The other day I caught my kids playing with the garden hose. 

Matea is almost 13 and Mia is 8 now, and they are both equally naughty. 

No clue where they got that from ;)

So while watching them play, I’ve seen things like the water tap being secretly closed, so no water would come out. 

And I’ve seen things like the tap being open, but Matea sneakily stepping onto the hose, so no water would come out. 

Weirdly enough, my mind links it all with high performance somehow. 

The tap here, representing the source, that creative energy behind all of our performance. 

Every single artist in the world will tell you, that when performing at their best, while giving their best performance… they felt like they were outside of their body, almost as if they were observing themselves performing. 

I know that my best work always happens when I get out of my own way, and just show up for my clients. 

In essence, that’s all that I do. 

The rest happens for me, effortlessly, as I let that creative energy flow through me. 

So the tap in the story is the connection to that source, as when the tap is closed, no water can come through. 

The other way to prevent the water from coming through the hose, is to step on it and prevent its flow. 

And in life and high performance, that’s represented as the pressure. 

People tend to add so much unnecessary pressure upon themselves, either through their fear-driven thinking… or even more silly… thinking that added pressure will help them perform better!

Some even believe that they perform better when under stress – which is never sustainable and always short-lived. 

Adding pressure equates to stepping onto the hose, and getting in the way of that creative flow. 

So in closing, if you want to operate the garden hose successfully – make sure the tap is open and don’t step on the hose. 

To perform at your best, make sure you are connected to that creative, source energy… and end the self-sabotaging pressure – show up with a calm mind, and let yourself… perform at your best. 

Robert “The Garden Hose” Simic