#peak

Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success by Brad Stulberg & Steve Magness Summary 1:23 Power of Purpose Many great performers often thank and attribute their success to forces beyond themselves: be it family, God, or some other transcendent power. Motivation is contagious spreads through tight-knit groups. To prime for peak performance and daily productivity you’ve got to find the Goldilocks weight: an amount you can barely manage, that will leave you exhausted and fatigued, but not injured when you have finished your work out. Discovering such an ideal weight is only half the battle. The key to strengthening any muscle, be it physical, cognitive, or emotional is balancing the right amount of stress with the right amount of rest. Stress + rest = growth is the main equation from this book. 2:56 Common process of great intellectual and creative performers 1. Immersion: total engagement in their work with deep, unremitting focus 2. Incubation: a period of rest and recovery when they are not at all thinking about their work 3. Insight: the occurrence of “aha” or “eureka” moments—the emergence of new ideas and growth in their thinking The manner in which great intellectual and creative performers continually grow their minds mirrors the manner in which great physical performers continually grow their bodies. Failure provides an opportunity to analyse a problem from different angles, pushing us to understand its deep underlying structure and to hone the transferable skill of problem-solving itself. 4:20 Multitasking Mentions research that shows people who are “chronic” multitaskers are worse at filtering out irrelevant information, slower at identifying patterns, and have worse long-term memories. In other words, multitasking not only makes the work we do today suffer, but it also makes the work we’ll do tomorrow suffer. 4:55 Mindset Matters Experiment 7:06 Importance of rest During our waking hours we expose ourselves to all kinds of psychological stimulus (stress), and during our sleep (rest) we make sense of it all. Research shows that breaks lasting 7 to 10 days have positive effects on motivation, well-being, and health that last up to a month. Other studies have shown that a week-long vacation can diminish or even completely eliminate burnout. But here’s the catch: If the conditions that led to burnout in the first place aren’t resolved, the symptoms of burnout inevitably return just a few weeks later. It means that contrary to common belief, extended breaks are not a saving grace that allow people with unsustainable workloads to magically bounce back. Rather than viewing vacations as a last-ditch tool to save someone on the edge, it’s better to think of extended breaks as part of a broader “rest” strategy that includes mini-breaks, sound sleep, and off-days. 8:34 Performance practices to manage burnout Regardless of the work you do, take at least 1 off-day every week. Time your off-days strategically to follow periods of accumulated stress. The more stress, the more rest that is needed. To the extent that you can, time your vacations strategically to follow longer periods of stress. 9:25 Maximalist and minimalist traits Many great performers have diverse interests that work together to feed their success, it is not required to focus on one narrow aspect. However, you should identify and strive to cut out all the superficial things in your life. You should be fully intentional with how you spend your most precious resource of all: time. The most essential part about adopting the minimalist-to-be-a-maximalist lifestyle is figuring out what really matters to you and what is actually worth expending energy on and then devoting minimal energy to everything else. 11:43 What is the real secret of world-class performers? They make daily routines and stick to them. That they show up, even when they don’t feel like it. Great performers don’t show up for themselves, they show up for something greater than themselves. Ego minimization is harnessing the power of purpose to overcome your fears and doubts. Our “ego” or “self” or “central governor” serves as a protective mechanism that holds us back from reaching our true limits. When you are faced with formidable challenges and your mind is telling you to quit, you can ask yourself why you are undertaking them. If the answer is “for someone or something greater than myself,” you’ll be more likely to push onward. Thinking less about your “self” is one of the best ways to improve yourself. Develop your purpose, select and personalise your core values. Consider ranking your core values and writing your purpose statement. Strategically call upon your purpose, use visual cues to remind yourself of your purpose when you are most likely to need a boost. https://youtu.be/eBBzVKhgnB8

Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success by Brad Stulberg & Steve Magness Summary 1:23 Power of Purpose Many great performers often thank and attribute their success to forces beyond themselves: be it family, God, or some other transcendent power. Motivation is contagious spreads through tight-knit groups. To prime for peak performance and daily productivity you’ve got to find the Goldilocks weight: an amount you can barely manage, that will leave you exhausted and fatigued, but not injured when you have finished your work out. Discovering such an ideal weight is only half the battle. The key to strengthening any muscle, be it physical, cognitive, or emotional is balancing the right amount of stress with the right amount of rest. Stress + rest = growth is the main equation from this book. 2:56 Common process of great intellectual and creative performers 1. Immersion: total engagement in their work with deep, unremitting focus 2. Incubation: a period of rest and recovery when they are not at all thinking about their work 3. Insight: the occurrence of “aha” or “eureka” moments—the emergence of new ideas and growth in their thinking The manner in which great intellectual and creative performers continually grow their minds mirrors the manner in which great physical performers continually grow their bodies. Failure provides an opportunity to analyse a problem from different angles, pushing us to understand its deep underlying structure and to hone the transferable skill of problem-solving itself. 4:20 Multitasking Mentions research that shows people who are “chronic” multitaskers are worse at filtering out irrelevant information, slower at identifying patterns, and have worse long-term memories. In other words, multitasking not only makes the work we do today suffer, but it also makes the work we’ll do tomorrow suffer. 4:55 Mindset Matters Experiment 7:06 Importance of rest During our waking hours we expose ourselves to all kinds of psychological stimulus (stress), and during our sleep (rest) we make sense of it all. Research shows that breaks lasting 7 to 10 days have positive effects on motivation, well-being, and health that last up to a month. Other studies have shown that a week-long vacation can diminish or even completely eliminate burnout. But here’s the catch: If the conditions that led to burnout in the first place aren’t resolved, the symptoms of burnout inevitably return just a few weeks later. It means that contrary to common belief, extended breaks are not a saving grace that allow people with unsustainable workloads to magically bounce back. Rather than viewing vacations as a last-ditch tool to save someone on the edge, it’s better to think of extended breaks as part of a broader “rest” strategy that includes mini-breaks, sound sleep, and off-days. 8:34 Performance practices to manage burnout Regardless of the work you do, take at least 1 off-day every week. Time your off-days strategically to follow periods of accumulated stress. The more stress, the more rest that is needed. To the extent that you can, time your vacations strategically to follow longer periods of stress. 9:25 Maximalist and minimalist traits Many great performers have diverse interests that work together to feed their success, it is not required to focus on one narrow aspect. However, you should identify and strive to cut out all the superficial things in your life. You should be fully intentional with how you spend your most precious resource of all: time. The most essential part about adopting the minimalist-to-be-a-maximalist lifestyle is figuring out what really matters to you and what is actually worth expending energy on and then devoting minimal energy to everything else. 11:43 What is the real secret of world-class performers? They make daily routines and stick to them. That they show up, even when they don’t feel like it. Great performers don’t show up for themselves, they show up for something greater than themselves. Ego minimization is harnessing the power of purpose to overcome your fears and doubts. Our “ego” or “self” or “central governor” serves as a protective mechanism that holds us back from reaching our true limits. When you are faced with formidable challenges and your mind is telling you to quit, you can ask yourself why you are undertaking them. If the answer is “for someone or something greater than myself,” you’ll be more likely to push onward. Thinking less about your “self” is one of the best ways to improve yourself. Develop your purpose, select and personalise your core values. Consider ranking your core values and writing your purpose statement. Strategically call upon your purpose, use visual cues to remind yourself of your purpose when you are most likely to need a boost. https://youtu.be/eBBzVKhgnB8