by Applying science and technology to improve performance
Performance Enhancement is first of two emerging need states at the core of our second meta need “Pushing the Envelope” in ConsumerShift.
These consumers see life as providing challenges and opportunities for personal growth. Their core need is to reach their full potential in the areas they deem of interest to them. It is not necessarily an across-the-board phenomenon, though in some cases it could be. In most cases, there will be particular activities or areas of people’s lives where this need state expresses itself. In other areas, people will be content with just getting by. An important distinction needs to be made between the postmodern-integral approach to performance enhancement and the modern approach. The former is motivated by personal improvement, while the latter is more inclined to the “beat-the-competition” ethos.
These consumers find joy in the pursuit of perfection, a good feeling in seeing progress, while recognizing that there may not be a particular end point where they are fully satisfied. As they grow, their expectations grow with them. There is a search for an edge or a means to push themselves beyond conventional limits. A sense of experimentation, even a hint of playfulness, accompanies this pursuit. There is a constant quest for new concepts, techniques, and approaches. Limits are seen as conventions to be pushed beyond, as long as others are not harmed along the way. They want to be empowered to make their own decisions and they resent intrusions by regulatory groups into the personal domain.
There is an element of risk-taking behavior, but it is carefully thought through, not a reckless pursuit that disregards consequences. Rather, it is a decision to try the experiment, gathering as much information as possible and making an informed choice. The risk factor is accepted as a necessary evil in pursuit of the greater good of making the breakthrough to enhanced performance. It is about self-expression, not necessarily to persuade others to adopt a similar approach, but to live one’s own life to its fullest potential. Andy Hines
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