What It Feels Like Being Wrong
How do you feel when you’re wrong? You may have some idea…embarrassed, shameful, frustrating, humbling, on and on and on.
Have you ever thought about what it feels like when you’re wrong and you just haven’t realized it yet? It feels exactly like being right.
Until you realize you’re wrong, you believe you’re right. You’re convinced you’re right. You’ve gathered the facts, built the narratives, proven your point, and you’re right.
Until you’re not.
With that in mind, I would invite you to wrestle with another question…as a leader, are you asking yourself the right questions?
Every level of performance comes with its own specific set of questions.
Low Performers are constantly asking, “How can I not get fired?” And guess what, that’s not necessarily “bad” either. If I’m being honest, I strive for low performance when it comes to things like lawn care. I’m not a green thumb, I don’t have this desire to have the best lawn in the neighborhood, and I would almost always rather spend my time in other ways. I just don’t want to be mowing my lawn and have my wife sigh and say to herself, “Looks like I’ll have to mow when Austin’s done.” I just don’t want to get fired from mowing.
Performers are constantly asking, “How can I do the job well?” Performers want to know the expectations, move well, get the job done, and go home. They’re not trying to win awards either, but they do want to do well!
Then, you have High Performers. High Performers are asking, “How can I be the best?!” They want to know where the bar is so they can scream past it. They want to be the top performer, crush their goals, strive for an A+ instead of an A-, and look good doing it.
So here’s your next question. If you’re a high performer…is that fulfilling?
Your first thought might be, “Of course. I’m the best.”
But…being wrong feels like being right…until you’re not. I’ll ask again…is that fulfilling? Is that thrilling? Is that creating a life that you are overjoyed to live?
Here’s my guess. If you were being honest, you’re probably living a life that has some mix of stress, overwhelm, angst, and extreme boredom. My guess is, you know there’s something more…and you just don’t know what it is.
Think about it this way…if you walk into the gym and see someone benching 315 pounds. As a high performer committed to “being the best,” you set your goal at 320. You diet, train, strive, work, and show up every day at the gym ready to be the best.
Then…the day comes. You hit 320! You did it! You’re the best. You show up the next time you’re ready to lift and you don’t quite have that drive anymore. The stress/overwhelm kicks in, because…“Now what?”
On top of that…what if you’re a genetic freak that could be repping out 500 lb bench presses? You hover around 330 for years, giving up that entire gap between 330 and 500, just because you’re the best already.
So what lies beyond high performance? What do you do when you’re stressed, overwhelmed, and bored? You step into what Novus Global calls “Meta Performance.” Meta Performers (“meta” as in metamorphosis) are asking the question, “What am I capable of?”
Even as you’re reading that, I would imagine you have stories in your mind of, “I’m maxed out.” “I don’t have the time.” “I couldn’t possibly grow any faster.”
Remember…being wrong and not knowing it feels a lot like being right. What if everything you believed about your own capability is wrong? What if you haven’t even scratched the surface of what you’re capable of? What if everything up until now is the least productive, least fun, least thrilling version of you?
Here’s the invitation. If you want to explore what you’re capable of, send me an email. austin walker at novus dot global
We’ll set up an initial conversation (for free) where we’ll get clear on your pain points, identify how you might be getting in your own way, and figure out what it looks like to actually explore what you’re capable of.
This life is too important to waste it convinced that you’re already living it to the fullest potential.
Want to learn more about going beyond high performance? Schedule a conversation with Austin by DM’ing him here, or check out the best seller “Beyond High Performance” by Jason Jaggard and the Coaches of Novus Global (available wherever books are sold).
