PODCAST · education
Peak Performer
by Larry G Maguire
A show about the psychology of human performance in all domains of business, work, the arts, and sport from organisational psychologist and lecturer Larry G. Maguire. On Peak Performer, you can get tips and advice on how to obtain the best from yourself and others while maintaining psychological health. We'll examine aspects of performance such as leadership, motivation, wellbeing, expertise, intelligence, personality and positive psychology. Learn to manage stress and anxiety, cope under pressure and produce consistently higher-level performance at work with the psychological skills of experts. Read more at HumanPerformance.ie
Episodes
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Controlling The Controllable
Most people you meet and know are caught in linear time consciousness - the idea that we live along a line from birth to death and everything that happens is based on cause and effect. Someone must have made that thing happen; someone did something. And if that thing happened to me, then there…
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Do This Before You Set Goals
Every Sunday evening UTC+1, you can join me live on Zoom for a 30-minute Mental Skills Workshop. I walk you through assessments and worksheets that I use with clients to help them develop the mental skills for life and work. Go here to get the Establishing Values Worksheet that I mentioned in the...
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Day 30: Final Day of Mental Skills
Over the past number of weeks, we have taken a deep dive into the nine mental skills of peak performance. But performance is not only about objective achievement and attainment of reward and recognition; it is also about mental well-being. The nine mental skills we explored are; * Mindset serves…
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Day 29: The Mental Skills Daily Practice
These final sessions serve as your roadmap for implementation of Mental Skills, providing a structured approach to developing these skills systematically while maintaining momentum through the inevitable challenges that accompany any meaningful change process. The journey from knowledge to...
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Day 28: Present Moment Awareness
Have you ever been so completely absorbed in something that time seemed to slow down, speed up, or even stand still? You were playing a musical instrument, solving a complex problem, or engaged in a physically demanding activity and you then realised hours had passed in minutes. This is the...
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Day 27: The Pros & Cons of Willpower
The popular neoliberal narrative in modern capitalist societies shouts loud the idea that success hinges on willpower—that internal grit and self-discipline are the secrets to consistency, focus, and high performance. Anyone can make it, and if you want to succeed, it’s up to you. You’ve got to...
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Day 26: Flow State & Autotelic Personality
Exploring the drivers behind exceptional performance in business, sports, and art, we inevitably encounter the presence of what Csikszentmihalyi referred to as autotelic personality and Flow State. These two concepts are closely related, with the autotelic individual being motivated…
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Day 25: Composure Under Pressure
I’m discussing composure today, on Day 25 of the 30 Days of Mental Skills series. In the heat of performance—whether delivering a speech, competing in sports competition, or leading a high-stakes meeting—emotions can either enhance or sabotage our efforts. Emotional regulation, the ability to...
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Day 24: The Corruption of Emotional Agility
Despite its honourable and legitimate origins, positive thinking has become somewhat of a toxic term. What was once a skill for psychological flexibility—emotional agility and emotional intelligence—has, in corporate culture, become a coded expectation of self-regulation and obedience to the...
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Day 23: Emotional Agility
In her book, Emotional Agility, psychologist Susan David tells the story of a British battleship that was on manoeuvres in heavy weather. While navigating through the fog, the lookout in the crow’s nest reported a light directly ahead. The ship's captain ordered the signalman to send a message…
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Day 22: Accepting Conditions
Accepting conditions for what they are is probably our greatest challenge, because our surface-level mind is almost always active and almost always looks to the past for evidence of the apparent future. If you take time to contemplate it, you’ll realise that neither the future nor the past exists...
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Day 21: Understanding Stress
Stress is a normal part of life. It represents the challenge that being alive presents, and without it, life would be very boring. What do you want, an easy and challenge-free existence? Best of luck with that. Yes, I know that pretty much every marketing campaign out there promises you an easier...
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Day 20: What Is Anxiety?
We’ve all felt anxiety at some point in our lives, the apprehension associated with possible adverse future outcomes. It’s usually associated with something important to us, like performing well in a job interview, going to a social event with people that we’re uncomfortable being around, or...
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Day 19: Mental Imagery For Rehabilitation
The paper "Mental Imagery and Its Potential for Physical Therapy" by Warner and McNeill (1988) reviewed the existing literature on mental imagery (MI) and mental practice (MP) and their effects on physical skills. The authors aimed to explore the feasibility of these techniques as a supplement to...
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Day 18: The PETTLEP Model of Mental Imagery
The PETTLEP model of mental rehearsal is a comprehensive framework that enhances the effectiveness of focused and purposeful imagination. The practice of Mental Imagery (MI) is used to enhance performance across various fields and domains of work, including medicine and sports and physical...
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Day 17: The Affect of Imagination
What do you imagine about yourself and others? What images and pictures appear on the movie screen of your mind as you move through your day? Do you imagine how good you are perceived at your work and how great it will be when you obtain that promotion, or do you imagine being sacked because…
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Day 16: Challenging Negative Thoughts
Challenging negative thoughts is a mental skill essential for managing the demands of not only high-stakes situations but also those of everyday life. We talk to ourselves in almost every moment. Except for those situations where we are completely engrossed in something, our minds can be consumed...
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Day 15: Self-Talk For Anxiety and Instructional Cues
Did you know that referring to yourself by your first name or as "you" (instead of "I" or “my“ or “me”) may help you step back from challenging situations and see things more clearly? Studies have shown that it gives you emotional and psychological distance. For example, after a difficult...
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Day 14: The Inner Conversation
There is a conversation ongoing inside our heads at every moment. I say inside our heads, but this is a little misleading, because you won’t find this conversation anywhere. There may be neurological activity related to inner conversation, but just like mental images (which we’ll get to in a few...
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Day 13: Personality & It's Role In Success
Personality is obviously not a skill, but understanding oneself and, by extension, others is important when pursuing goals and objectives. The ability to work successfully with others is a skill—a social skill—and personality theory can give us a lens through which to view behaviour. Therefore,...
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Day 12: Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence (EI) has gained considerable attention in both academic and popular literature since the 1990s, to the point where it has perhaps become just another tick-box exercise for people. If you want to be successful, you must become more emotionally intelligent, or so they say. In...
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Day 11: People Skills: Leadership
Leadership is not only about leading others, it’s about leading oneself. It is what you do when nobody is watching. It doesn’t require you to be extroverted, though. In fact, you're more likely to be effective with others if you are more inclined towards introversion. Jim Collins pointed this out...
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Day 10: The Inherent Risks of Goal Setting
We have, over the last few days, examined the reasons why goal-setting the SMART way is a good idea. That said, while goal setting is widely regarded as a powerful motivational tool inside and outside organisations, there are problems when it’s over-prescribed. In other words, too narrow a focus...
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Day 9: S.M.A.R.T. Goal Setting The Values-Based Formula
SMART goal setting is the gold standard for achievement and success. Michel & Daniels (2002) said that goal-setting is “quite easily the single most dominant theory in the field, with over a thousand articles and reviews published on the topic in a little over 30 years.” In 1990, two researchers...
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Day 8: How To Set Goals: Values Matter
Establishing and recording personal values is a beneficial practice for several reasons, and psychological research provides valuable insights into the advantages, including greater clarity and awareness, increased intrinsic motivation, and sharper decision-making. Goals that are aligned with…
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Day 7: How To Motivate Yourself
Welcome to 30 Days of Mental Skills, where I’m breaking down the 9 core psychological skills of peak performers. Each day, I’m posting a new video discussing a key aspect, including Mindset, Motivation, Goal Setting, People Skills, Self-Talk, Mental Imagery, Managing Stress, Emotional Agility…
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Day 6: Money Doesn't Motivate: Here's Why
Despite popular belief, money doesn’t motivate people. I ran a few ad hoc polls on this topic with readers in the past, and generally, most people “believe” that money is a significant motivator of behaviour. According to this idea, if you want to get people to do what you want, pay them. And if...
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Day 5: What Motivates You
Let's discuss motivation. Self-Determination Theory says that human beings are active organisms with evolved tendencies toward growth, mastery, and integration of new experiences into a coherent sense of self. These natural tendencies toward growth and development are automatic, however. The…
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Day 4: Two Thinking Systems
Welcome to Day 4 of 30 Days of Mental Skills. Today I’m discussing Two Thinking Systems, or Dual-process Thinking. Dual Process Thinking is a fundamental concept that explains how our minds process information and make decisions through two distinct yet complimentary systems of mind.…
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Day 3: Locus of Control, Optimism & Pessimism
Within field of psychology, Locus of Control is considered an important aspect of personality and behaviour. Julian Rotter was a behaviourist but he also understood the role of cognition in learning and development and originally developed the concept in the 1950s. Locus of Control refers to a...
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Day 2: Growth & Fixed Mindset
Hello friends, welcome to day two of 30 days of mental skills. I'm Larry Maguire, this is humanperformance.ie, and yesterday I introduced you to this programme, this 30 day programme where I get into some detail on psychological skills. Those skills that are fundamental to achievement, success…
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Day 1: Introduction To 30 Days of Mental Skills
I teach my clients the psychological skills, not only of peak performance in work and sport, but of everyday living and wellbeing. These are skills for life, not just for material gain and worldly success. Material gain and worldly success come as a consequence of developing these skills, so if a...
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EP017 On The Costs of Cognitive Offloading
Discussing the TFOW article from this week on Cognitive Offloading. You can read that here; Join me for my next live video in the app This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit peak.humanperformance.ie
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EP016 Understanding Anxiety: Its Role in Sport and Workplace Performance
I’m Larry Maguire, a work psychologist and lecturer. Welcome to this edition of Peak Performer, where we discuss the mental skills of peak performance. If you like this work and find it valuable, consider sharing this episode with a friend and posting a comment. Many thanks for your support!...
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EP015 Five Mental Skills You Need To Succeed
Welcome to this week’s edition of the podcast. If you like what I’m doing here, share this episode with a friend, and post a comment. Many thanks for your support! Welcome to episode 15 of Peak Performer. Today, we're exploring the mental skills that elite performers use to excel in their fields,...
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EP014 Is The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: Personality Pseudoscience?
Welcome to this week’s edition of the podcast. If you like what I’m doing here, share this episode with a friend, post a comment. Many thanks for your support! The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is one of the most popular personality tests in the world. Developed by Katharine Cook Briggs and...
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EP013 Understanding Personality
Peak Performer is a reader-supported publication. Sign up here to get new articles, episodes and other content to your inbox. For one-to-one coaching, go here. To hire me for talks and workshops, get in touch here or post a comment on any article. Unlock the secrets of personality in this webinar...
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EP001 Introduction To Peak Performer
Peak Performer is a reader-supported publication. Sign up here to get new articles, episodes and other content to your inbox. For one-to-one coaching, go here. To hire me for talks and workshops, get in touch here or post a comment on any article. Welcome to Peak Performer. I'm Larry Maguire, a...
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EP012 How To Build Self-Confidence
In this podcast episode, I'm reading Chapter 3 of Stewart Cotterill's The Psychology of Performance and discussing the difference between self-confidence and self-efficacy. Throughout this reading, I interrupt the narrative to offer my input, clarity on certain aspects, and tips and advice on...
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EP010 Creating A Positive Workplace Culture
In this week's episode of The Mental Game, I'm talking with Rob O'Donohue from Gartner Consulting on how to create positive workplace culture for small organisations. You'll learn in this episode that even if you are a solo business owner, you can begin to create the right workplace culture for…
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EP009 The Ugly Face of Unethical Leadership
Why do airline manufacturers hide potentially catastrophic faults from their customers? Why does big tech use behavioural psychology to take advantage of young developing brains? And why do car makers hide vehicle emission data from the public? At the core of these breeches, is unethical...
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EP008 Self Determination Theory: How Motivates Really Works
Self-determination is an important concept when considering the human motivation to work and perform. Self-determination theory (SDT)1 explains human motivation, and according to Edward Deci, it is “the energy for action. It gets us up in the morning and moves us through the day”. Motivation…
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EP007 For The Prize or The Love of It
In the pursuit of success, we can lead ourselves astray. Caught up in how we might be perceived or in anticipation of the prize, we lose our focus. The work itself becomes less important than the material results. This is detrimental to high performance. High performance can only ever be seen in...
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EP006 Creativity & The Autotelic Personality
In this episode, we will explore the autotelic personality and the aspects of the self essential for peak experience in work, sport and indeed, life. We will also explore the nine optimal conditions for Flow according to psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. High performance in all domains of…
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EP005 Becoming The Performatist
The Performatist is a concept of the individualised yet universal self. It is that version of humanity that grows out of self-direction and autonomy. The Performatist is the one who makes a dent in their own particular corner of the world. Whether that dent is small or large is irrelevant. What…
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EP004 Developing Psychological Skills
Physiological skills are important, but it is the psychological and emotional that have the final say in performance. In today's episode, I'm exploring five key psychological skills of elite performers. Elite performers in all fields of work, sport, the arts, and beyond possess psychological…
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EP003 The PERMA Model of Wellbeing
Read more about The PERMA Model; humanperformance.ie/what-is-resilience In the late 1960s, the father of positive psychology, Martin Seligman and his research associate, Steven Maier, were part of a team that discovered the phenomenon of “learned helplessness." They found that dogs, rats, and…
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EP002 An Introduction To Resilience
Welcome to this introduction to resilience. Resilience in all domains of performance, be it work, sport or otherwise, in simple terms, is said to be our personal ability to cope with, and bounce back from adverse conditions. As such, it is an important aspect of the performer's repertoire, be it...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
A show about the psychology of human performance in all domains of business, work, the arts, and sport from organisational psychologist and lecturer Larry G. Maguire. On Peak Performer, you can get tips and advice on how to obtain the best from yourself and others while maintaining psychological health. We'll examine aspects of performance such as leadership, motivation, wellbeing, expertise, intelligence, personality and positive psychology. Learn to manage stress and anxiety, cope under pressure and produce consistently higher-level performance at work with the psychological skills of experts. Read more at HumanPerformance.ie
HOSTED BY
Larry G Maguire
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Peak Performer have?
Peak Performer currently has 48 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Peak Performer about?
A show about the psychology of human performance in all domains of business, work, the arts, and sport from organisational psychologist and lecturer Larry G. Maguire. On Peak Performer, you can get tips and advice on how to obtain the best from yourself and others while maintaining psychological...
How often does Peak Performer release new episodes?
Peak Performer has 48 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Peak Performer?
You can listen to Peak Performer on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Peak Performer?
Peak Performer is created and hosted by Larry G Maguire.
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