Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success

If we stick at learning something for long enough, what was once a formidable System 2 challenge becomes a simple System 1 task.

Stress + rest = growth. This equation holds true regardless of what it is that you are trying to grow.

particular, The Upside of Stress by Kelly McGonigal, PhD, Give and Take by Adam Grant, The Sports Gene by David Epstein, Quiet by Susan Cain, Drive by Daniel Pink, and Presence by Amy Cuddy.

The little voice inside your head saying, “I can’t possibly do this,” is actually a sign that you’re on the right track.

Rest isn’t lazily slothing around; it’s an active process in which physical and psychological growth occurs. To reap the benefits of stress, you need to rest.

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. In other words, when it comes to a comprehensive “rest” strategy, vacations are not the cake—they are merely the icing on top of it, a chan

What we are suggesting, however, is that for the capabilities you wish to grow—whether they be financial modeling, portrait painting, distance running, or anything in between—you should regularly seek out just-manageable challenges: activities that take you out of your comfort zone and force you to push at the point of resistance for growth.

Ecological psychology suggests that the objects that surround us are not static; rather, they influence and invite specific behaviors.

an individualized routine goes beyond just priming us to work. It also alters our biology, changing our hormonal profile in a manner that increases strength, energy, confidence, creativity, attention, and memory. In other words, developing a custom routine doesn’t just condition us to perform. It enhances the performance itself.