minutes not the rest of the night in front of the TV.
• Get feedback. Feedback will help you to better understand how you are doing and how your efforts have paid off.

The key point here is that anything is possible if you set your mind to it and get your body in motion. A body in motion tends to stay in motion.

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Tags: stress management | mental training | top performance | prepare to be your best