Blueprint to Design | REV-UP®

One’s performance is maximized when there is an alignment between what you have willed to be and what you already are. In other words what we already are must serve as the blueprint to what it is we have decided to be and it is when these two mix well that we have found the formula for peak performance. For the best situation to be possible the conditions must be right.

In all the theories put forward by researches and experts in the field, one thing is very clear. People are by default equipped with some capabilities which are what makes them unique from everybody else. No matter how similar we are to others, we are still intricately unique in our own way. We also have certain interests by nature and tend to gravitate towards these interests by default. When we are told to discard these interest as it often happens, an error is created. 

This idea itself is the very upshot of the philosophy of peak performance. Titans of human improvement such as Abraham Maslow puts it in an interesting way when he said in his self actualization theory; we must be more of what we already are in order to self actualize.  This idea itself has been expressed by many others only with varying ways.

But what is the blueprint? One does not need to employ some mystical methodology in order to discover what the blueprint of their life is. It is a simple question of self knowledge, something that is an endless journey that must be pursued by everyone who happens to be interested in being the best that is possible for them. The importance of self knowledge itself cannot be over emphasized but has been unfortunately downplayed by many.

Plato, one of the most illustrious of the Greek philosophical stock was known to have placed great importance on Self Knowledge. He is said to have made it the very first lesson one learnt at his famous academy before the real intellectual journey began. It prepares the student for the real learning and must be taken seriously as it is the very foundation of everything.  

Something similar happens in martial arts when students are told after they have gained a black belt (thinking they have arrived) that their learning has really only just begun and that everything they have learnt in the junior belts was to prepare them for the great learning ahead of them. Ultimately the purpose of their learning will be to know enough in order to contribute something to martial arts so it is better than what it was before one became a part of it. 

Plato’s goal was to create a well informed intellectual who understand themselves first, then the world in which they are goin to function. It is then that  they can decide on the rest. He thought that knowing one’ self was the first step.  It is then that one might be able to understand how they fit in. It is then that one is able to decide what role to play and how to function within this role and what the outcome must be.

In Christian parlance, it is the same as finding the reason and purpose for which God created you and placed you here on earth. It is; understanding what it is you have in your hand and what it can be used for. “What is that in your hand” is the question God asked Moses when he doubted his own capability in relation to the mission to free the Israelites from Egypt- self doubt, something we all experience no matter how sure we are about our mission. The power of the staff in his hands was only revealed when he was asked to put it to work. One only has to read the first five books of the bible to learn about the events that occurred through the staff that Moses didn’t think much of.

Perhaps we can draw some parallels here. A person’s blueprint rest within them and it is hinted by the things they are naturally capable of. It starts from physical characteristics all the way down to natural interest. In fact that the human being is a walking library of information with codes waiting to be deciphered by those who are interested and it is this information that can help them determine what it is they can and must be.

This knowledge of self has a purpose in itself and it tells us how to engage with the world, something that needs to be studied as well. Contrary to what many think the world is not just one thing as we cannot all perceive it the same way. So there is such a thing as your world- a world that revolves around only you and everything in it can only be referred to as “your...”. A world in which you decide who is in it and what role they play. A world in which you decided what is good and what is bad as it is governed by your values.  

In the philosophy of performance, there is a general philosophy for life and a personal philosophy which one must create with which they can engage the world. The alignment of the two is expected to enable peak performance

This is therefore a world that must be designed by us based on the world as it is. Two blueprints show up here. It is the world as we know and understand it and one’s own very nature- his personal blueprint. It is then that a useful design is made possible and in fact rather easy. It is then that we can have a clear meaning for the life we live.

The blueprint must then necessarily influence and align with design and the design must be based on the blue print. The harmony that comes from this alignment is a major influence on the possibility to reach one’s peak as it helps determine what activity to engage in I the first place. One must therefore understand that they have a blueprint built into their very nature and can only have a useful design unless they understand what this blueprint is.

In creating the design however, we have to be careful not to limit ourselves to designing the vehicle and forgetting the destination. This is the great error that comes from a misunderstanding of design. When one is told that they could be anything they want, often it is in reference to what professional they can be. You can be a lawyer if you want. One can be president if they want. One can be 52 billion Dollars rich if they want or be a doctor if they want but that is just a means with no end in sight.

Well, all that is true but a lawyer and the doctor is only a vehicle with which we are to reach a real destination.  It will be a great error to design a life that leads to being a lawyer or even the president of the United States and lacks a mission that president of the United States must accomplish in order to leave this world better that they met it. The design itself must seek to do something with the vehicle as the attainment of the vehicle is only a sub goal of the grand goal.

The vehicle and the destination must all be products of the blueprint as this ensures the alignment that is badly needed to ensure that one does not veer of the road. Having a real destination adds a meaning to life that will be missing if all we have done is create a vehicle. The vehicle only becomes useful when we have a destination in mind and indeed it is the kind of destination that must determine the nature of the vehicle.

Before the architect designs a building, he must first consult with the owner in order to understand what their objectives are. This is because the building itself will be a waste of effort if it does not serve the purpose for which it is to constructed. And so whether it is an office block, a church or a residence, the architect must first learn this from the client, it is then that he can create a design- not just for a building, but a building that does something in particular. It solves a specific problem that the owner intends to solve. This is when the building becomes a only a vehicle and the shelter it provides for its inhabitant and a destination. I should quickly point out here that a building designed as an office might have some challenges serving as a residence. In my work as a performance coach, I see this in the lives of many. 

To be the best we can be or perform at our peak, we must be more of what we already are i.e. have a destination based on the blueprint that rest within us and create the vehicle we need to get there. If at a very advanced stage in our lives we have not done this, it will be a question of realigning all three components and tying the loose ends. Ask me how. REV-UP!