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

by Brad Stulberg

The benefits of rest are clear, and they are supported by a large body of scientific evidence. Still, far too few of us get enough of it. It’s not that people want to wear themselves down. It’s just that we live in a culture that glorifies grinding and nonstop work, even if science says it doesn’t make sense. We praise the athlete who stays after practice to pound out additional reps in the weight room, and we lionize the businessperson who sleeps in his office. Now this isn’t to suggest that hard work is not paramount to growth. As you saw in Chapter 3, it is. But hopefully by now you also realize that hard work only becomes smart and sustainable work when it’s supported by rest. The irony is that resting hard often takes more guts than working hard. Just ask an author like Stephen King (“For me, not working is the real work”) or a runner like Deena Kastor (“My workouts are the easy part”). Feelings of guilt and anxiety creep in when we step away from our work, especially if we perceive that our competition is still going at it.