Top teams and high performers figure out the science of human letdown. They recognize the desire to relieve the tension of pressure, especially following a surge of effort. Rather than trying to sustain full energy at all times, they finesse each moment to deliver whatever exertion is needed for that instant. There is always a pace, even if it’s not always a sprint.
When Meb Keflezighi won the Boston Marathon in 2014, he strategically broke into a short sprint at a street corner where a building blocked the view of his competitors for a few precious seconds. When his opponents rounded the corner, Meb had gained visible distance from the pack thus gaining a mental edge that carried him to the finish line.
Harvard’s Mind/Body Medical Institute has studied the phenomenon of sustained performance for decades. In his book, The Breakout Principle, Herbert Benson outlines four stages of mind and body transformation that unfold as we move from tension to resolution:
- Engage in hard mental and physical struggle. For a business person, this may be an extended period of concentration, analysis, or problem-solving. For an athlete, it might be demanding physical workout or the effort to mount a comeback.
- Pull the “breakout trigger.” Once the struggle has peaked, we let go, back off, and release our minds and bodies from the hard-work mode. This causes a molecular change in our biology.
- Activate a peak experience. After a “breakout” (letting go), the human body rejuvenates to produce creative insights, renewed energy, and elevated performance. A greater sense of well-being and relaxation follows.
- Return to a new normal state. The game or engagement continues but the team enjoys greater capacity. The experience of overcoming struggle has generated new abilities. The intense labor requires a reboot. The reboot activates new awareness. The refreshed vision lifts performance.
Sometimes the best way to gain new perspective is to walk away. That’s difficult to accomplish in the middle of competition. High performing teams do this while in motion. They learn to recognize the value of struggle, know exactly when to dial it down, re-engage with fresh insight, and grow their power. These teams always know where they are in the game, why they are in that stage, and precisely what to do about it.
