{"id":21246,"date":"2020-12-18T09:40:05","date_gmt":"2020-12-18T13:40:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=21246"},"modified":"2020-12-21T19:18:55","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T23:18:55","slug":"psychology-of-high-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-high-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"Psychology of High Performance: Pushing Boundaries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What is the psychology of high performance? Do high performers think differently from an average person?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The psychology of high performance is complex. It entails everything from how high performers think when they are at the top of their game to what makes them fall from grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read more to learn about the psychology of high performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Psychology of High Performance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Clarity:<\/strong> High performers have clarity, or the ability to identify who they are and what they want. Clarity isn\u2019t something that emerges on its own. It requires reflection and experimentation to search for the values that are meaningful in the context of one&#8217;s life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Purpose:<\/strong> While high performers can tackle almost any task thrown their way, they understand that not every challenge is worth the effort. They spend their time investing in purposeful things and avoid the trials that don\u2019t hold any meaning for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Drive: <\/strong>High-performing people know what drives them, are obsessed with their field of interest, feel a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/deference-to-authority-milgram-shock-experiment\/\">sense of duty<\/a> to others, and hold themselves to deadlines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Courage:<\/strong> High performers courageously step into the unknown and take action\u2014even if they don\u2019t know the ultimate outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Causes High Performers to Fail?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When high performers fall from grace, it\u2019s unexpected because of the high-level at which they\u2019re accustomed to performing. To <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/sustain-success\/\">sustain your success<\/a>, be aware of the three traps that often cause high performers to fail: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/feeling-superior\/\">feeling superior<\/a>, being unsatisfied, and neglecting important things.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Trap #1: Feeling Superior<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>When you become a high performer, it\u2019s easy to feel superior without realizing it. <\/strong>Because you\u2019re at the top of your game, you may subconsciously look down on people who haven\u2019t achieved as much as you have. People who feel superior believe:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>They&#8217;re better than the people around them.<\/li><li>They deserve admiration.<\/li><li>People just don\u2019t \u201cunderstand them.\u201d<\/li><li>They don\u2019t need feedback.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>While you may not actively show your superiority, these thoughts often lead to condescension and dismissal. People won\u2019t want to work with you if you demean or ignore them. While your colleagues may put up with you for a while, you\u2019ll eventually lose the support of the people around you regardless of how strong your ideas are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Trap #2: Being Discontented<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Many people believe that contentment prevents progress because it promotes \u201csettling.\u201d They\u2019d rather use discontent to drive them to find \u201cthe <em>next <\/em>project\u201d or \u201ca <em>better <\/em>way.\u201d However, while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-maintain-motivation\/\">staying motivated<\/a> is important, <strong>discontent breeds negativity.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>High performers are able to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-keep-yourself-motivated\/\">stay motivated<\/a> without resorting to negativity. <\/strong>While they accept critique and strive to improve, they find contentment in what they do by recognizing their accomplishments. Their positive attitude keeps them from becoming overwhelmed by their work and helps them build relationships with their colleagues and friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Trap #3: Neglecting Important Things<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>As a high performer, there are many areas that require your attention. Because of this, you may sometimes accidentally neglect important things because you\u2019re too focused on a singular task or you\u2019ve overextended yourself with too many tasks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is the psychology of high performance? Do high performers think differently from an average person? The psychology of high performance is complex. It entails everything from how high performers think when they are at the top of their game to what makes them fall from grace. Read more to learn about the psychology of high performance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":7561,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,43],"tags":[169],"class_list":["post-21246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology","category-self-improvement","tag-high-performance-habits","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Psychology of High Performance: Pushing Boundaries - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is the psychology of high performance? It is the mentality with which high-performing people approach their craft. 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Learn more here.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-high-performance\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-18T13:40:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-21T23:18:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/best-psychology-books.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"959\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"603\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-high-performance\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-high-performance\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Darya Sinusoid\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46\"},\"headline\":\"Psychology of High Performance: Pushing Boundaries\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-18T13:40:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-21T23:18:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-high-performance\/\"},\"wordCount\":517,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-high-performance\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/best-psychology-books.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"High Performance Habits\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Psychology\",\"Self-Improvement\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-high-performance\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-high-performance\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-high-performance\/\",\"name\":\"Psychology of High Performance: Pushing Boundaries - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-high-performance\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/psychology-of-high-performance\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/best-psychology-books.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-18T13:40:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-21T23:18:55+00:00\",\"description\":\"What is the psychology of high performance? 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