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

by Brad Stulberg

The key to being a minimalist is making a routine out of just about everything that is not core to your mission.

Great performers don’t fight their body’s natural rhythm; rather, they take advantage of it.

The best performers design their days strategically: They are minimalists in order to be maximalists; they ensure their work is in harmony with their chronotype; and they surround themselves with supportive, like-minded people.

“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.”

Perhaps the real secret of world-class performers is not the daily routines that they develop, but that they stick to them.

That they show up, even when they don’t feel like it.

•By focusing on a self-transcending purpose, or a reason for doing something beyond our “self,” we can override our ego and break through our self-imposed limits.

•To the extent you can, link your activities to a greater purpose

•Thinking less about your “self” is one of the best ways to improve yourself.

Gritty people hang in there and persevere when others quit.

perception of effort, or how hard something feels,

giving back is a powerful antidote to burnout.

Select up to five core values from the list that follows.

For each core value that you selected, write a sentence or two that “customizes” it, making it more personal to you.

There is nothing that enhances performance, vitality, and health like living on purpose.

we’ve covered the key principles underlying healthy, sustainable peak performance: