Peak Performance

Excerpts from Peak Performance:
Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout and Thrive

with the New Science of Success
By Brad Stulberg & Steve Magness
1 – The Secret to Sustainable Success

Stress + rest = growth. This equation holds true regardless of what you are trying to grow.
PERIODIZATION
In the world of exercise science, this cycle of stress and rest is often referred to as periodization.
The cycle looks like this:
1. Isolate the muscle or capability you want to grow
2. Stress it
3. Rest and recover, allowing for adaptation to occur
4. Repeat – this time stressing the muscle or capability a bit more than you did the last time
World class athletes are masters at this cycle. On a micro level, their training alternatives
between hard days (e.g. intervals until the brink of muscle failure and total exhaustion) and easy
days (e.g. jogging at a pedestrian pace).
INTELLECTUAL AND CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced chick-sent-mi-hi), PhD, pioneer in the field of positive
psychology discovered this process of stress + rest = growth holds true for creative and
intellectual development.
This approach not only prevents burnout and cognitive fatigue, but it also fosters breakthrough
ideas and discoveries.
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
MIND AS MUSCLE
Those who are forced to flex their mental muscle – be it resist temptation, solve a hard puzzle, or
make tough decisions – performed worse on a subsequent task that also required mental energy
as compared to participants in a control group who had an easy first task.
Peak Performance
By Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness
Page 2
Performance Practices
• Fatigue on one task spills over in the next, even if the two are completely unrelated
• Only take on a few challenges at once or you will run out of mental energy
• Tweak your environment to support your goals. Our surroundings impact our behavior
especially when we are fatigued.
If you are interested in really improving your performance, I would suggest incorporating the
rhythm of stress and recovery into all aspects of your life.
2 – Rethinking Stress
Stress can be positive, triggering desirable adaptations in the body; or stress can be negative,
causing grave damage and harm. The effects of stress depend almost entirely on the dose. And
when applied in the right dose, stress does more than stimulate physiological adaptations. It
stimulates psychological ones, too.
SKILLS COME FROM STRUGGLE
Studies show that the most effective tutoring systems delay instruction until students reached the
point of failure. Growth comes at the point of resistance.
It’s only when you step outside your comfort zone that you grow. Being uncomfortable is the
path to personal development and growth.
Rather than simply answering a specific question, it is beneficial to be challenged and even to
fail. Failure provides an opportunity to analyze a problem from different angles, and to hone the
transferrable skill of problem-solving itself.
SYSTEM 2 LEARNING
• System 1 thinking operates automatically and quickly. It is often driven by instinct and
intuition. System 1 thinking is our default mode of thinking because it requires less
energy.
• System 2 thinking is more thoughtful and analytical and addresses effortful mental
activities. It’s only when we activate System 2, by really working hard and struggling to
figure something out that true learning happens.
The best learning occurs when we really have to work for it. Just like struggling to eke out one
last repetition in the weight room is a great method for growing the body, struggling to the point
of failure and only then receiving assistance is a great recipe for growing the mind.
If you want to continuously improve in whatever it is that you do, you’ve got to view stress as
something positive, even desirable.
Peak Performance
Page 3
JUST-MANAGEABLE CHALLENGES
Just-manageable challenges manifest when you take on something that makes you feel a bit out
of control but not quite anxious or overly aroused. When the task is a bit beyond your skills
you’re in the zone.
The little voice inside your head saying, “I can’t possibly do this,” is actually a sign that you’re
on the right track. Seek out just-manageable challenges, i.e., activities that take you out of your
comfort zone and force you to push at the point of resistance for growth.
• Stress stimulates growth. Growth comes at the point of resistance.
• Developing a new capability requires effort: Skills come from struggle.
• When you struggle, System 2 is activated, and true development is underway.
• Fail productively: Only seek out support after you’ve allowed yourself to struggle.
• Actively seek out challenges that just barely exceed your ability.
3 – Stress Yourself
Experience and expertise do not necessarily go hand in hand. If not experience, then what is it
that makes someone an expert? It is the amount deliberate practice they put in that sets top
performers apart from others. Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.
PERFECT PRACTICE
So what exactly makes perfect practice?
• Top performers actively seek out just-manageable challenges, setting goals for practice
sessions that just barely exceed their current capabilities.
• What really differentiates deliberate practice is deep concentration. Their bodies and
minds are 100 percent there. They are fully engaged in the moment.
Apply the components of perfect practice each time you set out to do meaningful work.
• Define a purpose and concrete objectives for each work session.
• Ask yourself: What do I want to learn or get done?
• Focus and concentrate deeply, even if doing so isn’t always enjoyable.
• Single-task: do only one thing at a time.
• Remember quality triumphs quantity
• Divide your work into chunks of 50 to 90 minutes with 7 to 20 minute recovery breaks in
between.
• In situations when you feel the sensation of stress, remind yourself this is your body’s
natural way of preparing for a challenge.
Peak Performance
Page 4
• Challenge yourself to view stress productively, and even welcome it. You’ll not only
perform better, you’ll also improve your health.
4 – The Paradox of Rest

THE ART OF MINDFUL MEDITATION
Mindfulness is about being completely present in the moment, fully aware of yourself and your
surroundings. When you meditate, you are strengthening your mindful muscle. It’s a simple
practice:
• Sit in a comfortable position, ideally in a quiet place.
• Breathe deeply for a few breaths, in and out through your nose.
• Allow your breath to settle back into its natural rhythm and focus on only the sensation of
breathing, noticing the rise and fall of your abdomen with each breath; if thought arise,
notice them, but then direct your focus back to the rhythm and sensation of your breath.
• Set a timer so you don’t have to think about time. Start with 1 minute and gradually
increase the duration.
Brain studies are beginning to show the immense and measurable benefits of mindfulness
meditation. Mindfulness meditation increases gray matter in the part of the brain called the
prefrontal cortex, where the brain does higher-order thinking.
• Frequency triumphs duration. It’s best to meditate daily
• When stressed have “calm conversations”
• When you want to “turn it off” and leave stress behind, pause by taking a few deep
breaths to activate the prefrontal cortex.
OUR CREATIVE BRAIN
Our most profound ideas tend to come between those times of deliberate thinking, when our
brains are at rest.
It’s only when we turn off the conscious mind, shifting into “rest,” that insights from the
subconscious mind surface.
It’s almost like the sole reason you do the work is to set the stage for what happens when you
step away.
• When you are working on a strenuous metal task and hit an impasse, stop working.
• Step away for whatever it is you doing for at least 5 minutes.
• For really draining tasks, consider stepping away until the next morning.
Peak Performance
Page 5
• During your breaks, if you aren’t sleeping, perform activities that demand little or no
effortful thinking:
o Listening to music
o Going on a short walk
o Doing the dishes
• You may have an “aha” moment of insight during your break. If not, when you return to
work, you’ll be more likely to make progress.
5 – Rest Like the Best

WALKING BREAKS
Walking is the perfect gateway into the subconscious mind and for stimulating creative insight
that can help us overcome mental gridlock.
Have the courage to take breaks throughout the day, especially when you’re stuck or feeling
unbearable stress.
Put yourself in the way of beauty. Being in nature, or even just looking at pictures of nature,
helps with the transition from stress to rest and promotes creative thinking
SLEEP
Sleep is one of the most productive things we can do. When we sellp, and in particular when we
dream, the brain goes through the countless things we were exposed to throughout the day and
decides what is worth storing in memory. It also figures out where in our brain to store these
new things.
Sleep also impact our self-control. Chronically sleep-deprived individuals have less self-control
and are at increased risk for succumbing to impulsive desires, poor attentional capacity, and
compromised decision making.
Almost all of the sleep’s benefits occur in the later stages, mainly during something called REM,
or rapid eye movement. The longer we sleep, the greater the proportion of it is in REM. That’s
because REM time increases with each sleep cycle.
In our sleep, we grow. And we grow not just our cognitive and emotional muscles but our
physical ones too.
The best athletes in the world all prioritize sleep just as much as they prioritize their hardest
training sessions and their most important competitions.
• Aim for at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. For those doing intense physical activity,
10 hours is not too much.
• For a better night’s sleep, follow these tips:
Peak Performance
Page 6
o Ensure you expose yourself to natural light throughout the day.

o Exercise. Vigorous physical activity makes us tired.
o Limit caffeine intake, and phase it out 5 to 6 hours prior to bedtime.
o Limit blue light exposure in the evening.
o If you struggle with a racing mind, try inserting a brief mindfulness meditation
session prior to bed
o Keep your room as dark as possible
• Try taking a nap of 10 to 30 minutes to help restore energy and focus if you hit a mid-
afternoon lull.

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Excerpts from Peak Performance:

Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout and Thrive

1 – The Secret to Sustainable Success

4 – The Paradox of Rest

5 – Rest Like the Best

o Ensure you expose yourself to natural light throughout the day.

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