The Fifth High Performace Habit

To be a high performer implies that you would be up on the comparative scale among other performers. According to Brendon Burchard in his book "High Performance Habits," one thing high performers do with their elevated status is to uplift others. They use their powers for good by teaching, challenging, and showing others how to help others. This chapter is a guide as to how to be an influence and establish yourself as an authority within your realm of knowledge.

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Taught to Think

They tell us that we have to go to school to learn, but when they say learn, it's math, reading, history, and the like. Sometimes looking back from where we stand, it may all seem a bit trivial. One thing that we should learn early on is how to think. Before you feel triggered, allow yourself to consider the following: We like to think that we know how to think, but how did we learn to do that? How do we know our thinking is accurate? Facts aside, what do we know about how to cultivate sound thoughts?

This first instructive section of this chapter is Burchard sharing how his parents taught him how to think, but my question remains the same for each provisioner of knowledge. To nip it in the bud, one might say that knowledge comes from experience, and one could pass on what experiences they've had to share knowledge. Although it's easy to find logic in this, I think that much of this sort of knowledge is riddled with variables.

It's easy to think that sharing is the right thing to do if you live in abundance, but is it the same when sharing could mean the difference between living and dying? Also, some of what people call truth isn't static. At one point, it was true that women were less than, that blacks were property, and that the sun revolved around the earth. The actual truth sometimes differs from the narrative of the times, and it's crucial to be able to think clearly to be a high performer.

In all honesty, I disagree with part of the chapter because, as I understand it, it advocates absorbing someone else thought patterns as your own. I think that could be dangerous. Of course, I am writing believing that I am right, except I always acknowledge that I could be wrong. I think that unless the thoughts you may have are immutable, it's better to present them as an option in the different approaches of life. This way, you share your experience while still allowing room for expansion and adjustment of the thought process, if necessary. I've never been to a psychologist, but I imagine the process of therapy is like gently nudging the patient to a new way of thinking by being asking challenging questions and analyzing their answer. This is how I believe accurate thinking occurs: by questioning what you think you know.

The subjects on which Burchard encourages thought are oneself, others, and life in general. Helping others learn to think about these subjects is the work of a high performer.

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Propose a Challenge

Easier than teaching someone how to think is challenging them instead. It might prove to help others revisit any notions they have as they contend with the challenge. This is Burchard's second recommendation in becoming an influential high performer.

Summed up, the act of challenging others is similar to placing someone in front of a mirror to see if they match up to their supposed standards. Are you going to consistently workout three times a week? Will you emphatically try to be a better listener? Since being a high performer requires that you build others, Burchard believes that you should also help them measure their abilities.

There are three areas in which this chapter recommends testing against; they are character, connection, and contribution.

A test of character will determine if an individual has conventionally positive traits such as integrity and dedication. As a high performer, you should be able to recognize what these admirable qualities are and when they are exhibited. If you see that a person needs development in an area, Burchard cues to indirectly challenge the person to coax them in the right direction rather than blatantly point out what you consider weak points. Like with a child, ask in a way that the person can compare their actions with the right ones and adjust their behavior.

Connection and contribution are characteristics of a real team player. Although there are different roles in a team, it's easy to identify what a collaborative team member is like. They listen, they help, they share. A person that makes a connection with a peer or organization is synergistic and helps increase some sort of output for the better of all. An additional tidbit in this category is to give wholeheartedly to the point of being recognized on the level of commitment you have to serve others. By asking others if they feel like what they do is on the level, you help them think critically about the consequences of their actions or lack thereof. Realizing that they may increase or improve their output, they strive to provide their best, and you, as a high performer, have contributed to improvement with your influence.

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Become a Guide

The last section on influence is about being a role model. It's taking what you challenge your peers with and applying those principles to yourself. There's a proverb that goes along the lines of "physician, heal thyself." It is the perfect phrase for what it means to have influence and be a role model. Admittedly, it is easier to guide someone from outside a storm with clarity, but on the recipient's side, it must be more comforting to reach out to the hand of someone who is in the same storm with them. With the knowledge that what's expected takes work, show what doing that work looks like. Instead of speaking of success as some distant promised land where everything is spotless, be realistic with the nitty-gritty that it takes to get there and share your journey. Although making it look easy is a powerful effect, to be a helpful and authentic influence, it may be better to let others see you wince in pain when you are reaching for success. Let them know that although it hurts, it's possible.

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Being an Influence

Being an influence is an inevitable result of being a high performer. A high performer should, by definition, be a step ahead in terms of thinking, process, and behaviors. You rise above your surroundings, and then it's all eyes on you. It's a consequence that requires diligence. As a high performer, you become an inspiration to others and someone worth emulating. As such, you must be conscious of your reach. Influencing is another part of performing well, and it too demands skill. Although remaining yourself is important, so is keeping in mind your newfound responsibility.