In Hawaii, Kū means to stand tall, to anchor down, to achieve, and to transform. Author of ʻAs a Man Thinketh”, James Allen, wrote, “Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound.”
The Ku Mindset of Human Performance is the first step towards the realization that in order to reach a high level of performance in life, not just in sports or work, one must be willing to improve themselves to reach for higher heights. We call this ʻKulia i ka nuʻu”, meaning to reach for the highest summit.
Ku is also a known as the god of War and is called upon to build, strengthen, and gain control. We view this aspect of Ku when it comes to competition with no thought of the competition. The Ku Mindset for Human Performance is to focus on the task at hand and prepare ourselves for success and execute. The more you think of what the competition is doing, the less focus you have on what YOU should be doing.
To reach a high level of performance, it starts with the Ku Mindset. Only when you develop the proper mindset, you will remain to be bound to mediocrity and to us, thatʻs not what it means to Be Ku.
STEPS TO BUILD A KU MINDSET
- Find your WHY: Think of what brought you to where you are today, then ask yourself, “Why do I want to improve? Why do I want to take my performance to the next level?” The WHY is higher purpose that is unique to each individual, team, or organization.
- Communicate it: When you find your WHY, you must put it out there. You can write it down in a journal, put it on your mirror so you see it every day, or share it with the rest of the organization. Putting it out there to the universe and constantly revisiting does wonders to your motivation and what you do every day.
- Hana Ka Lima: Hana Ka Lima, to us, means to put your head down and get to work. You must make sure your behaviors and actions match your WHY and what you want to achieve. This takes works – hard work.
Everything starts with your mindset. It sets the setting for the way you approach tasks, your intention behind what you do, the choices you make, and your behavior. When you have a Ku Mindset, then everything else comes with purpose and meaning which makes you on your way towards being Ku.
