3 Easy Steps to Cultivate Peak Performance

2011, David CH Park. All rights reserved. 6215 Monitor St. Pittsburgh, PA 15217 866-247-4763 This document may not be reproduced in part or whole without the express written authorization of David CH Park. This document is protected by copyright and is distributed under license restricting use, copy, distribution and dispersal. This report is provided free of charge and is intended for educational purposes only. For more information please go to www.dchpark.com.

Cover illustration titled, Rotated Triangle, by Alain Matthes, http://www.texample.net/tikz/examples/rotated-triangle/, accessed 19 APR 11.

3 Easy Steps to Cultivate Your Peak Performance

Executive Summary
The Inner Smile is an internal reservoir of serenity and solitude that cannot be touched by outside forces. It is a personal connection with creativity and insight. As such, it leads directly to and is intimately linked with peak performance. The Inner Smile is a resource of huge value and importance. It provides metaphorical breathing room to gain perspective and clarity. It allows you to stay focused rather than letting external goals, concerns, and timetables distract you and cause stress. Three keys to cultivating the Inner Smile perspective are (in everyday terms): (1) breath; (2) mindfulness; and (3) diligence. The Complete Breath goes all the way down into your lower abdomen. Most people use only the upper 1/7 of their lung capacity. Witness Consciousness is being aware of the things that come up and observing yourself thinking or feeling them. It is pure awareness. No value judgments are made. Notice your thoughts and emotions and then let them float by. Regular, preferably daily, practice of the Complete Breath and the Witness Consciousness is the final key. Perseverance is critical. With practice, awareness is strengthened and dropping into a peak experience becomes a conscious choice. Commit to doing the practice for thirty days and be open to discovering What they have to offer. They may surprise you. For more information, go to http://www.dchpark.com/.

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3 Easy Steps to Cultivate Your Peak Performance Executive Summary.............................................................................................................3 What They Dont Teach in School......................................................................................5 The Inner Smile................................................................................................................5 The Power of Peak Performance......................................................................................5 3 Keys to Cultivating Peak Performance.............................................................................6 Breathing..........................................................................................................................6 Witness Consciousness....................................................................................................7 Daily Practice...................................................................................................................8 Summary and Conclusion....................................................................................................9 Appendix............................................................................................................................10

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3 Easy Steps to Cultivate Your Peak Performance

What They Dont Teach in School

The Inner Smile The roadrunner from the old Warner Bros. cartoons is one of my favorite illustrations of the Inner Smile. He is simply and clearly enjoying himself. Running down the roads just his idea of having fun. Meanwhile, the coyote strives to capture him. All of the genius, planning, expense, and struggle that the coyote undertakes only leads to more frustration and suffering for the coyote. The roadrunner is never caught. That roadrunner definitely reflects the Inner Smile. Also known as a peak experience, the Inner Smile is the sense of freedom and light that you get when things are flowing well and youre having a good time. Opportunities present themselves and goals are met almost effortlessly. A man once said that he was wary whenever things went well because he expected that they would turn bad. The better things were, the more he would worry. Naturally, this made him tense and apprehensive. He couldnt relax and enjoy himself, especially when things were going well. With such a belief, success would be elusive indeed. Joseph Campbell, the influential philosopher and mythologist, said, "Follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be. If you follow your bliss, doors will open for you that wouldn't have opened for anyone else." The power that Campbell spoke of is characteristic of a peak performance. Things become easy that are normally impossible. This reflects a sense of deep joy and peace that characterizes the Inner Smile. The Power of Peak Performance We are trained to believe that happiness is a by-product of success. The more things and experiences we can afford the more luxuries we can buy the happier we are supposed to be. Recent research from psychology and sociology show that this is actually backward the happier we are, the more successful we are. When we are at peace, we have the internal space to focus on what is important and let go of less important things. We gain a degree of purpose. We gain clarity and focus. Our stress levels drop. We become imperturbable,

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3 Easy Steps to Cultivate Your Peak Performance Greater clarity and focus allow us to achieve more. As less important matters cease to interrupt our concentration, we can accomplish more in less time since we dont have to constantly waste time and energy changing tracks. There are any number of examples of this phenomenon in athletics (although it is certainly not limited to athletics). One of my favorite illustrations is from the Disney film The Rookie, which is based on a true story. Jimmy Morris was a high school chemistry teacher and baseball coach who was challenged by his team to try out for the major leagues. As a young man, hed washed out of the majors with a shoulder injury. To everyones surprise, he threw harder and faster than as a young man. He was drafted as a pitcher. When he walked up to the pitchers mound in his first major league game, his focus was so complete, he didnt hear the crowd. His family, friends, and students had all come out to see him play. The stadium was full of people and chaos. Yet so great was his clarity and calmness that he only heard the dirt as it crunched under his cleats and the rhythm of his own breathing. This is an excellent portrayal of a peak experience. How does such a peak experience feel? There is a sense of inner calm that is inviolable. Your ability to focus is nearly superhuman. You feel a sense of serenity and joy that springs from a deep sense of who and what you are. In a word, you are happy. When you are happy with who you are and what you are doing you are more effective in your job and others enjoy working with you more. Thus, your degree of happiness does indeed determine your level of success. Being happy having the Inner Smile leads to greater effectiveness and success.

3 Keys to Cultivating Peak Performance

Breathing Breathing is one of the most important life processes in our bodies. Its rhythm underlies and influences not only how we feel individually but how others feel around us and even how they feel about us. It is used by orators to affect crowds and by actors to get into the emotional flow of a scene. For example, if a particular scene calls for anger, an actor might deliberately change his breathing pattern in order to create the feeling of anger. The performance of an actor who portrays a particular emotion without the appropriate breathing pattern will seem unconvincing and forced. We each have very specific breathing patterns that are characteristic for each emotional state. Thus, anger and passion have different breathing patterns. If you interrupt this breathing pattern and substitute a different one, say for quiet

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3 Easy Steps to Cultivate Your Peak Performance contemplation, the anger or passion will fade. It is impossible to sustain an emotional state without the associated breathing pattern. Breathing is both an automatic process and one we can consciously control. It is unique in this respect. It is therefore one of the most important keys to your inner life. Becoming conscious of your breath is one of the surest and most powerful ways to connect with and control your inner equilibrium. Yet, on average, adults use only about 1/7 of their lung capacity, typically the upper parts of their lungs toward the front of the chest. Actors, singers, and speakers are trained to use their whole lung capacity, so should we all. Observe an infant breathing, especially when it is sleeping. I have a friend who says that she used to love watching her grandchildren when they were babies. Their breathing was slow and measured. They would breathe deeply into their bodies all the way down into their butts! Breathe like an infant naturally and deeply. With practice, your breathing pattern will change to be more complete and relaxed on a regular basis. Witness Consciousness The second key is the Witness Consciousness. Being the witness is simply a choice. It is effortless. Do not try to force your mind to be still. If thoughts or feelings arise, simply notice them the way you might notice a gentle breeze in the tall grass. Simply notice the thoughts and feelings that come up. Observe yourself thinking or feeling them. Whatever the thoughts or feelings are, maintain a non-judgmental attitude. Release any attachment you may have to any perceived meaning. Release attachment to any desired (or unwanted) outcome. Release all context for it. Be an interested, uninvolved observer. Notice how, as a witness to your thoughts and feelings, it is possible to allow them to drift past you, like clouds in the sky. Surrender to whatever is there and witness yourself in it. In being the witness you immediately and effortlessly create space. Although in the past you may have become completely engrossed in the thought or feeling, now, as the witness, you are no longer completely wrapped up in it. It no longer contains you or defines or limits your possible responses or actions. This is not a prescription for detachment or alienation. In fact, it is the exact opposite. Before we can truly release something we have to experience it. We have to be done with it. It is simply that as the witness, we have more room to be ourselves while thinking and feeling, so we are less likely to get lost in the thought or feeling.

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3 Easy Steps to Cultivate Your Peak Performance One final note about practicing non-judgment. There are two different types of judgment and I am sometimes asked about this. The type of judgment that we refrain from is the type when we make someone or something good or bad, right or wrong, or better or worse. The other type of judgment is one in which we distinguish between different possibilities. This type of judgment is also called discernment and perhaps that is a better way to think of it. We judge (or discern) that the chair is not a table. This type of judgment is necessary to function in the world. The other type of judgment, in which we make things or people good, bad, right, or wrong, is not. Daily Practice John D. Rockefeller said, I do not think there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature. This neatly summarizes the third key. Make a conscious choice to practice complete breathing and witness consciousness on a regular basis. Then do it. If daily practice is too much at first, decide on a frequency that does work for you. Set aside a specific time in which you can practice, perhaps early mornings or just before going to bed. Even 15 minutes a day will make a huge difference over time. Eventually, the practice of breathing completely and being the witness will become second nature. You will begin to notice when you become stressed or frustrated during the day. Then, instead of automatically reacting out of stress, frustration, or anger, youll have the option to make a different choice. You are not your thoughts or your emotions. You will find that the practice of breathing into the situation and witnessing your process will provide space for greater clarity and as you are less attached to your thoughts and emotions youll be free to focus on what is most important. With continued practice, you will find that you can even choose the option of stepping out of drama and dropping into a peak experience. These might seem like impossible goals as you read them, but dont forget the power of perseverance. Consider hiking in a lush valley and coming to the base of a huge mountain. Stretching far above, the rocky peak disappears in the clouds. Ridges and crevasses mar the slopes. Sheer cliffs and huge boulders seem to block every possible route to the top. Then you notice that way up the slope, about halfway to the peak, there are people climbing. One happens to look around, sees you in the valley, and waves. You think that its impossible to get there from where you are standing. Perhaps they came from the other side of the mountain or maybe they were air lifted.

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3 Easy Steps to Cultivate Your Peak Performance In spite of the apparent difficulty, you decide to see what might be down the trail. You fall into a rhythm, head down, simply putting one foot in front of the other. Some time later, you notice the air has changed. Its fresher, sweeter smelling. Its invigorating. Later still perhaps a circling hawk cries. You look up. You realize with a shock that you are on the same ridge that you saw earlier when you were down in the valley. You search the valley, looking for the spot you started from and find it. Theres someone there, looking up at you! You wave and then turn back to your climbing one step at a time. Great things are achieved one step at a time. In exactly this way, regular practice will make a huge difference for you over time, allowing you to develop extraordinary clarity and focus.

Summary and Conclusion

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. - Herman Cain It is unfortunate, but true that many of the keys to success and happiness in life are not taught in school. Chief among these are that happiness leads to success, that we can cultivate ourselves to be happy, and the tools we can use to do so. Three keys to self cultivation are: (1) Breath; (2) Witness Consciousness; and (3) Daily Practice. As the practice unfolds, several benefits accrue including: greater calm; internal space to breathe and think; a sense for where distracting thoughts and feelings come from; and greater clarity and focus. One man reported that as a result of using the simple techniques presented here, in addition to greater clarity and focus at work, he began to sleep better and had more vivid dreams. As with many of the most powerful truths, these are very simple. However, simple as they may be, the benefits of applying them can be huge. The price is a little commitment and an openness to discovering new things. Do the practice for thirty days. See what it does for you. If you have further questions or you would like to investigate further work, please contact me at info@InnerSmileSuccess.com. Attend a workshop, or signup for the announcement list for forthcoming home study courses at www.InnerSmileSuccess.com.

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3 Easy Steps to Cultivate Your Peak Performance

Appendix
Amble, Brian, Happiness is the key to success, http://www.managementissues.com/2006/8/24/research/happiness-is-the-key-to-success.asp. Fowler, James H. and Christakis, Nicholas A., Dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network: Longitudinal analysis over 20 years in the Framingham Heart Study, BMJ, 337, a2338, 2008, http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/337/dec04_2a2338. His Holiness The Dalai Lama and Cutler, Howard, The Art of Happiness, Riverhead Books, New York, NY, 1998. Lutz, Antoine, Greischar, Lawrence L., Rawlings, Nance B., Ricard, Matthieu, and Davidson, Richard J., Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice, PNAS, November 16, 2004, Vol. 101, No. 46, 16369-16373. Lyubomirsky, Sonja, King, Laura, and Diener, Ed, The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Happiness Lead to Success?, Psychological Bulletin, 2005, Vol. 131, No. 6, 803-855. Nauert, Rick, Genetic Link to Happiness, http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/03/05/genetic-link-to-happiness/2003.html. Nauert, Rick, Happiness Enhances Health, http://psychcentral.com/news/2006/11/07/happiness-enhances-health. Siahpush, M., Spittal M., Singh, G. J., Happiness and life satisfaction prospectively predict self-rated health, physical health, and the presence of limiting, long-term health conditions, American Journal of Health Promotion, 23(1), 2008. Veenhoven, et al., Healthy happiness: effects of happiness on physical Health and the consequences for preventive health care, Journal of Happiness Studies, 2008, 9(3).

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