Exploring Your Peak Experiences
I remember the green shag carpet in the living room… the scratch of the needle on the record player in the few quiet seconds before those first iconic notes of John Williams’ theme from Star Wars came booming out of the hi-fi unit at my parents’ house. Even at four years old, I could feel the magnificence of that soundtrack!
But we weren’t just listening. My brother and I would listen… and recreate. We’d dash all over the living room as we re-enacted scenes from the movie. We stretched and pushed against the walls in the front hallway, imagining they were the crushing sides of the trash compactor. We fought through legions of storm troopers. We battled Darth Vader with our imaginary light sabers. My ratty white baby blanket was a perfect cape for the Princess Leia scenes.
Fast forward ten years.
In my high school musicals, I traded in my blanket cape for a cowgirl’s dress, Munckin garb, a 1930s business suit, and more. Instead of pushing against an imaginary trash compactor, I zoomed on my roller skates across the stage, stood center stage for a solo, and concealed myself backstage to bring the voice of an out-of-control carnivorous plant to life.
Fast forward 30 years.
These days, I’m often cast as a presenter. There’s lots of preparation, plus the pressure of a deadline to put on the show. While these “shows” are less scripted and often more “improv,” I work hard to find the right words to draw a laugh, the right inflection to inspire, the right timing to invite deeper reflection. I choose my “costume” with care… always teal, of course!
What’s the point of this trip down memory lane?
It’s about connecting the dots. It’s about finding unique joy and life satisfaction.
If I hadn’t reflected deeply on my peak experiences in life, I never would have seen the connection between all of these life events. More importantly, I wouldn’t have recognized the degree to which I’m living into the fullness of the person I was created to be.
Peak Experiences
Who were you created to be? How are you called to use your gifts? What unique purpose or work is yours? Some of those answers can be found by exploring our peak experiences.
In short, peak experiences are the most satisfying, joy-filled activities of your life – particularly (though not exclusively) in your first twenty years. They are often found by considering the times in your childhood or first two decades when you felt the most contentment, when you lost track of time, or when you learned something easily or effortlessly.
Because these peak experiences are often discovered by considering times you have experienced “the four E’s” of enjoyment, excellence, ease, and energy, they are often connected with times when you’ve used your natural talents and developed strengths.
Peak experiences are not necessarily your accomplishments or things in which you received approval from others. Instead, they are the activities that brought you joy or delight, the things that made you feel most alive. They are the things that you enjoyed totally in the moment, whether you were all alone or with others, whether they were planned or spontaneous.
For example, two other peak experiences in my life were speaking at my high school and college commencement ceremonies. But I don’t identify them as “peak” because they were public accomplishments. They are peak for me because it was truly life-giving for me to craft and deliver messages that (hopefully) brought deeper meaning to the occasion and encouraged others to live well and purposefully.
Spiritual Importance
As a person of faith, I believe that peak experiences are clues to the works that God desires for us to do. In John 10:10, Jesus says, “I have come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly.” I don’t believe that abundant life is only found after our time on earth ends. When we engage in activities that reflect who we were created to be, we experience the abundant life that Jesus is talking about.
When we remember our peak experiences, and mine the depths of those experiences to find their deeper meaning for us, we reconnect with the best of who we are. We find themes that point to what matters most to us, to the things that make us feel most alive. Spiritually, exploring our peak experiences puts us at the horizon of our lives – the place where heaven meets earth and we feel most connected to God or a sense of the divine, something bigger than and beyond us.
The Challenge
This all sounds lovely, but the problem is that as we age, we tend to forget our peak experiences. We might not lose the actual memories of the experiences altogether, but we forget their importance.
When this happens, we can lose a sense of who we are. And we can miss out on some important clues to what we are to do in our lives.
I don’t just mean “what we are to do” in terms of our jobs. Our peak experiences can help to inform what we choose as our work, but they can also play a role in how we show up in the other parts of our lives. The themes we find in our peak experiences can shape how we show up as a spouse, parent, child, caregiver, and friend. They can point us to recreational activities that bring true renewal. They can direct us to community involvements that bring meaning and purpose to our lives.
As an example, I’ll share another part of my story.
“All work and no play makes Jane a dull girl.” I’ve been feeling like Jane lately. I love my work – and I see how the themes of my peak experiences come to life in the work I get to do. However, I’ve noticed that I’ve been feeling a little empty in some ways.
By looking at my peak experiences this past spring, and distilling some of the themes they embody, I’ve realized that I need some opportunities for creative play in my life. Performing (singing, dancing, acting) and imaginative play were significant parts of my childhood that brought energy and joy. This realization has prompted me to start exploring some ways that I can reactivate creative play in my life.
I need to do this in order to live a whole life, an abundant life.
So that’s me.
How about you?
It’s time for an honest check-in about how this is resonating with you:
What were your peak experiences, and what made them so good?
How are those peak experiences still informing who you are and what you do today?
And if you’re being totally honest:
What’s been lost along the way?
What might be different in your life if you revisited and reclaimed the meaning within those peak experiences?
And if you want to really go deep:
How might God live more fully in you and through you if you pulled the themes of your peak experiences into your everyday life?
What difference would it make in your life to feel God’s pleasure as you respond to the things that bring you enjoyment, excellence, ease, and energy?
A Next Step?
I’m not suggesting you have to return to the same playful activities of your childhood. (I’m not planning to start reenacting Star Wars in my living room again.) But I am encouraging you to consider what those peak experiences might have to offer you today.
And if you need some help identifying those experiences and exploring their meaning, then I’ve got you covered.
I invite you to join me next week for “Mining Your Peak Experiences.” In this short workshop, I’ll help you walk through the best parts of your life and dig for the gold.
I’d love to see you at this virtual workshop, but even if you don’t register, be sure to let me know what exploring some of your peak experiences has brought up for you.
You’ve been created with particular gifts for a unique purpose. You owe it to yourself, to your Creator, and to all of us around you to live that out – and your peak experiences can be trail markers on your path to sharing your light with the world!
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