Putting a Lid on Peak Performance for 2026
© Alina.Alina at Adobe.stock
Dr Rana Al-Falaki, globally renowned specialist periodontist and award-winning executive and leadership coach, talked to KIN about setting achievable goals for 2026.
No doubt you have heard the term ‘peak performance’ or ‘high performance’, and it has become a much talked about and popular concept among individuals and businesses. People love the idea of achieving and being super successful! The reality is that peak performance is not sustainable and unless you incorporate all the necessary tools to maintain it, the side effects can be catastrophic. It can lead to poor health, relationship strain, mental illness, low creativity, inability to adapt, low self-esteem, loss of confidence and unhappiness. No one tells you about these aspects when they push you to be successful. The culture is one of striving continually, and yet do you really want to be able to shout from the rooftops how successful you’ve been in business while inside you feel exhausted, isolated, empty and lacking in purpose?
Maybe there are times when you feel trapped, a victim of your own success, always expecting to achieve so highly that if anything isn't perfect, it just isn’t good enough. There are expectations on you that you have to fulfil, and the bar keeps getting higher and higher, but you might just wish you could take a break and backtrack, or sidetrack even - just do something different or differently. But what would people think?
Perhaps you have been the person who has performed so highly that everyone looks to you for answers, for help, for advice. It feels wonderful when people need you and turn to you. There may be times when you are so busy, you want to be there, to help people with their problems, but your own workload is growing by the minute, and yet it’s so hard to refuse people, because they need you.
These are all the negative impacts of high performance. I have lived them myself. The constant and unsustainable nature of peak performance will lead to burnout. Burnout is a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion, where the joy for life is lost and the effort to find it again and succeed seems insurmountable.
The pursuit of peak performance can lead people to take on excessive and unrealistic workloads, keep going for extended hours, or consistently push themselves beyond their limits. This can create a continuous cycle of stress and exhaustion. Achieving peak performance often requires intense focus and dedication. However, basic self-care practices like enough sleep, proper nutrition, exercise and taking time to relax and switch off become all too easy to neglect.
With high performance, it is all too easy to set overly ambitious goals or have unrealistic expectations and put immense pressure on themselves to achieve them. If the expectations aren’t met, it can lead to feelings of failure. Intense focus on peak performance without periodic breaks to enjoy the process, be present in the journey, and find joy in the activity will result in a loss of passion, plus emotional exhaustion. People can even find themselves feeling isolated from social interactions, such is their obsession with pursuing peak performance. Others may not share their obsession, or they prioritise it over their other relations, negatively impacting their mental wellbeing. The result of all this: pure burnout.
At the other extreme, low performance can also lead to burnout. Consistently performing poorly or not meeting expectations can lead to inner frustration. The constant pressure to improve, and the disappointment of not seeing progress can eat away at self-confidence and self-esteem when performance is persistently low. It becomes harder to engage in a positive attitude when that happens. Self-talk becomes increasingly negative, leading to further decline in performance. This constant struggle to achieve leads to chronic stress. Isolation is not uncommon to avoid situations where people feel they might be judged, contributing to feelings of loneliness and depression.
What is the solution then? Peak performance isn’t sustainable and it only leads to isolated success; low performance doesn't bring happiness and results in lack of achievement; both lead to burn out. The solution is Optimal Performance.
Optimal Performance = Making Yourself a Rechargeable Energy Source
It beats peak performance in every aspect - feeling joyful, powerful, happy, engaging in self-care, pursuing health and managing stress effectively. Being confident in who you are, what you stand for, the decisions you make, and not worrying what other people think. It allows you to perform at consistently high and sustainable levels, so that you are productive, happy and balanced all at the same time.
There are six core elements to becoming an optimal performer, which make up the acronym NAIL-IT, which stands for:
Needs
Foundation for success
Understand and use your core drivers. Go beyond surface-level wants to identify what fuels your energy, purpose and fulfilment.
Attitude
Maintain focus
Shift your lens on the world. Develop empowering mindsets that influence your choices, performance and emotional resilience.
Integrity
Stand out from the crowd
Live and lead in alignment. Bridge who you are and how you shop up - authentically, consistently, and purposefully.
Limitless
Effortless leadership
Break through what’s holding you back. Challenge fear, self-doubt and limiting beliefs to unlock radical personal growth.
Intuition
Powerful decision making
Lead from your inner compass. Build clarity and confidence in your decision making by reconnecting with your inner wisdom.
Tangibility
Sustainable transformation
Turn vision into action. Create practical systems, habits and structure to ensure measurable and sustainable shifts and achievements.
Each of these elements is a key that unlocks the potential to experience true joy and success. I spent over forty years of my life doing, achieving as a high performer, success after success but with countless fallouts, including unhappiness, disconnection, failed relationships, divorce and health issues. NAIL-IT was created as a result of recognising that high performance wasn’t all it’s made out to be.
published by Rowanvale books on 26th February 2026