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

In the midst of stress, those who demonstrate a challenge response proactively focus on what they can control. With this outlook, negative emotions like fear and anxiety decrease. This response better enables these individuals to manage and even thrive under stress.

sleep scientists found that a 10-minute nap yields the greatest benefits, though most experts say anything under 30 minutes is effective. Even if you don’t actually experience the sensation of falling asleep, simply closing your eyes can help switch your active brain off, allowing it to recover.

Studies show that just 7 to 10 minutes of open-monitoring meditation aids in both physiological recovery and creativity.

This ebb and flow runs counter to the all-too-common constant grind of either perpetually working in an “inbetween zone” of moderately hard work or working at the utmost intensity nonstop.

The more one forgets himself—by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love—the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself. What is called self-actualization is not an attainable aim at all, for the simple reason that the more one would strive for it, the more he would miss it. In other words, self-actualization is possibl

“The single greatest skill in any endeavor is doing the work. Not doing the work that is easy for you. Not doing the work that makes you look good. Not doing the work when you feel inspired. Just doing the work.

While the exact work-to-rest ratio depends on the demands of the job and individual preferences, the overall theme is clear: alternating between blocks of 50 to 90 minutes of intense work and recovery breaks of 7 to 20 minutes enables people to sustain the physical, cognitive, and emotional energy required for peak performance.

SYSTEMATICALLY GROW BY ALTERNATING BETWEEN STRESS AND REST Stress Yourself Seek out “just-manageable challenges” in areas of your life in which you want grow •Just-manageable challenges are those that barely exceed your current abilities. •If you feel fully in control, make the next challenge a bit harder. •If you feel anxious or so aroused that yo

Joyner has designed not only his days but, really, his entire life around eliminating distractions and decisions “that don’t really matter.” In doing so, he reserves energy and willpower for the activities that are critically important to him. In other words, the secret to Joyner’s accomplishing so much, to being a “maximalist” in his field, is tha