High achievers spend a great deal of time preparing for performance. The spartan proverb, “he who sweats more in training bleeds less in war” sums it up nicely. Better performance comes from better training.

Yet so many of us turn up every day without preparation. Modern culture promotes a view that turning up is what it is all about – being there is how we succeed, how we progress. We’ve built a world of expectation for mediocrity.

To avoid mediocrity in our performance and in our lives we have to prepare to do more, give more, perform better.

Preparation involves five different elements:

1. Knowledge. Having the background, the insights and the information to perform each day’s tasks is a foundation. To arrive without understanding the expectations of performance, the detailed knowledge of what to do, is effectively setting out to underperform. It also leads to stress, anxiety and depression. Identifying knowledge gaps is essential and, once identified, seeking out support to fill those gaps is part of the process of preparation.
2. Skills. Having the mental knowledge supports the ability to complete any task. To have the skill is to be able to put that knowledge into practice and perform. Many skills come from repetition, from practice. To hone a skill we must also review our practice and identify how we can improve, where we can be better.
3. Mindset. With the right knowledge and the right skills we can still underperform if we are in the wrong mood. Taking our time to develop the right routines, processes and rituals helps us get ready to perform. There are a variety of methods used by high achievers and these include listening to music, time outdoors, exercise, mindfulness and even mantras and rituals led by personal superstitions. The benefit of any of these is that they can change the state of mind, get us in the mood to deliver our best performance.
4. Health. Looking after our health enables us to stay effective. Whether we are getting ready for a physical activity or a day at a desk, we know that we will perform poorly if we aren’t well. We should be maintaining our physical fitness and thinking about nutrition to keep us in shape for our performance in life as well as in work. It also helps with mindset and energy – two key components of preparation.
5. Energy. Regardless of what we are preparing for, we have to ensure that we have the stamina to complete what we are expecting to do. We have to ensure that we have had enough sleep, eaten the right food and that we are adequately hydrated. We also should consider nutrition and hydration during performance, making sure that we maintain energy levels. We recommend being wary of energy drinks, foods and supplements unless absolutely necessary and only used occasionally. Proper sleep, nutrition and hydration is the way to go.

Preparation is not just for the big events. Preparation should be a part of every day. To get the best out of life we need to put our best into life. We should transfer the expectations we have of our employers, partners, teammates, friends, of our lives, onto expectations of ourselves. And to meet our own expectations we should prepare.