Elevating performance has become a pervasive endeavor cutting across various fields, but this pursuit has inadvertently led to a widespread phenomenon of burnout. On the quest for achieving their desired goals, individuals are relentlessly compromising their physical and mental well-being, oblivious to the level it may take on them in the long run.
Peak Performance unexpectedly found its way into my hands just when I was in dire need of a break amidst my rigorous gym routine. My fixation on enhancing my stamina to run farther and faster was consuming me entirely. However, the moment I delved into this book, it struck a chord within me with its profound revelation: the perfect formula for growth is the harmonious interplay between stress and rest. We are drowning in unconscious burnout either due to external reason or internal obsessive to get a fast outcome.
Stress + Rest = Growth
Stulberg and Magness offers a definition of proper stress that really lead us to growth as The Goldilocks Weight which means an amount that we can carry out that weary us yet harmless by the time we are done.
Allocating rest time in between stress is key to strengthening.
“If we never take “easy” periods, we are never able to go full throttle and the “hard” periods end up being not that hard at all. We get stuck in a gray zone, never really stressing ourselves but never really resting either. This vicious cycle is often referred to by a much less vicious name—“going through the motions”—but it’s a huge problem nonetheless.”
Brad Stulberg, Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success
Turn struggle into skills
- engaging in open-ended exploration as part of the learning process enables someone to surpass their individual limitations
- Significant progress frequently emerges from period of tremendous struggle and discomfort
Productive failure
Failure presents an opportunity for us to approach a problem from various perspectives, compelling us to delve deeper into its underlying structure and refine our problem-solving abilities.
When we acquire new knowledge, the transmission of electrical signals between neurons takes place through axons. Initially, these connections are feeble both figuratively and literally, leading to challenges as we grapple with the unfamiliar skill.
However, if we persist through the difficulties and remain committed to mastering the new skill, the connections between neurons strengthen. This strengthening process is partially facilitated by myelin. As we devote more time and effort to our pursuits, more myelin is produced, facilitating smoother transmission of electrical signals between neurons. Consequently, the connections within our brain grow stronger. Over time, what once demanded arduous mental analysis and conscious effort becomes effortless and second nature.
With sufficient dedication and perseverance, even the most daunting and intricate mental tasks can eventually be transformed into automatic and seamless actions.
Find your “sweet spot” challenge
To foster the development of the skills and abilities you aspire to cultivate, it is crucial to consistently pursue challenges that are within your reach but still demand considerable effort. These are activities that lie beyond your comfort zone and compel you to push against resistance in order to facilitate personal growth.
Experience and expertise did not go hand in hand
It isn’t experience that sets top performers apart but the amount of deliberate practice they put in.
- Becoming an expert is not solely determined by the quantity of hours spent practicing. Instead, it hinges on the quality and nature of the work undertaken during those hours. Mere practice does not lead to perfection. It is the pursuit of precise and impeccable practice that paves the way for excellence.
Author: Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness
Publication date: 6 June 2017
Publisher: Rodale Books
Number of pages: 240 pages
