#6: Ordinary People Can Do Extraordinary Things
Applications of human performance.
Climber Alex Honnold scaled El Capitan in 1 hour, 58 minutes, and 7 seconds.
23 yo. Kelvin Kiptum took just 2 hours and 35 seconds to run the 2023 Chicago Marathon.
Australian Chloe McCardel swam for 41 hours to complete a 77.3-mile solo open-water swim.
These athletes were able to transcend the perceived limits of the human body and mind, by perfecting training and recovery through decades of trial and error. During their record-setting performances, their perception of time was altered. Hours of physical and mental strain felt like just minutes.
Honnold, Kiptum, and McCardel are all practitioners of human performance, a new paradigm that assesses and optimizes cognitive function, physical capabilities, and overall emotional well-being. These categories are measured through aggregation of data, usually obtained from wearables sensors and devices.
Lacking consensus, a broad definition of human performance is the ability of individuals to carry out tasks effectively and efficiently. However, human performance is less of a practice and more of an interdisciplinary framework that includes aspects of psychology, exercise physiology, behavioral economics, and even engineering.
The concept of human performance has its roots in exercise science and sports, but effectiveness and efficiency are important in the success of many other industries beyond athletics.
Steven Kotler, a leading expert on human performance and founder of the Flow Research Collective, characterizes applications of human performance with the following questions:
“What does it take for YOU to be the best when it matters most? What do you need to do the impossible?”
According to Kotler, the goal of human performance is to enter an optimal state of consciousness known as flow. During flow, action and awareness start to merge as a result of a large influx of neurochemicals. These neurochemicals quicken muscle reaction, increase pain tolerance and strength, and enhance motivation, creativity, and learning.
Let’s take a look at applications of flow:
Military
Wearable sensors are used to track 12 basic health indicators from soldiers that help determine health trends, promote recovery and readiness, and diagnose illnesses in advance. With biometric data at their disposal, human performance researchers can create protocols and technologies that minimize sleep deprivation, heat strain, and exhaustion. Scientists have even developed environment-specific strategies for soldiers in the Arctic by tracking their health data in response to training.
Business
A 10-year McKinsey study collected data from senior executives whose workplace environments were enhanced to promote flow. The results were astounding — a 500% improvement in performance. There are also correlations between flow states and creative thinking, explained by the body’s production of norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin.
Medicine
Human performance will play a pivotal role in shifting our current sick-care system to preventive healthcare. As the Nike adage goes, if you have a body, you’re an athlete. If we treated every patient the way we treat athletes — always optimizing their physical and mental capabilities — there would be a very different conversation about chronic disease in the U.S.
And patients aren’t the only ones that benefit from a human performance paradigm.
Few industries are more high-pressure — with little room for error —than healthcare. Equipping clinicians with the tools they need to enter flow will lead to better patient outcomes.
“The least important part of patient safety is the patient.”
~ Brian Ferguson, Founder and CEO of Arena Labs.
Whether you are a student, a parent, a first responder, a caregiver, a musician — the list goes on — everyone faces situations where they must perform. Focusing on health and well-being will always increase an individual's capacity to make better decisions and solve problems.
With a strong focus on nutrition, movement, and sleep, it’s no wonder the human performance paradigm is being adopted in traditional healthcare. Human performance’s focus on the individual translates well to personalized medical approaches for preventing and treating illness.
As a human performance-themed investment firm, TXV stands out as a trailblazer in transforming how we should think about health and wellness. At the core of their thesis is the belief that human performance empowers individuals to manage their own health by focusing on:
Health NOT Sickness.
Prevention NOT Treatment.
Habits NOT Intervention.
Joshua Bonhotal, Head of Human Performance Investing at TXV, understands what it means to be a human performance practitioner, having worked as a Strength Coach for the Chicago Bulls from 2008 to 2011.
After a successful 7 years as Director of Men’s Basketball Sports Performance at Purdue, Josh joined the founding team at Future to build out their digital fitness and coaching platform. Future was TXV’s first investment, and its portfolio now spans wearable technology, virtual care platforms, and software solutions.
To learn more, listen to this week’s podcast episode with Joshua Bonhotal, Head of Human Performance Investing at TXV, and founding team member of Future.
This week’s health roundup:
Biden administration designates 10 ‘biotech hubs’ across US, Healthcare Brew
T-Swift of stocks: Ozempic is upending markets, despite unknowns, Axios
Google Joins Forces with Tufts University to Transform Nutrition, foodtank
Apple Has Plans to Eventually, Maybe Revolutionize Health Care, Bloomberg
New York City’s new goal: Everyone lives to at least 83, Washington Post
Pioneering psychedelics researcher Roland Griffiths dies at 77, Johns Hopkins University