Elite performance is fluid

Most people believe high performers are different because they have more energy.

They’re not.

They carry pressure.

They work long hours.

They make difficult decisions.

They face uncertainty.

The real difference isn’t how much energy they have.

It’s how quickly and cleanly they move between states.

You don’t have to always be “on” to achieve high performance.

In fact, that would be counterproductive.

Instead, focus on improving how well you transition between tasks and states.

Sounds simple enough. But the skill of transitioning makes the difference between consistent high performance and gradually burning out.

We’ve been taught to associate excellence with constant intensity.

But when you stay activated for too long, you overload your nervous system.

That’s true in even the highest performers among us. 

Many of us learn the lesson that we have limits early in life.

I was an aspiring professional football player until I was 18. Frequent injuries taught me that the body has physical limits, and that pushing more only made things worse. 

I had to learn to recover more and better if I wanted any hope of playing at my best.

But even when we know the importance of recovery on a logical level, we can forget to practice it in daily life. It’s not always as simple as resting your body after a big game.

If you feel exhausted after working hard, it likely isn’t about the work itself.

Most exhaustion comes from things like bringing yesterday’s pressure into today, staying stressed when the task is over, and never being fully present where you are.

You may stop working, but your nervous system doesn’t.

And never fully leaving work isn’t a badge of honour.

It’s an energy leak that needs addressing.

From the outside, it may look like high performers are always high energy.

Really, they’re efficient at moving through several energy states.

Think of energy as moving across 4 zones:

- Active + Positive energy- focused, engaged, creative

- Active + Negative energy - pressured, urgent, in overdrive

- Passive + Negative energy - depleted, numb, disengaged

- Passive + Positive energy - calm, restored, grounded

These zones are all part of a normal life.

Problems emerge when we get stuck in the wrong zone for too long.

So the goal isn’t to try and stay in the “best” state.

It’s to get better at moving between states as demands change.

That’s what elite performers do differently.

Energy mastery = fluidity.

Top performers know when to push, when to release, when to recover, and when to re-engage.

They respect energy as a finite, rhythmic resource, not something to extract endlessly.

My course, Inner Edge, can help you work on identifying and transitioning between your energy zones. If you want a guided approach to this inner work, find more information here.

High performers know how to move between the right states at the right time.

Here are the 3 transitions that matter most:

1. From stress to calm

This is the hardest transition for most ambitious people.

After completing a task, or after things like meetings, deadlines, conflict, or high-stakes decisions.

The work may be over, but the body stays activated.

Elite performers know how to release the pressure when it’s no longer needed, slow down the system, and return to center instead of carrying stress forward.

They recognise stress as a tool, not a permanent state. When stress lingers, they can see the leakage and work to fix it before burning out.

2. From calm to performance

This is an equally underrated skill.

Many people either:

- Stay calm but never fully engage.

- Or jump into performance that is driven by anxiety and urgency.

Elite performers can enter intensity deliberately.

They shift from calm energy into focused energy and can channel energy where needed.

3. From depleted to actual recovery

This is where most people fail.

They confuse stopping with recovering.

They take a break and distract themselves with scrolling or numb themselves with guilty pleasures.

Elite performers, on the other hand, know the difference between rest that restores and rest that merely postpones fatigue.

True recovery means allowing the system to decompress fully.

And this also means recognising that you can’t rush the recovery phase, but need to be strategic about rest.

One of the most underestimated energy drains isn’t even about work or intensity, it's about what I call open loops. The human brain can’t rest if it’s stuck in an open loop.

Open loops are things like unfinished conversations, uncertain decisions, lingering tension, or tasks that are technically done, but not psychologically closed.

If you feel tired on lighter days, this could be why.

Something got left unresolved, even if just in your mind.

In life, unfinished tasks and ongoing pressure are inevitable. So this isn’t a matter of tidying every loose end before you rest.

Elite performers are simply far more intentional about psychological closure. 

They understand that the nervous system needs a sense of completion to release. And that constant low-grade activation erodes energy.

This is also why transitions matter more than volume. 

You can work a long day and feel surprisingly intact.

Or you can work a short shift and feel completely drained.

You have to find ways to tell your nervous system that it’s safe to relax and be "off".

Elite performers do this by creating psychological endings. For example, they

- Close loops deliberately instead of carrying them overnight.

- Make clear decisions instead of postponing discomfort.

- Name what’s unresolved instead of pretending it isn’t there.

If those loops remain open, no amount of rest feels restorative. Especially when your nervous system thinks it needs to stay alert until the loop closes.

Work to create a psychological “end” to whatever is asking for attention.

This is how rest becomes truly restful. This is how you regain energy to perform tomorrow.

The most impressive performers are the ones who can move fluidly between states without breaking themselves in the process.

Energy mastery is about transitions and being agile, not forcing your way through life.

Once you see that, high performance stops being a sprint. 

It becomes something you can sustain.

This is exactly the work my program, the Inner Edge, can support you with. If you’re looking for ways you can achieve and sustain peak performance, we’d love to welcome you inside.