We live in a culture obsessed with high performance, especially a culture obsessed that constantly wants to do something.
I have been a part of this reality since l was 16. I remember one moment as I was sitting on the bus to the Volkswagen factory (not to buy a car) to start a summer job. I felt sad, anxious, and afraid about how l will survive and manage to perform in this machine-like environment.
My conclusion was, “Something is wrong with me, I am a failure, but I will hide it until l learn how to perform like Navy Seals.”
Since then, I have dedicated all my time to answering one question: How to perform at a top-notch level. I studied HR, studied abroad, and soon after getting a degree at university, I became a country HR director for a global company. I ran marathons, did extremely long hiking, and then found a job in which I got trained to perform like Navy Seals. And yet I still felt like a fraud.
Then one day, I realized one thing: If I can reliably perform at the Olympic level with a minimum sleep day in – day out, year in – year out, maybe there is no point in finding the answer to my performance question anymore. But, more importantly, I started to understand that there was nothing wrong with me, and I was sound and complete the way I was and the way I wasn’t.
Suddenly, a new world opened up for me: work and performance have become an opportunity to live a life full of self-expression and aliveness.
Ever since this has materialized for me, l could not be more touched and inspired seeing this is possible for every human being.