There’s a perception around high performance.
That once you’ve “figured it out”… you just get on with it.
That you’ve got the answers. The systems. The discipline.
And that’s it.
That’s not how it works.
I spent 14 years in the military having joined the Royal Marines in 2005.
Two years of that in a full-time military rehabilitation centre as a patient, rebuilding myself from the ground up.
Since then, it’s been a constant process.
Not a finish line.
And it’s no different for me than it is for you.
Energy dips.
Body composition fluctuates.
The constant battle with Injuries. (The things they didn’t tell me about in the careers office in 2004!)
Sleep isn’t always where it should be.
Life gets busy.
Kids. Work. Family. Responsibility.
Then there are the quieter ones.
Loss of interest. Low mood. Relying on caffeine a bit more than you should. Avoiding training and exercise when you know you shouldn’t be.
The last couple of months for me haven’t been great.
Fatigue has been there.
Motivation hasn’t.
Then a three-week cold that wiped me out and a honking flare up on my skin on my face.
That’s usually the sign.
Pushing too hard.
Not managing things as well as I should.
So I’ve had to step back.
Reassess.
Look at my time, my habits, my recovery.
Go back to the fundamentals that we talk about every day within Warrior Wellness Movement.
“High performance isn’t about never dropping off. It’s about recognising it early when you do.”
This is the bit most specialists don’t talk about.
Because it’s not as appealing.
It’s not linear.
It’s not perfect.
And it’s definitely not easy.
You don’t just learn resilience once and keep it forever.
You have to keep applying it.
The same goes for leadership.
For nutrition.
For recovery.
For everything.
“Knowing what to do is one thing. Actually doing it, consistently, is another.”
And this is where self-awareness comes in.
Because if you don’t notice the drop …
If you ignore the signs …
If you keep pushing regardless …
It bites you in the arse.
Not always in a dramatic way.
Sometimes just in how you show up.
Lower energy. Shorter patience. Less clarity.
Over time, that becomes your new normal.
“Most high performers don’t fail. They just drift away from where they should be.”
That’s why this matters.
Not just for me.
For you.
Because no one is immune to it.
Not leaders. Not business owners. Not high performers.
The difference is whether you’re honest enough to recognise it …
And disciplined enough to do something about it.
So it’s worth asking yourself.
Where are you at right now?
And are you actually doing what you know you should be doing?
Chat soon, Ollie
#HighPerformanceReality #LeadershipAwareness #ExecutiveHealth #SustainedPerformance #SelfAwareness #PerformanceUnderPressure
