[00:00] Welcome back to the Focus B show. This is Katie Sudddock here aka the focus b. And on this show, I interview high performers and leaders around the world to discover their secrets on peak performance, productivity, mindfulness and leadership. So if you want to take your performance and your leadership to the next level, then you're in the right place. Listen up and connect with the magic.

[00:35] Welcome to a brand new episode of the Focus B show. Today is my absolute favorite topic peak performance. And more precisely, the distinction between Yin peak performance and Yang peak performance and why I have a preference for Yin peak performance. First of all, how do I define peak performance? The concept of peak performance or high performance is to reach your goals in a sustainable way. So you want to manage your time, your energy and your attention effectively so that you can reach your goals in your business, in your career, in your life, all while maintaining balance in all the different areas. So the idea behind peak performance is really a sustainable approach where you don't burn out, you don't exhaust yourself, but you still manage to reach your goals and aim for these high visions and aspirations in your life. The reason I am so passionate about peak performance is because of this interaction intersection between the productivity aspect, the business strategy aspect, and the well being side of things. I really feel that combining all these elements, we can really thrive and strive towards fantastic results. Now, what is the difference between a Yin peak performance and Yang peak performance? What I've noticed from working in this field is that many people who are high achievers who are driven towards high levels of performance, it comes from a place of lack of self worth. This is something that comes up time and time again, especially when we look at the sabotage in positive intelligence. The sabotage test that you can take. I will put it in the show notes. When you are a high achiever, very often you associate self worth with results. This means that the reason why you're striving towards great results in your life and great achievements is because that's the only way you can feel good about yourself. Therefore, a lot of high performers are actually fueled somewhere by a lack of self acceptance or by a need of recognition of others and from themselves. And I was no exception to this. I was also highly driven by these results in a way to validate myself. Now, some of you that might be listening to this can identify with it and yet not understand how there could be a different approach when we look at Yang peak performance. This is a very masculine, disciplined, heavy way of doing things. And there's a lot of forcing behind it. Because if you're constantly telling yourself that you're rubbish and therefore you have to do a better job or you have to exercise more or you're not doing it well enough. You can achieve great results, but it will always come with side effects, with the result that you're not fully satisfied with who you are. And unless you push and push and push yourself more, you still won't feel satisfied. I remember when I was in my high achiever state of mind in the sabotage type way, I would constantly feel that it wasn't enough, the results I was achieving weren't enough, and everything I did wasn't enough. And essentially that was saying to myself, I wasn't enough. This is an extremely common pattern, so if you identify with it, you're not alone. This shows up time and time again, this feeling of not being enough. And this is what fuels the high performance and the high levels of success, because we try to find our self worth through these results. Now. How is Yin Peak performance different? The difference comes from a more mindful and a more gentle approach towards ourself. And what's super interesting and might seem ironic to some of you, is that we actually achieve better results. So it comes from a place, first of all, of self acceptance. Self acceptance comes from looking at our state of mind, at our qualities, at our weaknesses, at our strengths, and just accepting how they are, what they are like today. Not thinking it's not enough, not wanting it to be more, not looking at a perfectionist approach, but just thinking, I accept the way I am right now and coming to peace with yourself and working on being gentle and kinder to yourself, especially in terms of the self talk. So the way we speak to ourselves, there's a huge difference between, okay, I did well today, maybe tomorrow I can add this or do it a bit differently, versus I totally screwed up, it wasn't good enough, I have to try again. And a lot of us speak to ourselves that way. I remember the first time I came across self acceptance, and this coach was talking about it. When she mentioned the self talk and gave examples, it brought tears to my eyes because I remember thinking, this is how I speak to myself. And I never realized. And you can change that. You can change the way you speak to others, and you can change the way you speak to yourself simply by pausing and reframing. So once you're able to fuel this self acceptance, this can help you to stride and strive towards great results. Because you are no longer only wishing for these results because of a lack of self worth, but also just because you want to contribute or impact, or you enjoy the work you're doing, or it makes you feel good. But it doesn't come from a place of desperation and force and self hatred almost, and I guarantee I have seen this with myself and with my clients. The Yin Peak performance approach yields better results. This is because it doesn't come from this place of negation, from this place of lack of self worth. And therefore we're more fueled because we're accepting ourselves, we're gentle to ourselves, and we're enjoying the process more because it doesn't come from this high energy, almost nasty approach. Sometimes it's actually, this is fun and I'm enjoying it, and I feel good about myself, and it makes me feel aligned with my principles and my values and my vision. So this is really the fundamental pillar. The fundamental difference between the Yin Peak Performance and the Yang Peak Performance is the way we talk to ourselves. And the one is fueled by a lack of self worth and an overcompensation, and the other one is fueled from self acceptance. Still ambitious, still driven, that probably will never go away for you, hyperachievers. But it's a very different approach, and it really makes all the difference in the world once we're able to change our self talk, once we're able to aim towards these goals, but from a place of already feeling full, because this is another thing. The lack of self worth that happens in the Yang Peak Performance is fueled from an emptiness inside. We're constantly trying to fill ourselves up because we feel empty. And the results, for a brief moment, make us feel full until we feel empty again. Now, with the Yin Peak Performance, you already feel full, you already feel your acceptance, you already think of yourself as whole and not as broken. And therefore, if you don't achieve the results as quickly as you want to, maybe, or in the way you want to achieve them, it doesn't come following with this voice of anger, and you always mess up. And this is terrible. But just with, okay, what have we learned here? What can we change? How can we improve this? You're still going to be driven, you're still going to achieve your results. I like to mention this because I feel that there's this fear that if we let go of this self hatred voice or this pushing voice, then we won't achieve the results. That's not true. I had that fear. I remember it. I remember think, but if I stop pushing, will I still get the results? What if I become Lenient? That didn't happen. So I don't think this is at all the case. It's a fear that we have, and this sustains that sort of angry or pushy voice that we have. But it doesn't really make that difference. It doesn't really make a difference if we let go of it, as in we still achieve the results. Of course it makes a huge difference in terms of our well being, in terms of our inner peace, but the results are still there. So this was the fundamental difference between Yin Peak Performance and Yang Peak Performance, how both of them are ways to go towards your goals, to reach your goals and aspiration. But the Yin Peak Performance is a more mindful self discipline. If you want to coach Giovanni Deenstein, I will also put his book in the show. Notes his approach is mindful self discipline, which in some ways is very similar to Yin peak performance, coming from a place of mindfulness, of awareness, and of acceptance, instead of coming from a place of pushing and lack of self worthiness. I hope this has been valuable for you. It's a topic I'm really passionate about and I work primarily with my clients on this topic. I think it's the best way, as far as I have seen, to achieve your goals and to have peace and balance in your life. Please share this episode with a friend or a family member if you think it will be useful for them and subscribe to my channel. Leave a review comment below. How has this been useful for you? What have you learned or what else do you know on this topic that you would like to share and contribute? Thank you so much for joining me today on this topic.

[11:42] Thank you so much for tuning in today to the Focus Bee show. I would absolutely love to hear your feedback. So let me know in an Apple review or YouTube comment what was most valuable for you, and feel free to share this episode with a friend or a family member. Wishing you a wonderful, magical and focus day ahead.