Reaching peak performance is based on the CHOICES we make each day. From the moment we wake we begin to make decisions that will ultimately effect us in some way, in fact even the night before you're making choices that will impact your tomorrow, such as consciously choosing to have a good day.

We literally make hundreds if not thousands of choices throughout the course of a day and they are mostly made at a subconscious level. Meaning that you're acting out of habit, familiarity, comfort and emotion. By focusing your energy towards making these choices consciously you will maximise your ability to pursue your passions and purpose AND create positive change. (Create NEW and more helpful habits).

A choice ultimately reflects your priorities. It indicates your values, purpose and how much effort you're likely to put in to making the decision and actioning it. Therefore, the more decisions you make with active consciousness, the more control you will have to increase your performance and overall successes.

Consider all of the choices you make in life generally, what type of hobbies you take up, how your relationships function, how much you spend on things, the time you devote to exercising, what your next meal might be?

Then there's your career and your business. You choose the type of work you do or business you own. Your values and vision, the customers you serve, the people you work with, the products and services you offer, and the service and prices at which they’re offered.

Are you conscious about how you respond to what occurs throughout your day or do you 'go with the flow' and hope for the best?

For many people, habits are choices that you don’t evaluate. Buying that cup of coffee, not working out, or letting an email determine the direction of your day are all examples of negative habits that most likely resulted from unconscious choices.

But the problem that so many have with applying a conscious approach, is the level of noise that surrounds them.

So where do you start in turning the volume down? Simple... STOP.

In today’s world more than ever before we're all travelling through our days with this incredible speed, and rarely do we stop long enough to allow our true potential to be found or even worse, to allow ourselves the opportunity to dream, to grow and become clear on who we are and where we want to go.

The Attention Schema Theory (AST), suggests that consciousness arises as a solution to one of the most fundamental problems facing any nervous system: too much information constantly flows in to be fully processed.

Taking regular intervals of 'time out' throughout your day is crucial to your development towards consciousness and your overall successes.

Begin by allocating time in your daily schedule and make it a high priority. You may work for 50 minutes and take 10 out. It may feel pointless at the start, but by the end of the day you'll begin to notice a significant difference to your energy levels, your attitude and your approach to the other tasks that need to be accomplished.

Giving yourself those regular intervals provides for a dip in your stress levels, it clears the fog, and allows you to see the events for what they really are; and more importantly, it allows you to manage them with appropriate choices of action that are now not backed with a whole heap of raging emotions or bad habits for that matter.

Improving your performance or being successful isn't just about having a clever strategy or investing your money in the right stocks, or ensuring that you're fuelled with knowledge and skill.

Sure your actions ultimately produce the results, but knowing which action to take is another thing. How do you know which strategy to take or what the best investment is? We all read and all have skill, but what knowledge and skills do you need to move you forward? When we grow consciously, our actions match our values and intentions and become the vehicles that take us to our greatness and defined successes.

We've kicked the year of with good intentions… NOW LET'S BE REAL!

Think back to this time last year, it most likely began the same way right?

You may have set yourself some Health Goals, Relationships Goals, Wealth Goals, Career & Business Goals, you know the ones where you promise yourself that this time it's going to be different!

But then 2 - 3 months in, very mysteriously the excitement and focus towards your goals and dreams has now just disappeared. All of a sudden you are back to mere survival mode, ground hog day and probably even using the words "I'll start fresh again tomorrow or next week", but 'that' day just never seems to come.

Everything becomes a challenge again, we fall back into old habits because we are not seeing results instantly, we become burnt out because we're trying too hard, etc.

So why is it that many of us know what we want, we even know what we have to do to get it, but fail in the struggle towards obtaining it?

Firstly I have no doubt that it's not from lack of trying, but the problem with effort is that if it's not controlled and made into an actionable habit then simply, it just won't happen.

See, we do most of our thinking and decision making through our subconscious mind, every now and then logic (our conscious mind) will step in to make you reason… but 9 /10 times your emotions will win… These emotions make the calls on your actions / behaviors and come from a long line of habits formed from experiences.

They don't care about what the current situation is or long term result will be, they just know what is familiar.

It's time to train your conscious mind a little harder… why? The benefits are not only outstanding and sustainable but contribute to allowing you to achieve those goals.

LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN! So where do you start? Let's be clear on what conscious really means, many misinterpret this as mindfulness, and adopt meditation type of activities into their lives, but it's more than just this. I often smile when someone tells me they've bought a mindfulness colouring-in book, as this is a great activity to bring in your focus on a single task, but I actually believe it brings you into more of a meditative state of mind opposed to teaching real 'awareness'.

So here's a few simple activities to begin building your conscious mind…

5 Pillars to Growing Consciousness

Be in the moment.

Yes, it’s that simple. How many times have you been driving and all of a sudden you arrive at your destination with no recollection of passing certain land marks along the way; or when you're having a conversation with someone and you're becoming lost amongst all the words, because your mind is elsewhere? Sorry to say but this screams of not being present in the moment. We mentioned this as being the number one treatment for breaking excuses, 'mindfulness', BE IN THE MOMENT.

Try it! Set yourself the disciplined task of doing one thing at a time, and hone in on the detail of each. Multitasking, although we believe we have to some days, has actually been proven to bring less productivity. As the Zen proverb goes: when walking, walk, when eating, eat.

Listen to your reaction.

Be more interested in your reaction than in 'who' triggered it. It's at this very moment that choice kicks in on how we manage the situation. Learn to accept your feelings, and take what you need to learn from them. Fighting your emotions only brings power to your subconscious, and sends it into 'fight' or 'flight' mode. Appreciate every experience, and focus on the fact that whatever it offers in that moment is something to be conscious and present for.

Try it! Take note the next time an event occurs that results in a negative feeling. Instead of reacting negatively, ask yourself the question, "What have I learnt from this?"

Self Compassion.

Raising your consciousness is not a serious mission, as I mentioned earlier it's a growth experience. It's important to remember that we are only human, and the super capes that many of us believe we have to wear, is merely a mindset to not accepting defeat. But in reality 'we don't win them all', and it's important to give ourselves the respect of knowing this. On the other hand when we do make a come back, remember it's equally important to reward ourselves.

Try it! The next time you feel challenged, consider the last time you felt like this and overcame it. Think of how great that feeling was and allow it to keep moving you forward.

Barefoot Approach.

This is a term I use towards becoming more grounded. Learn to detach yourself from labels or identifying your happiness, or your definition of success, through comparison. You have to let go of framing your idea of what 'should be'; it’s the only way to genuinely accept 'what is'. Don't become reliant on others or materialistic objects to define you, your abilities and what truly brings you fulfilment.

Try it! The next time you get a quiet moment consider your most prized possession and how it would make you feel if you were to lose it. Consider what is making you so attached to it, is it the 'item'

itself or the effort that it took to obtain it?

Gratitude.

Your personal growth is not a means to an end. It's an eternal experience full of adventures, the good and the bad and all of which we should be grateful for. As Astronaut, Edward Gibson said "You see how diminutive your life and concerns are compared to other things in the universe. The result is that you enjoy the life that is before you, it allows you to have inner peace."

Try it! We have all heard about gratitude journals before, and I totally understand that it's not everyone's thing. So if this is you, try to practice every time you hit the shower (I'm assuming and hoping this is daily) to think of 3 people that are in your life, or 3 events that have happened today, that you're grateful for. It's time to give that sweet singing in the shower a little more depth.

Throughout the years I've had the pleasure of working with many high performers in growing their full potential and successes through the power of conscious growth.

Every choice that was made and actioned was done to purposely improve their personal character, performance and greater purpose. And it all started with each individual having the ability to be clear on 'who' they were, 'where' they wanted to go and 'why'.

There was never a moment of doubt, and nor did I ever hear an excuse arise, even in the most challenging of times. They had all learnt the ability to remain at a level of consciousness that allowed them to remain focused, yet driven by passion in their way of contribution.

This level of consciousness enriched not only their professional careers, but their whole life.

Being 'great' or achieving success isn't just about having a clever strategy or investing your money in the right stocks, or ensuring that you're fuelled with knowledge and skill.

Sure your actions ultimately produce the results, but knowing which action to take is another thing. How do you know which strategy to take or what the best investment is? We all read and all have skill, but what knowledge and skills do you need to move you forward? When we grow consciously, our actions match our values and intentions and become the vehicles that take us to our greatness and defined successes.

You can read more about the benefits and how to achieve your greatness in 'The Conscious Brand'

references:

'The Conscious Brand' by Jo Brand

https://www.jobrand.com.au/the-conscious-brand-book

Can you have it all and be leaping for more? YES. I am here to not just tell you, but to show you!

We have all been raised to look at ‘TIME’ as a measure for productivity, but when it comes to human performance time becomes irrelevant. You can allocate an hour to respond to a few emails, but unless you are in the right ‘state of mind’ this becomes the longest hour of the day and a difficult task at that. Here’s the tip: You are driven by energy not time and just like a vehicle, you need regular maintenance and fuelling to keep you performing at an optimum level. If you can imagine driving to work in the morning and noticing the fuel gauge is low... do you stop to fill it? or take a chance? Those who take an extra 5 mins out to fill up, are guaranteed to reach the destination, yes maybe 5 minutes late, but alternatively it could result in hours. We need to become conscious of our energy levels and act on them to ensure that we can perform our best. But unlike our vehicles we don’t have a fuel gauge to indicate this, so what are some ways we can identify that our performance is lagging?

TOP 10 SIGNALS

• You find yourself driving from A to B and can’t remember how you got there.

• You begin to drift your thoughts away from the task at hand and into planning the weekend.

• Your biggest problem to solve for the day is what your having for lunch.

• Your more interested in what one of your Facebook Friends are up to than what the afternoon goals are.

• You find yourself engaging in conversations about the Bachelor series, worse if you instigate the conversation.

• It takes you an hour to read a simple one page document and another hour to decipher it.

• You’ve used the words I can’t wait for the day to be over and it’s only 2pm.

• You find yourself saying ‘YES’ without hearing the question, just so you can go back to planning the weekend.

• Dinner becomes a beer, a glass of wine and what ever is microwavable.

• You become excited about going to bed, thinking you‘ll ‘catch up on it’ tomorrow.

I think we’ve all experienced these times but it’s important to become conscious in noticing these types of signs and become active in counteracting them.

Where do you start? From the moment you wakeup!

You can't get back time, but you can regain energy.

ENERGY= PRODUCTIVE TIME

Today most likely, you’re part of the 80 percent of 18- to 44-year-olds who check their smartphones. A study from IDC Research reveals that we check our mobile devices within 15 minutes of waking up each morning.

The problem with jumping right into our inboxes and notifications is that it steers your morning off-course. Worse, a negative email can slip you into a reactionary state and eventually you’ll enter a downward spiral of lost productivity.

When you wake up, stay clear of tasks that require low cognitive capacity. Instead, use those two golden hours to prepare yourself mentally, emotionally and physically, followed by your most difficult task or passion project.

Why rising early is beneficial?

Research at the University of Roehampton in Britain highlighted the benefits of getting up early. Dr Jürg Huber told the British Daily Telegraph: "There are morning people and evening people, and morning people tend to be healthier and happier as well as having lower body mass indices."

In 2010, Christoph Randler, a biology professor at the University of Education at Heidelberg, found that early risers were more proactive and more likely to spend time identifying long-term goals. This research also found that this proactivity leads to a feeling of being more in control, which can aid feelings of confidence.

But do we have to get up a 5am?

This poses concerns for those who work shift work, but if you look at your body clock and adjust it accordingly you can still achieve the same results. 5am to 7am is the marked time for most healthy morning routines as it's within this time that you are less likely to get distractions. I understand however that this doesn’t fit everyone’s schedule and therefore the answer is no, BUT, what does matter is what you do with the first hours that you wake.

How much sleep are you having?

On average we need between 7 - 9 hours of sleep a day according to The National Sleep Foundation. Below is a chart based on the National Sleep Foundation’s recommendations on the amount of sleep that you should be getting.

How to get out of bed early.

The biggest obstacle to rising early is that people haven't gone to bed on time the night before. So at 5am or 6am we are still tired. Chronic sleep deprivation just doesn't work. Try moving your bedtime and wake-up time by about 15 minutes each week until you reach the desired time. If you have trouble getting into bed on time, try setting a 'bedtime alarm' about 30 minutes before you need to be asleep, so you can turn off the screens, relax, connect with your spouse / partner and hit the pillow when you intend to.

Stay calm

Inability to get to sleep, stimulants and over-thinking are two of the biggest culprits for drifting off to sleep peacefully. No caffeine after lunch and make the bedroom a 'no worry' zone. This means that as soon as you get into bed, you do not allow yourself to worry or think about what you need to do tomorrow. Instead focus on something great that’s happened throughout your day. It's really important to be in a positive state before we go to sleep so that we can then wake up early feeling refreshed.

Work out your morning goals

Get 100% clear about why you want to get up early. Take two minutes to note down exactly what you want to achieve the next morning and in what order you will complete each task or activity. Then immediately before you go to sleep, remind yourself why you will be getting up early. If you do this, you'll notice that when you do wake up, you're more likely to remember what your 'morning schedule' is and be motivated to get up instead of going back to sleep. Make waking up early a reward. Yes, it might seem at first that you’re forcing yourself to do something hard, but if you make it pleasurable, soon you will look forward to waking up early, keep the benefits at the the front of your mind.

Fall in love with your Alarm Clock.

Most of us have some type of an alarm to wake us. If your alarm is right next to your bed or even worse on you, you’ll undoubtedly be more inclined to shut it off or hit snooze. By moving your alarm away from reach will mean that you will have to physically get up to reach for it. By then, you’re up and moving.

There's no denying though that some alarm sounds seem more torturous than others. Research shows that sound can effect our mood, so with increasing options for customizing how your alarm dings or beeps, the suggestion here is to select a tone or song that stimulates your bio rhythms.

Music psychologist David M. Greenberg of the University of Cambridge and City University of New York in collaboration with Spotify released a 20-track playlist of some of the most effective music to help sleep button addicts actually wake up. All the tracks follow a specific sonic profile that allows one to ease out of bed slowly and motivate them for the day far more effectively than any alarm clock.

Here are the top 10 suggestions of songs to wakeup to.

Playlist

Viva La Vida - Coldplay

Elevate - St Lucia

Downtown - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Grandmaster Melle Mel

Lovely Day - Bill Withers

Wake Me Up - Radio Edit

Can't Sleep Love - Pentatonix

Come and Get it - John Newman

Ain't Nobody - Felix Jaehn, Jasmine Thompson

On Top Of The World - Imagine Dragons

Hit the Quan - iLoveMemphis

Wake up with the Sunrise.

Did you know sleeping with your curtains or blinds fully or partly open can help you wake up easier? The daylight stimulates your body clock, helping you enter a lighter phase of sleep, making it much easier to wake up.

Keep a glass of water and apple by your bed.

Scientific studies show that water makes you more alert. This is a way better reach than the snooze button. Leave a glass of water beside your bed and when you begin to wake, drink it! You will find that your cognitive performance will begin to liven up. The same applies to an Apple. Science shows us that apples contain13 grams of sugar, including fast-acting sucrose and glucose, forming a healthier alternative to caffeine. By taking even just a few bites you’re fuelling your body ready for the mornings physical activities.

Stick to a routine.

Try and ensure that you wake around the same time each day, this means 7 days a week to programme your body clock into naturally waking up. You'll be surprised at how much more enjoyable your 'time off' can be by doing this.

The 7 most effective Practices to implement when you wakeup.

Let’s approach this logically and in a ‘real way’ ( be conscious), as this is where many other programs become ‘too hard’ leaving many to fall back into bad habits. Everyone is different, there is not one person the same, in terms of how their mind, body functions or even down to their goals and within their home environments. So become mindful when you read through these practices to implement them to work for you, not what may have been successful for someone else. We all have the ability to perform at high levels and to succeed beyond expectations, but you MUST stay focused, be persistent, and consistent with the practice of these. You will notice dramatic results within the first 3 days. In order to measure this, we have designed a graph to assist you to track your progress. having the ability to become more conscious in your choices, to be able to focus on the tasks that move you forward with energy, is OUR GOAL!

FUEL YOUR PRIME TIME.

Below is a table to assist you to monitor your progress. Complete this for at least two weeks to see both where your energy is heightened and lagging. For example, if you notice that after lunch is the time where you struggle most, you will be able to identify if it was from lack of sleep, nutrition or physical exercise. You’ll then be able to implement strategies to avoid this. Likewise, if you notice that you have very high energy levels between 10-12pm you will be able to schedule those tasks that require more focus and commitment.

Continue to monitor your sleep, nutritional intake and physical activity to ensure that you are receiving the right amounts and that these areas are not contributing towards your lack of energy. Emotional stress can also zap your energy levels. Take note of your emotions and those you’re associating with. Tasks such as speaking at a conference may appear overwhelming and as a result you will find your energy drained once it’s over. The only way to solve this, is to fix the core of the problem, in this example it would be overcoming fear of public speaking. Additionally if your associating with peer groups that are demanding of your time, or are always negative or problem seekers, it’s time to say goodbye, and surround yourself with others that provide an equal amount of give and take.

Join me for Part two '7 Practices'. LIVEYOURGREATNESS .