Maslow’s Lost Secret About Peak Performance: Part One of Two Parts
Is there really a way for “average” people to connect with their virtually limitless possibilities? Long before anyone heard of Tony Robbins and Stephen Covey, the great psychologist Abraham Maslow said yes. In fact, Maslow was the original teacher of self-empowerment who launched the modern motivational revolution. Maslow’s ideas about self-actualization, creativity, and well-being still influence not only psychology, but also modern health care, education, managerial theory, organizational development, and even theology.
However, the concept that Maslow called his most important finding, MetaValues (or what he designated as Self-values), has been neglected and is in danger of being lost. Maslow insisted that MetaValues are internal resources available to everyone. They change lives. They drive and inspire the top one percent of the world’s achievers, people Dr. Maslow designated as Self-Achievers. He stated that MetaValues will one day lead to an explosion of human potential and will foster: “A new image of man, a new image of society, a new image of nature, a new philosophy of science, a new economy, a new all…”
The conventional wisdom has prevailed that self-actualizers are superpeople living at sustained peak levels of productivity and awareness that are unattainable for most people. But modern discoveries have shown that the process of self-realization can be a living, experienceable reality for the average person. The proven methodologies of Abraham Maslow’s most important findings about our virtually limitless possibilities can lift the lid on human potential. But how do we access this inner power? Follow the remarkable story of how this power to access internal reserves was acquired long ago by an Olympic coach for American athletes.
Every battle is won or lost before fighting
The year was 1979. Charles Garfield, an American Olympic weightlifting coach, had been reading in Milan. After his talks, he began to have conversations with a group of athletic performance experts from the Soviet Union who questioned many of Garfield’s training ideas. Several days of affable debate followed. During one of these late-night discussions, Garfield insinuated that the only reason the Russian Block athletes had achieved such amazing results in competition was because they used drugs. This accusation offended Soviet experts. They insisted that Garfield accompany them to a gym, where they promised they would reveal their secrets to world-class performance.
It was very late and the Soviets had to pull strings to get someone to open the training facility. Once inside, they carefully unpacked a large number of impressive instruments and hooked Garfield up to them. They then began to intensively interview Garfield, making calculations and taking notes. How often did Garfield exercise with weights? Garfield replied that he hadn’t done any serious exercise for eight years. Back then, in his heyday, he had benched 365 pounds. How much did Garfield think he could bench press now? Garfield suggested that he might be able to do 300 pounds, certainly no more than that. How long did he think it would take him to work back up to 365 pounds? Garfield calculated that it would take him between nine months and a year to reach his old record.
Then, at the urging of the trainers, Garfield attempted a 300-pound bench press. It was very difficult; he barely made the lift. Now the Soviets began to make calculations and measurements again, even taking a blood test. At last, they announced that they were ready to complete their demo.
Garfield sat down on a bench, still hooked up to the network monitors. They told him to relax, to lie down and relax. Soviet scientists convinced him to plunge into a deeper and deeper state of relaxation. Though wide awake and alert, Garfield eventually felt calmer than ever in his life. The Soviets suggested that his arms were getting warm and heavy. Garfield began to feel a noticeable tingling throughout his body. After forty minutes in a deep, meditative, receptive state, the trainers kindly suggested that he sit down and look at the bar in front of him. He had been loaded to 365 pounds, sixty-five pounds more than the weight he had just lifted before!
“Imagine approaching the bar with complete confidence,” a trainer whispered in her ear. “See yourself lying down and really pressing the weight. In your mind you should feel the cold bar, the rough, grooved area to grip; hear the rattle of the weights; hear your own breathing.” The suggestion caused an immediate anxiety reaction from Garfield that sent the monitor readings into orbit. But the Soviet trainers were calmly confident. They continually assured him of their power. They urged him to see himself lifting the bar.
His monologue began to displace and replace the negative self-talk that had been going on in Garfield’s mind. They told her to zoom in and out of the positive visual images playing in his mind; see yourself from above, from the side; see his hands up close. Repeatedly, they went through the visualization process, asking her to imagine how his muscles would feel when he completed the lift. In his famous book, Peak Performance, Garfield wrote of the amazing transformation that was taking place in his consciousness:
“Amazingly, everything began to fall into place for me… The images now imprinted in my mind began to guide my physical movements. Slowly and patiently, their voices sure but soft, the Soviets guided me through the elevator. I convinced myself that I could do it. The world around me seemed to fade away, giving way to self-confidence, self-belief, and then deliberate action.”
When the Soviet experts saw that Garfield had reached the moment of maximum physical and mental resonance, they quickly unhooked him from the team. Garfield walked over, positioned himself, and quickly picked up the weight.
Charles Garfield never forgot the experience. He began developing new ideas about the possibilities of what he calls Peak Performance and applying them to American Olympians, with impressive results. He began writing books and lecturing about the untapped potential of all Americans, not just athletes. Garfield became a major figure in the Apollo program, training American astronauts. He saw a definite overlap between the work of Russian and American psychologists, especially Abraham Maslow. Garfield wrote:
“…there is now no doubt in my mind that the Soviets have long been aware of the work of American psychologist Abraham Maslow and his exploration of what he called ‘peak experiences’ and the emotional underpinnings that accompany those times.”
Garfield’s experience in Milan was a natural and repeatable science experiment. It wasn’t a magic trick, but rather a demonstration of the importance of installing the right mental “software” before trying to achieve peak performance. Think about it. Nothing had materially changed in Garfield. He had exactly the same muscular structure and mental capacity when he completed the lift as when he was sure it was impossible. The Soviets had managed to temporarily displace Garfield’s assumptions about his abilities by activating a new faith and trust. His experience vividly demonstrated that our ability to do correlates directly with the belief that we can do. Garfield’s feat was a valuable demonstration that a vivid mental state of anticipated success is overwhelmingly powerful.
But is this something that you and I can aspire to? Can these lessons be applied to our own challenges? Later, after researching more than 1,500 high-performing artists over a period of eighteen years, Charles Garfield concluded that any of us can learn the basic skills that exceptional artists have. Today, like never before in human history, we are challenged to manage change and embrace the future. Just like the athletes and astronauts of the last century, we must leave behind the limiting beliefs that keep us in our comfort zones.
More on the practical application of these principles in Part 2.