One of my favorite transformations to guide clients through is moving from being a high achiever to a high performer. I used these terms interchangeably for years, but the true differences are quite profound. Here are the differences I see between high achievers & high performers. I want to mention that there is nothing wrong with being a high-achiever, but sprinkling in some high performance can add more joy and fulfillment.

High achiever

High-achievers are people we often look up to; they set and strive to reach big goals. The drive to do so is external, meaning they strive for a first-place finish, a reward, or recognition. Often, we see that their emotions are tied to whether they hit these goals, leaving them at times burned out or discouraged when they don’t reach these outcomes. Another issue is that high-achievers don’t always have control over getting to the goal, whether that means hitting a sales, revenue, or athletic goal, even if they put in a lot of effort. This can make it hard to sustain long-term and contribute to more negative emotions. Lastly, when high-achievers meet their goals, they quickly set new ones to continue to get the feelings they sometimes believe come from the results they reach for.

High performers

High-performers are more internally focused, not driven by the goal itself; instead, the drive comes from the journey to the goal or doing things for the pure joy of doing the goal.  They often have more energy, a higher vibe, joy, and happiness. High performers tend to be more focused and have a clear vision that is usually bigger than themselves. This approach is more sustainable because they enjoy the time in achieving; they don’t just wait to feel this way at the end. High-performers reward themselves for the effort and being in service of the purpose, not just happy when they get the result. Because high-performers focus on enjoying the time spent participating, they control their joy, fulfillment, and happiness, thus increasing time spent feeling happier.

Let’s take running for example; as a high-achiever, it is common to focus mainly on the result, like getting a training run done or a marathon complete, but the high-performers are more focused on being outside, looking at the sunrise, enjoying the actual running (as much a possible), they of course enjoy competition but the sole focus is not on the finish line.

I see many younger high-achieving professionals focus on getting through school, getting past their exams, and landing that first job as opposed to the high-performer who is more intentional about experiencing every stage with more gratitude and presence. This comes with a deep understanding that results, accomplishments, and awards don’t produce our feeling states; our thoughts do. So, if you want to learn more about transitioning from operating as a high-achiever to becoming more of a high-performer, reach out; I would love to chat about it during a connection call.

Melanie