The High Performance Life

By applying techniques for mental toughness, creative problem solving, leadership, and personal effectiveness, Joe Gagnon believes we are all capable of living the High Performance Life where body, mind, and soul come together for a fulfilled life. To read more see the 'About Joe' page.

[thehighperformancelife]

Our whole self

So much of who we are shows up as what we do well or what we need to do for a specific task. We lean hard into our work, our play, our families, our responsibilities, and our goals. Often, in those moments, we show only one dimension of who we are. The worker. The parent. The friend. The athlete. The leader. The helper. The person who gets things done. We focus on being better. We focus on showing up as needed, as expected, as the moment requires. And there is a lot of good in that. It matters to be capable. It matters to be reliable. But there is also a great depth to who we are. It is good for us to remember to bring our whole self to our life. The self that is thoughtful and curious. The self that wants to laugh and chat. The self that needs time alone and wants to be in a crowd. The self that can be serious and silly, focused and playful, strong and tender, ambitious and grateful. The self that is still learning, still becoming, still discovering what is possible. The whole us. That is where life gets richer. That is where we move from being led around by expectation to leading ourselves with intention. That is where we stop shrinking ourselves into one role and start living as the full version of who we are. When we bring our whole self forward, we bring more care to our work, more presence to our relationships, more creativity to our challenges, and more joy to our days. Less concerned with fitting the moment and more committed to meeting it fully. So, let’s make sure to keep the whole of who we are present and ready. Let’s bring all of ourselves to the work, the people, the quiet moments, the hard things, and the beautiful ones, too. This wonderful life we get to live deserves the whole of us. And so do we.

Loving life as my whole self

Joe

[thehighperformancelife]

The current

We see the news. We watch a game. We read an email. We hear about a trend. We open an app, listen to a conversation, follow a thread, and before we know it, we are in a flow, moving in a direction. A current has formed. Maybe it is where we wanted to go. Maybe it is a place we were already interested in exploring. But often, the current is created by the momentum of others, the noise around us, decisions already made without our consideration, and the energy of the moment pulling us along before we have had time to ask whether this is the direction we want to go. It is not necessarily bad to be caught up in a current. They can move us forward, introduce us to new ideas, connect us to people, and carry us into experiences we might not have found on our own. But we should have our own paddle if we find ourselves there. We do not have to resist every current, but we should be aware of the ones we are in. We should know when we are choosing the flow and when the flow is choosing us. It is up to us to figure out which current we want to be in, and just as importantly, what flow we want to create. We can choose the current of distraction or the current of purpose. We can drift with the noise, or we can move with intention. Let’s choose with care. Let’s be mindful of the current we are in. Let’s pay attention to what is carrying us, what is pulling us, and what is asking for our energy. It is our life, after all. And we get to decide how we move through it.

Loving life when I have the paddle

Joe

[thehighperformancelife]

Lift

What if our life’s purpose was to lift each other up? To provide support. To be there when others need us. To celebrate their success. To offer encouragement when the path feels hard. To remind someone of what is possible. If we made lifting each other up part of how we live, others would do better, and so would we. We would feel the energy of being there for someone else. We would see the impact that a kind word, a helping hand, or a moment of belief can have. We would understand, more deeply, that we are all part of an integrated and aligned community. None of us rises alone. Our connection to one another would grow stronger. Our collective confidence in what we could accomplish would increase. We would begin to see that the future we are pointed toward can be good for us and for everyone around us. And all it would take is a bit more support. A little more encouragement. A little more generosity. A little more willingness to notice who needs help, who needs belief, who needs someone to stand beside them for a moment and remind them that they are not carrying it all alone. Lifting each other up does not require grand gestures. It begins in small ways. A text. A call. A compliment. A thank you. A moment of patience. A willingness to celebrate someone else without comparison or hesitation. So let’s endeavor to role model lifting each other up. Let’s make it part of who we are and how we move through the world. And then let’s enjoy the flourishing world we become part of when we decide to

Loving life when I lift others up

Joe

[thehighperformancelife]

Solo

Every once in a while, it hits us that the person we spend more time with than anyone else is ourselves. It seems obvious, and also a bit odd. We endeavor in our lives to build a career, and we do that with other people. We start a family, if we choose, and that includes other people. We become part of a local community, and there again we find more people. So much of life is built with others, shaped by others, and made better because of others. But for all that we do together, we always come back to just us. Our thoughts. Our ideas. Our preferences. Our emotions. Our memories. Our hopes. Our worries. Our way of seeing the world. There is an inner life we carry everywhere, and it matters how we tend to it. In a world where we can get lost in the algorithm, pulled by the next message, the next feed, the next reaction, we need to be even more mindful of how we spend the time we have on our own. Being solo should not be something we avoid. It should be something we know how to enter with confidence and care. Going solo is a gift. A walk without distraction or a quiet morning. The time to think without needing to explain. The space to listen to what is happening inside us before the world tells us what to think next. Liking to go solo is a great skill. It does not mean we do not need people. It does not mean we are separate from the lives around us. It means we are learning how to be good company for ourselves. And the better we get at that, the better we become with others. We bring more calm, clarity, and self-awareness. We show up more whole because we have spent time understanding who we are when no one else is there. The idea is simple but powerful. We are better with others when we are good to ourselves.  

Loving life when I go solo

Joe

[thehighperformancelife]

Lighter

The expectations are there. The daily pressure. The long list of to-dos. The commitments, the messages, the decisions, the little things that gather around us until they feel like more than little things. It is what we get used to. Open an app, and there is more to think about. A few messages later, we can feel it. The mind tightens. The body carries it. The day starts to feel heavier than it needs to be. But that is not where it has to end. We can do more than simply accept the weight of what we live within. We can lighten our own load. Not always by removing everything from the list, changing every circumstance, or waiting for the world to become easier. Sometimes we make life lighter by the way we hold it. We can laugh at our mistakes. We can look at hard things and feel the learning inside them. We can choose not to make every inconvenience a burden. We can give ourselves a bit more grace. We can let go of what does not need to come with us. Our attitude is where it starts. Think of all the times we have felt positive, even when things were not perfect. Think of the times we found energy in the middle of a hard day, perspective in the middle of a problem, or gratitude when it would have been easy to complain. So much of that came from what we decided to focus on, how we decided to carry it, and who we decided to be in the moment. Lighter does not mean careless. It does not mean we stop trying, stop caring, or stop doing the work. It means we bring less unnecessary weight to the life in front of us. It means we remember that we have a say in how heavy life feels. So let’s make it lighter where we can. In our thoughts. In our tone. In our expectations. In the way we meet the day and the people around us. The load may still be there, but we do not have to carry it the same way. Lighter indeed.

Loving life when I feel lighter

Joe

[thehighperformancelife]

Shining Bright

Every day, we find ourselves awash in sunlight, the result of being about 93 million miles away from a very big star in the Milky Way galaxy. It is a source of light and energy. It warms us, feeds the life around us, shapes our days, and is one of the reasons we have this glorious and flourishing world to live in. The sun shows up every day, giving what it has, asking for nothing, making life possible in ways we can see and in ways we rarely stop to consider. And maybe there is something for us in that. For as much as the sun brings life to all that we do, we can each be a light for one another. We can shine our energy on the people around us. We can bring light into a room. We can lift a conversation. We can help someone feel a little more seen, a little more hopeful, a little more ready to believe in what is possible. We are not the sun, but we are products of its energy. We carry some of that light within us. And when we share it with others, when we bring our warmth, our kindness, our encouragement, and our presence, we remind people that energy is not only something we receive. It is something we can transmit. There is power in shared energy. It can change the feeling of a room. It can change the direction of a day. It can help someone find strength when they are running low. It can create momentum where there was none. It can remind us that we are not here only to absorb the light, but to reflect it, multiply it, and pass it on. So yes, let’s shine bright. Let’s bring the best of our energy to the people and places around us. Let’s make our planet better in the ways we can. Let’s be the kind of presence that warms, lifts, and lights the path for others. And when the night comes, let’s remember that the light is not gone. It is resting, waiting, ready to rise again. Just like us.

Loving life when I am shining bright

Joe

[thehighperformancelife]

Share the load

The longer we go on our journey, the more we learn to take care of ourselves. We learn to get done what needs to get done. We learn to find our way through life, to keep moving, to solve problems, to carry responsibility, and to make it work. And we can even come to like that feeling. There is something good about knowing we can rely on ourselves. That we are capable. That we can carry what is ours without being a burden to the people around us. But there is a lot to do in this life. And while self-reliance is a good thing, going it alone is not always the best. There are so many ways to move forward, and many of them are better when we do so with others. There are good reasons to share the load. It helps us. It lightens what feels heavy. It gives others a chance to be involved, to contribute, to care. And the more we think about it, the more we realize something important. We like helping others, too. We like being there. We like carrying a piece of what someone else is holding. We like knowing that our presence made the path a little easier for them. So why would we deny others the chance to do the same for us? Sharing the load goes both ways. Sometimes we carry. Sometimes we are carried. Sometimes we help. Sometimes we allow ourselves to be helped. And in that exchange, life becomes more connected, more supportive, and more human. We are not meant to prove we can do everything alone. We are meant to find our way together. To give and receive. To lift and be lifted. So yes, let’s share the load. Let’s make life happen in a joint and supportive way. Let’s allow the people around us to help, and let’s be ready to help them, too. What could be better?

Loving life when I share the load

Joe

[thehighperformancelife]

The familiar

We like it. It feels good. It requires little effort. The familiar lets us move faster. We can be efficient. We can feel confident in what we do. We know where to go, what to expect, how it works, and why it matters to us.  We go to the same places. We follow the same routines. We tell others, this is it, this works, what’s not to like? In many ways, we are right. The familiar has an important place in our lives. It gives us comfort, confidence, rhythm, and a sense of belonging. But it is worth remembering that before it was familiar, it was unknown. At some point, we had to try it. We had to walk in for the first time. We had to learn the path, understand the rhythm, make the effort, and stay with it long enough for it to become part of us. The familiar did not start that way. We made it familiar through attention, repetition, courage, and time. And that reminder matters. It keeps us leaning into what we do not yet know. It reminds us that the unknown is not always something to avoid. It might simply be something waiting for us to understand, experience, and make part of our lives. What we know and what we have yet to learn can ultimately become one and the same. It is often just perspective, patience, and time. And we have enough of each when we choose to use them well. So, let’s appreciate the familiar. Let’s honor what gives us comfort and confidence. But let’s also remember that the familiar can become a bridge to somewhere new. It can teach us how to move from uncertainty to understanding, from hesitation to confidence, from distance to belonging. The familiar can take us to places we have never been before. And then, with enough attention and intention, those places can become familiar too.

Loving life because it is familiar

Joe

[thehighperformancelife]

The clearing

Is it just the place we find ourselves, or the place we fall into, or the place we allow to be the way it is? The clutter of stuff. The packed calendar. The attic. The file cabinet. The inbox. The unfinished thoughts. They all seem to take up space, physical, cerebral, and emotional. We ignore it for a while. We work around it. We tell ourselves it is not getting in the way. But sometimes it becomes obvious that we need to clear space to find clarity of purpose and intention. There is something powerful about a clearing. The proverbial break in the trees. A bit of open space. A place where we can breathe a little more fully and let the light reach us differently. The clearing asks little of us, but it gives us something important. Room. Room to think and feel. Room to see what the noise has been hiding. When we create space in our lives, we make it easier to understand what matters. We can make more sense of what is happening around us and respond with more intention. We can find our way toward where we want to go, not because everything is suddenly easy, but because we can finally see the path with a little more clarity. And the clearing does not have to be dramatic. It can begin with simple changes. One drawer. One commitment removed. One walk without the phone. One quiet morning. One decision to stop carrying what no longer needs to come with us. All we have to do is commit to the process. So, let’s make space for our clearing. Let’s create the room we need to breathe, to see, to choose, and to become. And then let’s watch how good we feel when we step into it with a little more light around us.

Loving life when I am in a clearing

Joe

[thehighperformancelife]

Full charge

We know the days when we start off feeling behind. Sleep is not quite where we want it. A to-do list longer than the time we have. More commitments than expected. A plate that feels not just full but overflowing. And if we are not mindful of how this happens, we can find ourselves running low on energy. Our body slows. Our mind gets a bit foggy. Our overall spirit, well, it is not where we want it to be. We keep going because we need to. We know how to push through. We know how to show up even when we are not at our best. And there is something admirable in that. But there is also a moment when we realize that pushing through is not the same as being fully charged. A full charge changes everything. The path forward is not a mystery. It begins with paying attention to our energy and making the choices that restore it. Sleep. Movement. Real food. Quiet. Connection. A walk outside. A few minutes to breathe. A bit of space between one thing and the next. Not giving away energy where it does not need to go. Not letting the noise of the day take more from us than it deserves. To live with a full charge is not to avoid life. It is to meet life as we should, with presence, strength, and positivity. The more we follow this theme, the more we realize that our energy is something to protect, restore, and build. We cannot always control what life throws at us. But we can do more to prepare ourselves for it. We can build our charge before the day asks for it. We can notice when we are running low. We can return to the practices that bring us back. Having a full charge helps us optimize. It helps us build better. It helps us show up with more patience, clarity, courage, and light. And from there, just about anything is possible.

Loving life when I have a full charge

Joe

[thehighperformancelife]

Emergent

Every day we tend to start the same way. We have our process. We follow the routine. We do the things that keep us on track, and there is comfort in that. It makes sense. It gives us rhythm. It helps us move forward. And yet, even inside the familiar, something new can begin. As we follow our process, we might notice what others are doing. We might hear a suggestion worth considering. We might become curious about what would happen if we did something differently. A new path. A new practice. A new thought. A new way of seeing ourselves and the world around us. Then we try it. And when we do, something shifts. Maybe it is small at first. A feeling. An awareness. A bit of energy. A sense that we are not exactly where we were before. We are emerging into something new. Maybe better. Maybe more honest. Maybe more alive. But for sure, we are rising from where we were and entering a new existence. That is the beauty of being human. We are not fixed. We are not finished. We are not only the sum of our habits, our biology, our past decisions, or the stories we have already told ourselves. We are capable of becoming something more. And maybe that is the grand possibility in front of us: to become an emergent human. A living mosaic. A whole that is vastly greater than the sum of our biological parts. Built from experience, reflection, curiosity, connection, effort, courage, and all the small choices that shape who we are becoming. The question we get to ask ourselves is, what would it take to make it this way? What would it take to become more aware? More open? More intentional? More willing to learn from what shows up? More ready to experiment with the next version of who we can be? It is a great challenge to take on. To wake up, follow the process, stay grounded in what works, and still leave room for something new to emerge. Because we are not just living the day. We are becoming through it.

Loving life when I am emergent

Joe

[thehighperformancelife]

An interruption

What do we do when we are on the path, moving forward, following what seems to be the right plan, and then something happens? An interruption. Do we let it in? Is it important? Do we ignore it? What do we listen to? Is it someone who needs us, something that matters, or just noise trying to pull us away from what we set out to do? Interruptions come and go. If we stopped for every one of them, we might get nowhere. We might lose the rhythm, the focus, and the momentum we worked so hard to build. And yet, if we ignore all of them, we might miss something meaningful. A person who needs our attention. A signal we were supposed to notice. A moment that was not part of the plan but somehow belongs in the day. So maybe the work is not to avoid interruptions. Maybe the work is to understand them. Prioritization matters. Awareness matters. Knowing what deserves our energy matters. And somewhere inside us, we are often better at this than we think. We know when something is just a distraction and when it is asking us to pause with purpose. What matters is what matters. We can stop. We can be interrupted. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, there can be something very good in it. Interruptions are part of the living process. They remind us that our path is not separate from the world around us. Our plan matters, but so do the people, moments, and signals that meet us along the way. So, let’s embrace and engage with what is going on around us. Let’s stay committed to our path, but not so rigid that we miss the life happening right beside it. And let’s make sure that whatever we need to deal with, we do so with intention, grace, and confidence that we are still moving forward.

Loving life when I am interrupted

Joe

[thehighperformancelife]

Blend in

Walk by, and we don’t see it. Day after day, the path we take can obscure what we could see. The tree on the corner. The light through the window. The person we pass. The feeling in the air. The opportunity right in front of us. Does it all blend in, or are we just moving with our eyes down and our hearts a bit closed? Is it possible that we allow it all to blend in because we stop expecting to be surprised? A more vivid life is on the other side of the blend in. We get there when we look for what is different. When we keep our heads up. When we notice what is around us. When we appreciate all that we are part of. The world is full of texture, color, energy, and meaning, but we must be willing to see it. None of us are supposed to blend in. We are here to bring something of ourselves into the world that would not exist without us. Our voice, our kindness, our courage, our ideas, our way of seeing and being. The world should feel us. And we should appreciate that it is ours to choose to stand out, to show ourselves, to live vividly, and to let the life around us become vivid too. Yes, indeed.

Loving life when I don’t blend in

Joe

[thehighperformancelife]

Radar

Some days are different; we feel something before we can fully explain it. Maybe it is a look, a tone, a shift in energy, a change in the room, or a sense that something is off. We might not know exactly what it is, but we sense it. Our radar starts to pick it up. That is worth considering. We all have radar, but sometimes we are too distracted, too focused on the obvious thing right in front of us, to notice what is happening around us. We move quickly, stay in our routine, follow the noise, and miss the signals trying to reach us. But when we slow down, pay attention, and become more aware of our surroundings and how we feel, our radar gets stronger. We notice what matters. We feel when someone needs help. We sense when an opportunity is opening. Radar is about awareness. It is about staying tuned in to what is real. When we live intentionally, we learn to trust the signals because there is power in noticing. There is growth in understanding that the world is always speaking to us in small ways, and we get better when we learn to listen. So maybe today is a good day to check our radar. To ask what we are sensing. To notice what keeps showing up. To feel where the energy is pulling us. To see who might need us. Our radar is there for a reason. Let’s use it with care, curiosity, and intention.

Loving life when I use my radar

Joe

[thehighperformancelife]

Repetition

Some words elicit predictable responses when we suggest them or bring them into conversation. The response might not always be fact-based, but we can usually see it coming. Just suggest repeating something. Eat the same food. Walk the same path. Do the same exercise. Read the same book. Listen to the same song. Practice the same skill. Return to the same habit. And the response is often immediate. That sounds boring. Not interesting. No thank you. Yet there is a striking conflict in that reaction. Our system grows, develops, and improves through repetition. Our brain responds to repetition. Our muscles respond to repetition. Our memory, our habits, our internal systems, our confidence, our craft, our sense of self, they all get shaped by what we do repeatedly. Repetition is not the enemy of growth. It is one of its foundations. The next repetition may not look dramatic. It may not feel exciting. It may not announce itself as the moment everything changes. But it is doing work. It is building capacity. It is creating familiarity. It is strengthening the pathway. It is teaching us that we can return, recommit, and keep going. So, if we want to lean into our potential, it is helpful to remember that the next repetition does far more for us than we might realize. The next healthy meal. The next walk. The next run. The next page. The next quiet moment. The next good choice. Let’s keep doing the right things. Not once. Not occasionally, but again and again. And then let’s see and feel the results that come.

Loving life when I am doing my reps

Joe

[thehighperformancelife]

Moss

Unsuspecting, quiet, and easy to miss, moss is so much more than what first meets the eye. It is special and important on many levels, and in its own humble way, it is a beautiful example of what potential can look like. Most of the traditional models do not apply to moss. It does not have roots. It does not need to stand tall to be strong. It protects the earth, holds moisture, creates habitat, softens hard places, and finds a way to grow where other things cannot. It is tough and beautiful. Resilient and generous. Simple and essential. Moss does not need attention. It does not shout its value. It just does what is good for the earth. It covers, cushions, restores, and adds life in quiet ways. And maybe that is what makes it so spectacular. It reminds us that not all power rises high. Some power spreads low. Some strength is soft. Some impact happens slowly and patiently. Just imagine what the world would be like with more moss-like creatures around us. More quiet strength. More protection. More beauty in unexpected places. More beings that simply do what is right for the earth, for each other, and for the life around them. Maybe moss is asking us to look again. To notice what is small, steady, and alive. To remember that we do not always need to be towering to matter. Sometimes we just need to be present, useful, resilient, and willing to grow wherever we are planted.

Loving life when I see moss

Joe

[thehighperformancelife]

Memorial Day

There are days that ask us to pause. Memorial Day is one of them. It is not just a long weekend, not just the unofficial beginning of summer, not just a day on the calendar. It is a day to remember those who gave everything so others could live with freedom, possibility, and peace. That kind of sacrifice is hard to fully grasp. It is why we need to take a moment to feel it. To appreciate that real people, with families, dreams, and futures of their own, chose service. They chose something bigger than themselves. Some gave their lives in that choice. When we live intentionally, we remember that freedom is not abstract. It is protected by people. It is carried by courage. It is paid for by sacrifice. So today, let’s pause. Let’s remember. Let’s be grateful. And then let’s honor those who gave everything by living with more purpose, more kindness, more responsibility, and more appreciation for the life we get to live. The best way to remember sacrifice is not only with words but with how we live with gratitude in our hearts, intention in our choices, and respect for those who made our freedom possible.

Loving life when we remember

Joe