Last summer, I participated in a High Performance Mindset course that was offered to employees of Microsoft and led by Dr. Michael Gervais, a world-renowned psychologist who has worked with Olympians and some of the highest performing athletes and corporate leaders in the world.

We all have the desire to get into that state of unparalleled focus and high performance—also known as “being in the zone”—and stay there as long as we can. However, with the plethora of distractions that are constantly coming at us through our many devices, we find it harder than ever to reach this oasis of focus.

In a world where remote work is no longer a novel concept, it is critical that we practice the following 3 techniques to reach our levels of peak performance:

1. Master Your Breath

We take our breathing for granted, and don’t think too much about it. However, the way we breathe actually affects how we think and perform. Try to practice deep breathing at least once a day for at least 6 minutes a day, although the ideal is 20 minutes a day.

If you get distracted, take a deep breath to refocus. Fun fact: every time you focus, you are building new neural pathways in your brain. The goal is to become more aware of your thoughts, not to erase all thoughts.

2. Get Uncomfortable

Keep finding ways to step outside of your comfort zone and challenge yourself. This will help build your confidence over time.

Make it a goal to do one thing that scares you each day. Inspired by this, I reached out Jean-Philippe Courtois, the EVP of Microsoft, to see if he would be open to being on my Leadership Series last year. It ended up working out and you can read his Journey of Reverse Mentorship on my blog!

3. Create a Personal Philosophy

Do you know what inspires you to get up everyday and show up as your best self?

A personal philosophy is an important part of discovering who you are, and helps you make decisions in your life and career. It will also empower you to feel in control and grounded. You can learn more about crafting your personal philosophy here.

My personal philosophy is currently “Growing 1% everyday through finding inspiration to share with the world” and is what inspires me to run this #kkarenism blog.

Quote of the Day

You either control your mind, or it controls you.

napoleon hill

Thanks for following my #100DayChallenge series… The goal is to blog everyday for 100 days in a row. Through this series, I hope to share more about my personal life to complement the career content that I usually create. I’ll also be exploring more aspects of creative writing!