# The Growth Equation

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## Posts

- [The Class That Changed How I Coach](https://thegrowtheq.com/nfl-lessons-on-leadership/): When you get into coaching, you think it’s about the X’s and O’s, the workout design, or crafting the perfect program. It’s what almost all of our coaching education is set up for. In colleges, we often throw it in with sports science as a major. In the certification courses, whether it be for strength
- [The Pope is Right: In Defense Of Human Excellence](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-pope-is-right-in-defense-of-human-excellence/): Two interesting stories emerged over the past few days: First, a new AI model called Suno v6 pro was released, which had some in tech ​claiming​ that “Spotify, Apple Music, and streaming in general is over… Suno v6 pro et al. has solved infinite personalized music.” Second, senior executives at Anthropic have been ​wining and
- [How Do You Win a Marathon on a Torn Achilles?](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-do-you-win-a-marathon-on-a-torn-achilles/): On Sunday, Tigst Assefa ran the third-fastest marathon in history, winning the Berlin Marathon in 2:11:04. But that doesn’t tell half of it. With just over a mile to go, Assefa was ahead of world-record pace, projected to run an astonishing 2:09:45. Then she started to limp, slowing significantly, but she dug deep over the
- [An Ode to Showing Up](https://thegrowtheq.com/an-ode-to-showing-up/): Show up on good days. Show up on bad days. Show up when you want to. Show up when you don’t want to. Show up when you’re hot. Show up when you’re cold. Show up when you’re energetic. Show up when you’re tired. Show up when there’s a crowd. Show up when nobody’s watching. Show
- [Stop Trying to Be Less Obsessed](https://thegrowtheq.com/stop-trying-to-be-less-obsessed/): When I was 16, a lifeguard rescued me at the beach. I can still see him throwing an orange flotation device my way and guiding me beneath the pier until the water was shallow enough for me to stand. I emerged from the ocean in soaked jeans that felt ten pounds heavier, greeted by polite
- [The US Open, Human Excellence, and What AI and Machines Will Never Replace](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-us-open-human-excellence-and-what-ai-and-machines-will-never-replace/): All this talk about AI and machines and robots, and yet what we really crave is the human spirit working at the height of its powers. Two of the best tennis players in the world just battled for over 4.5 hours in a thrilling match that ended at 3:34 AM. Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz
- [It's Not Just Crazy Parents: The Youth Sports Problem](https://thegrowtheq.com/its-not-just-crazy-parents-the-youth-sports-problem/): Are youth sports broken? Almost certainly. It’s easy to rail against the craziness of youth sports parents. I’ve done so in the past, and a lot of it is deserved. But in a strange way, given our current climate, parents are making the rational decision to go hard into youth sports. That doesn’t mean it’s
- [The Case for Doing Real, Hard Things](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-case-for-doing-real-hard-things/): A few weeks ago, I (Brad) was in Washington DC to visit family and record two of my favorite podcasts: Plain English with Derek Thompson and Deep Questions with Cal Newport. While both podcasts were ostensibly focused on The Way of Excellence, we spent a lot of time talking about deadlifting. At first I found
- [The Freedom of Constraints](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-freedom-of-constraints/): At the beginning of Steve's coaching journey, a star high school athlete came down with mono heading into his senior track season. The dreams of a state championship looked crushed. When the doctor finally cleared him to train and compete, there was a serious problem. He was out of shape, his system had been wrecked,
- [The Truth About Hard Work](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-truth-about-hard-work/): Let’s start with two recent remarks: “I hate this whole men’s mental health stuff that they talk about. Unfortunately, when you’re a man, you are the provider, you can’t be that guy posting on social media, oh I had a bad day and I’m so sad. It’s unattractive to other males, let alone women.” —Dana
- [It's Cool To Care](https://thegrowtheq.com/its-cool-to-care/): Victor Wembanyama just led the San Antonio Spurs to the NBA Finals. He embodies a central idea in The Growth Equation's latest book, ​The Way of Excellence​: he is not scared to lay it on the line; he cares deeply; he makes himself vulnerable. You could see it throughout the entire Western Conference Finals series—in
- [The Key to Confidence](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-key-to-confidence/): In the moments after the New York Knicks improbable NBA Championship, their star guard, Jalen Brunson, was asked how he took over in the clutch. His response: “My confidence comes from my work ethic.” “Never be afraid to fail,” Brunson said earlier in the day. “You put the confidence in everything you do when the
- [The Enhanced Self is the Enemy of a Good Life](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-enhanced-self-is-the-enemy-of-a-good-life/): The enhanced, optimized self has fully arrived. We have metrics for everything: sleep scores, heart rate variability, glucose, recovery, and readiness. We track not only our biomarkers but also our social and professional markers: subscribers, followers, shares, views, likes. Investors compare deals on PitchBook. Athletes compare run paces on Strava. Authors compare sales ranks on
- [That You Must Suffer for Greatness is a Dangerous Lie](https://thegrowtheq.com/that-you-must-suffer-for-greatness-is-a-dangerous-lie/): Entrepreneur and investor Will Mandis recently ​wrote​, “‘It takes hard work to achieve anything great is a dangerous lie.’ Great output comes from finding an activity that feels as natural as breathing or walking and great work becomes the very substance of your existence. If it feels like a grind you’ve found the wrong expression.”
- [What The Odyssey Can Teach Us About Navigating Life](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-the-odyssey-can-teach-us-about-navigating-life/): This weekend, a 2,800-year-old poem had the biggest opening of Christopher Nolan's career. Bigger than Batman, Oppenheimer, you name it. A quarter of a billion dollars, worldwide, for a story your high school English teacher assigned you. One reason is that while it might seem like an adventure story. It’s really about the traps inside
- [Stop Trying to Be Balanced and Live Life in Seasons Instead](https://thegrowtheq.com/stop-trying-to-be-balanced-and-live-life-in-seasons-instead/): One of the biggest lies of modern life is that to be happy you need to be “balanced.” It’s sold to us by the self-help industrial complex—whose purveyors, it’s worth noting, are never remotely balanced themselves. Driven people should treat life in seasons instead of trying to balance everything every single day. Living in seasons
- [The Mundanity of Excellence](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-mundanity-of-excellence/): “Everyone wants to be the best. But very few people are willing to do what it actually takes…You have to fall in love with the boredom. You have to fall in love with the repetition. If you can find joy in the mundane work that no one else sees, the lights will eventually shine on
- [We're All Performing on Stage](https://thegrowtheq.com/were-all-performing-on-stage/): We’ve moved life from the backstage to the front. We’re all performing for someone. Some of us on social media, others in our workplace, and even AI monitors us. It’s now normal to be constantly judged, evaluated, and scored. The obvious one is social media, where we create an image to get likes, shares, and
- [Do Hard (Meaningful) Things](https://thegrowtheq.com/do-hard-meaningful-things/): We need to do hard things. In a world that lets us shortcut almost everything—from taking performance-enhancing drugs to outsourcing our writing to AI—there’s something magical, and much needed, about the thing that forces you out of your comfort zone. It makes us feel something in a world where we increasingly numb and distract our
- [How to Spot and Develop Talent](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-spot-and-develop-talent/): At the World Cup, the USMNT breakout star may be Alex Freeman. The 21-year-old son of former NFL star Antonio Freeman has anchored a defensive position the US team sorely needed. Growing up, everyone asked if he’d follow in his father’s footsteps. He played everything from football to tennis, but harbored a “secret love for
- [The Craft of Coaching](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-craft-of-coaching/): Coaching is one of the most worthwhile pursuits. But too often, we focus on the wrong things. In athletic coaching, all our education and time is spent on designing better workouts, figuring out the perfect sets and reps for an adaptation, and the X's and O's of a game plan. In teaching, we increasingly see
- [Schmexcellence vs. Excellence](https://thegrowtheq.com/schmexcellence-vs-excellence/): This weekend, we had two perfect encapsulations of what we've come to call schmexcellence: something that has the veneer of excellence, that looks like it's about performing well and stretching your limits, but when you peel back the window-dressing, you realize it's anything but. Podcasters Freaking Out About Sleep Scores First, a popular podcast host
- [The Cost of Safetyism](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-cost-of-safetyism/): When we were 11 and 12, we’d ride our bikes to the local sandlot baseball field or to a friend's house to play pickup basketball. When Steve was 14, he’d go on 10+ mile runs, exploring every bit of road, sidewalk, and path he could find. Exploration was a rite of passage. Today, 84% of
- [In Defense of Performance: A Manifesto](https://thegrowtheq.com/in-defense-of-performance-a-manifesto-2/): When we started writing about performance nearly a decade ago, there was much to be said and done. We built on primary research from across domains. We drew from giants in the field such as Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi ("flow"), Anders Ericsson ("deliberate practice"), and Jim Loehr (applying an athletic mindset to the workplace). We also looked
- [When a Stress Expert Battles Mental Illness](https://thegrowtheq.com/when-a-stress-expert-battles-mental-illness/): Last August, I was in New York City doing media spots for my book, Peak Performance. In between interviews, I went on a long run in Central Park and didn’t eat or drink enough afterward. I went to meet a friend for dinner, but the place turned out to be a bar without a real kitchen.
- [You've Got to Believe](https://thegrowtheq.com/youve-got-to-believe/): This past weekend, Sabastian Sawe ran the London Marathon in 1:59:30 to become the first person in history to break the 2-hour mark in a legitimate race. If that wasn't crazy enough, the 2nd place finisher also came in under 2 hours, and the 3rd place finisher broke the previous marathon world record. In other
- [Every Feeling Is Not an Emergency](https://thegrowtheq.com/every-feeling-is-not-an-emergency/): “What happens if I step out into this street in front of a car? Maybe I should? I certainly could. Nothing is stopping me." It’s scary, sometimes downright terrifying, when those kinds of thoughts pop into your head. You start to wonder, what in the world is wrong with me? Why would I think about
- [The Hidden Cost of Comfort](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-hidden-cost-of-comfort/): In the 1950s, over 90% of toddlers were potty trained by 18 months. Today, that number is about 4%. The average age of potty training has drifted to nearly 37 months. What in the world is going on with our kids? Their skill and aptitude haven't changed. Neither has biology. The answer applies to so
- [Optimizing Ourselves to Death](https://thegrowtheq.com/optimizing-ourselves-to-death/): Let’s start with two stories of actual greats: Alysa Liu won Olympic gold after eating chocolate lava cake for breakfast. When asked about the rumor that she’d been eating it every morning at the Olympic Village, she laughed: “Oh my God, yeah, that’s a lie. But I did eat it for breakfast one time.” She
- [Go Touch Grass: A Real World Survival Guide](https://thegrowtheq.com/go-touch-grass-a-real-world-survival-guide/): Our vocabulary speaks to the problem. Brain Rot was the 2024 Oxford Word of the Year. But before that, we had terminally online, doomscrolling, zombie scrolling, NPC (Non-Playable Character), and internet brain, which ​we coined here​ at the Growth Equation nearly four years ago. All these terms are getting at the same issue: an online
- [What Ryan Coogler's Football Career Teaches Us About Identity and Excellence](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-ryan-cooglers-football-career-teaches-us-about-identity-and-excellence/): From star athlete to generational film writer
- [In Defense of Deep Reading](https://thegrowtheq.com/in-defense-of-deep-reading/): Following the release of ​my book​ at the end of January, I promised myself I would do everything possible to support its success. I came up with a list of self-imposed guidelines: post on social media and send 50 DMs every day; reply to threads on topics related to my own; pitch at least 3
- [How to Save Youth Sports: A Manifesto](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-save-youth-sports-a-manifesto/): Houston, 2024—Burroughs Park Soccer Complex: The score was tied. The head referee was glancing at his watch, whistle in his mouth, ready to call the game at any moment. Coaches from both sides anxiously paced the sidelines, issuing last-second commands to press forward. The fans were energized, encouraging their respective teams' star players. As the
- [Parenting Wars](https://thegrowtheq.com/parenting-wars/): Few topics elicit a visceral, defensive reaction quite like stating your views on parenting—especially those that apply to babies and adolescents. We hold our parenting beliefs like a moral sword ready for battle. Use "cry it out" to sleep train? “You’re causing lifelong trauma!” Breastfeeding for too long? “Attachment issues!” Not breastfeeding long enough? “Your
- [What Happens When You Stop Getting One Percent Better Every Day](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-happens-when-you-stop-getting-one-percent-better-every-day/): Since The Way of Excellence came out five weeks ago, one of the concepts I've discussed most with readers is the truth and fiction of the popular personal development saying: Get just one percent better every day. As a mindset, Steve and I couldn't agree more. It echoes much of what we write and coach
- [What We Can Learn From Norway's Olympic Dominance](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-we-can-learn-from-norways-olympic-dominance/): Norway consistently wins the most medals at the Winter Olympic Games, with a population of just 5.6 million. They currently have the most medals in Milano-Cortina. They won the most medals in 2022. They won the most medals in 2018. Before you say, it’s just because Norway is a snow wonderland, let us remind you
- [A Crisis of Values in the Health and Performance Space](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-crisis-of-values-in-the-health-and-performance-space/): This past Saturday, January 31, the United States Department of Justice released a large batch of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted child predator, harasser, and sex trafficker. Appearing in the files over 1,700 times was the well-known health, performance, and longevity doctor, influencer, author, and podcast host Peter Attia. (His book Outlive has
- [Lessons from Sport's Highest Performers](https://thegrowtheq.com/lessons-from-sports-highest-performers/): We love sport. It's a beautiful, messy microcosm for so much of life. There's no hiding. You have to confront whatever happens to you, win or lose. In a world where, increasingly, so much of what we see is superficial, photoshopped, AI, fake nonsense, there's something deeply refreshing about the realness of sport. With the
- [Nobody Wanted This Olympic Hero—Yet He Never Stopped Showing Up](https://thegrowtheq.com/nobody-wanted-this-olympic-hero-yet-he-never-stopped-showing-up/): Connor Hellebuyck made 41 saves in the gold medal game for Team USA. Canada outshot the US by 14. Without Hellebuyck's extraordinary performance, the US gets blown out. It's as simple as that. A decade ago, not a single major junior league in North America thought Hellebuyck was worth drafting. The story of how he
- [9 Core Principles for Excellence](https://thegrowtheq.com/9-core-principles-for-excellence/): If you want to live an excellent life, get comfortable saying: There is no greater illusion than thinking the accomplishment of some goal will change your inner life. What will change your inner life is the person you become in the process of going for it. Yes, set big goals, try to win, and strive
- [When Everything Is a Crisis, Nothing Is: The Numbing Effect of the Infinite Scroll](https://thegrowtheq.com/when-everything-is-a-crisis-nothing-is-the-numbing-effect-of-the-infinite-scroll/): Scroll social media, and you’ll see someone being murdered, a cat video, deep political analysis, someone performing the latest TikTok dance, and live footage of a war—all in 60 seconds or less. This sort of out-of-context information overload has become completely normal, something about which most of us don't even think twice. But what is
- [Making Sense of the New Study on Performance That Went Viral](https://thegrowtheq.com/making-sense-of-the-new-study-on-performance-that-went-viral/): A large new study on peak performance concluded that early specialization can be a trap, and the road to greatness is long and varied. The study, ​Recent discoveries on the acquisition of the highest levels of human performance​, included 34,000 international top performers: Nobel laureates, renowned classical music composers, Olympic champs, and the world’s best
- [Reclaiming Excellence: A Manifesto](https://thegrowtheq.com/reclaiming-excellence-a-manifesto/): Things That Are Not True. We are being sold a series of lies. Over the last decade, countless influencers have seized the opportunity to exploit increasing interest in personal improvement for their own gain. The result is a tidal wave of people on the internet who reduce performance to monetizable clickbait, marketing gimmicks, hacks, secrets,
- [How Exercise Shapes You, Far Beyond the Gym](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-exercise-shapes-you-far-beyond-the-gym-2/): When both of us started training somewhat seriously for sport over two decades ago, we had coaches who told us something similar that we haven't forgotten: “You’ll need to learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable.” It’s a crucial skill. Not just in sport, but also in life. Ask anyone who pushes their body regularly—cyclists, swimmers,
- [Everything You Need to Know About Goals](https://thegrowtheq.com/chapter-5-goals/): Today we are going to do something special: get you covered for the turn of the year by going deep on goals, with an exclusive excerpt from Brad's new book, The Way of Excellence. We're confident you'll find it super valuable, regardless of what you do or where you're at on your path. The new book comes
- [Stay Even, Keep Moving](https://thegrowtheq.com/stay-even-keep-moving/): ”Don’t get too high in the highs or low in the lows.” Steve’s high school coach, Gerald Stewart, said this line so often that it echoes in the minds of his athletes decades later. He was a believer in keeping an even keel. If you just kept putting in the work, taking the long view,
- [On Raising Excellent Kids](https://thegrowtheq.com/on-raising-excellent-kids/): “Your kids are going to fall behind.” Recently, Steve was discussing with a parent who’d been warned that their negligence was costing their 8th grader a shot at pursuing his dreams. The parents hadn’t planned out his entire curriculum for the next 5 years, and because certain high school courses come with a GPA, if
- [Success Isn't Always What You Think](https://thegrowtheq.com/success-isnt-always-what-you-think/): At the height of his success—8 Grand Slam titles, global fame, a marriage to Brooke Shields—tennis legend Andre Agassi was miserable. In his autobiography, Open, he explained that despite being one of the greatest tennis players alive, he dreaded his craft. He felt trapped by a life that revolved around the relentless pursuit of achievement
- [If You Want to Get Better, Get Comfortable Saying...](https://thegrowtheq.com/if-you-want-to-get-better-get-comfortable-saying/): Mastery isn’t built on hacks, hustle-culture, or hype. It’s built on something quieter, and often more difficult to sustain: humility, honesty, and the courage to keep going when it’s not easy. But if you can stay curious, show up consistently, and be kind to yourself along the way, you’ll move in the right direction. Slowly.
- [Even the Greats Face Self-Doubt](https://thegrowtheq.com/even-the-greats-face-self-doubt/): "I don’t know why race week always has to be like this, but here we go." It was one week out from the Chicago Marathon when Steve got the above text message from an athlete. She had an easy workout, a taper session she should have been able to do in her sleep. Yet, halfway
- [Searching for the Easy Explanation](https://thegrowtheq.com/searching-for-the-easy-explanation/): Whenever we see or experience something that challenges our expectations, we search for a reason. How did I accomplish that feat or why did this happen to me? In this weekend's marathons extravaganza highlighted by Eliud Kipchoge breaking two hours for the marathon, the temptation by all those who witnessed it is to search for
- [The Secret to Resilience? A Good Story.](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-secret-to-resilience-a-good-story/): Imagine something unexpected and negative just happened. Perhaps you performed poorly in an interview, blew up in a big athletic competition, got laid off, or worse yet, lost a loved one or suffered some other horrible tragedy. Why is it that some individuals bounce back from these events more easily than others? In Do Hard
- [Tony Romo and Deep vs. Superficial Understanding](https://thegrowtheq.com/tony-romo-and-deep-vs-superficial-understanding/): Over 53 million people watched last weekend's NFL playoff games. Tony Romo was one of those. Situated in the TV booth, Romo was providing color commentary for the viewer’s enjoyment at home. In theory, we were watching the same game. In reality, Romo was watching something entirely different. Romo displayed an uncanny ability to call
- [Even the Best Are Really Bad at Part of Their Job.](https://thegrowtheq.com/even-the-best-are-really-bad-at-part-of-their-job/):  What does it take to be the best in your endeavor? An extreme work ethic and dedication? Ability to handle pressure? Grit? Determination? Internal Motivation? Resilience? A growth mindset? Strength? Intelligence?These are just a few characteristics that great performers have or, even, that research shows are correlated with performance levels. And if you read
- [How to Create Space Between Stimulus and Response](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-create-space-between/): The space between stimulus and response is an important one. Philosophers have said it is in this space that our freedom lies. When something unexpected happens—for example, an accident, a pandemic, a competitor acting unpredictably, and so on—people generally go down one of two roads: they either impulsively react or more thoughtfully respond; the former is
- [What I Learned From Being Out of Shape](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-i-learned-from-being-out-of-shape/): I did my first real workout in years this past weekend. It was not impressive. It was "slow" by all measures of my past performance as an elite runner. And it hurt. A lot. The workout: four times three minutes "hard" with two minutes jog for recovery in between. On the very first repeat, my
- [Letting It Happen Versus Making It Happen](https://thegrowtheq.com/letting-it-happen-versus-making-it-happen/): Sometimes the best thing you can do is get out of your own way. I like to think about this as transitioning from making it happen to letting it happen—whatever the proverbial "it" may be. Making it happen, or pushing on something until it gives, has its place. It's often very effective. But it seems
- [You Are What You Pay Attention To](https://thegrowtheq.com/you-are-what-you-pay-attention-to/): ​I like to think of our innermost essence as a blank canvas. It's the part of us that lies underneath everything we see, say, think, feel, or do. Meditation teachers call this basic nature awareness. Scientists call it consciousness. It's important that we connect with our canvas regularly. Without doing so, it's near impossible to
- [Catching Anxiety](https://thegrowtheq.com/catching-anxiety/): "Watch coaches during the warm-ups," a fellow coach and mentor advised me early in my coaching career. I didn't quite understand his point. Did he want me to see what different athletes did for their warm-up drills so that I could copy them? When I asked for further clarification, he replied, "Watch the mannerisms of the coach.
- [What Do You Control? What Controls You?](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-do-you-control-what-controls-you/): Do you control your passion or does your passion control you? When we set out to write The Passion Paradox, our original intention was to explore the obsessiveness we saw in ourselves. Both of us are consummate pushers. We experience a deeply-felt need to have a project or a goal on the horizon. We struggle to
- [Overcoming Fear So You Can Perform With Ease and Freedom](https://thegrowtheq.com/overcoming-fear-so-you-can-perform-with-ease-and-freedom/): “What if I fail?” This singular thought can be debilitating, preventing you from stepping foot on the starting line or pursuing your passion. You may carry around this idea that if you fail, you'll be exposed as the fraud you are. All those negative thoughts that you’ve had will be confirmed: I'm not good enough.
- [Broscience is Not Real Science.](https://thegrowtheq.com/broscience-is-not-real-science/): ​ Earlier today, CNBC published a story on the top "biohacks" of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Along with things like cold-showers, infrared light, and 7-minute high-intensity interval workouts on the list was that Dorsey only eats one meal a day—consisting of a lean protein and vegetables—between 6:30 pm and 9:00 pm and sometimes fasts for the
- [When Someone Guarantees Success Look the Other Way](https://thegrowtheq.com/when-someone-guarantees-success-look-the-other-way/):  Whenever I take on a new coaching client, I always give a spiel to dampen down expectations: "I can't guarantee that I can help. I can't make any promises as to whether you'll improve or win some big race. All I can tell you is I'll do the best that I can." Am I
- [The Power of a Team](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-power-of-a-team/): We were exactly one point ahead at the conference championships with only two events left: the 5k and the 4x400 relay. We were strong favorites in the relay, but our competitors were the 2nd ranked team so if all went according to plan; we’d pick up two points in the 4x400. In any given event
- [Do You Define Success in the Same Way as Your Team?](https://thegrowtheq.com/do-you-define-success-in-the-same-way-as-your-team/): When watching a performance from the sideline, it's easy to get caught up in the moment. You see an athlete win a race or stir the crowd with a rousing speech, and you beam with pride and excitement. But then, as the performer walks your way, you glimpse a different reaction. They are frustrated, disappointed,
- [Fake Toughness Versus the Real Thing](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-does-it-mean-to-be-tough/): Fake toughness is easy to spot. It's the guy picking a fight at your local gym. The anonymous poster acting like a hard ass on message boards. The bully at school. The executive who masks his own insecurity by yelling at his subordinates. The strength coach that works her athletes so hard that they frequently get
- [Does What You Say Match What You Do?](https://thegrowtheq.com/does-what-you-say-match-what-you-do/): When you are leading a group of individuals -- be it a team or a workforce -- a lot of preparation goes into talks. What are you going to say during the meeting? What are the take home messages during your quarterly report? Coaches, bosses, and executives all spend a good deal of time ensuring
- [To Be Tough, Experience Emotions](https://thegrowtheq.com/to-be-tough-experience-emotions/): When the word toughness gets thrown around, we often imagine someone who is stoic, who can withstand enormous amounts of pain without displaying any signs of weakness. We think of the athlete playing through injury. The person who's been beaten down by life but continues to press on toward their goals.Overcoming; pushing through; accepting the
- [What Andrew Luck Can Teach us about Quitting](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-andrew-luck-can-teach-us-about-quitting/): At 29 years old, in the prime of his career, coming off a pro-bowl season in which he won the NFL comeback player of the year award, star quarterback Andrew Luck retired. Much has been written about Luck's decision to retire in the prime of his career. After coming back from a series of injuries,
- [Choosing the Difficult Path](https://thegrowtheq.com/choosing-the-difficult-path/): It's been an interesting week. Nike coach Alberto Salazar was banned for cheating. For those who don't know, I was a main whistleblower. That identity has consumed my life for the last 7 years, hovering over me like a cloud; occasionally sending a downpour rain on my life, leaving me to be stuck, treading water. I'm
- [Quit Trying to Get Your Kid to Work so Hard](https://thegrowtheq.com/quit-trying-to-get-your-kid-to-work-so-hard/): ​ I've been working with high school and college-aged kids for over a decade now. Having seen both sides of the equation, It's interesting to contrast seeing what parents and high school kids think is required for success in college (and beyond), and then seeing what is actually required.In today's hyper-competitive culture, where we constantly
- [Why Do Smart People Believe Dumb Things? A Trek Into Bro Science, Diets, Vitamin Cocktails, and Other Fads](https://thegrowtheq.com/why-do-smart-people-believe-dumb-things-a-trek-into-bro-science-diets-vitamin-cocktails-and-other-fads/): Need more focus? Eat one meal a day, only between 6:30pm and 9:30pm. Low Libido? Shine infrared light on your balls. Need energy? Put a stick of butter in your coffee and adopt the Paleo diet. Cure Cancer? Try that same Keto diet. Getting sick frequently? Take mega doses of vitamins to boost your immune
- [Stop Trying to Hack Your Life. Hack Culture is Dumb, Does Not Work, And Gets in The Way.](https://thegrowtheq.com/stop-trying-to-hack-your-life-hack-culture-is-dumb-does-not-work-and-gets-in-the-way/): Venture down the self-help aisle of any bookstore and you’ll see it littered with titles about hacks, quick fixes, burning fat, and accessing mystical sounding theta brainwaves. We’re told that a ‘superfood’ can cure cancer, that a new routine will fix our motivation problems, and that a brain-training program will teach us how to learn
- [The Great Paradox of Peak Performance](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-great-paradox-of-peak-performance/): Peak performance happens as a result of trying really hard, and then not trying at all. It’s a paradox. I’ve never met someone who has described a breakthrough performance as effortful or straining or tight. It’s the opposite: when people are at their best—whether it’s on the playing field, in the workplace, or in the artist’s
- [The Mastery Mindset: 6 Keys to Stay on the Path](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-mastery-mindset/): Common advice is to find and follow your passion. But it’s not so simple. You don’t just magically stumble upon the feeling and enjoy everything from there. Expecting to only sets you up for repeated disappointment. Passion needs to be cultivated and nurtured. Otherwise, what was once something you loved may start to feel like
- [Willpower Isn't the Key to Success](https://thegrowtheq.com/willpower-isnt-the-key-to-success/): There’s a popular theory that willpower is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it becomes. But like any other muscle, if you use willpower too often without any rest or recovery in between, eventually it fatigues and gives out—you eat the chips, skip the meditation, and check your notifications for the umpteenth time. The problem that we all
- [Do You Control Your Passion, Or Does Your Passion Control You?](https://thegrowtheq.com/do-you-control-your-passion-or-does-your-passion-control-you/): Common advice is to find and follow your passion; to be passionate. It’s what parents, teachers, managers, coaches, and commencement speakers champion. A life of passion is a good life, or so we are told. But it’s not that simple. The same drive, enthusiasm, and zeal that fuels breakthrough — whether it’s athletic, scientific, entrepreneurial, or artistic
- [Consistently Good Enough Beats Occasionally Great](https://thegrowtheq.com/its-okay-to-be-good-and-not-great/): "Good is the enemy of great” is one of the most popular self-improvement expressions there is. It’s the first sentence of an international bestselling business book, the title of another self-help book, and a mantra that NFL superstar J.J. Watt has used in press conferences. It sounds appealing and rolls off the tongue nicely, but there’s a good chance it’s downright
- [A Simple Solution to Millennial Burnout](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-simple-solution-to-millennial-burnout/): It's not just about hours worked.
- [We've Reached Peak Wellness. Most of It Is Nonsense.](https://thegrowtheq.com/weve-reached-peak-wellness-most-of-it-is-nonsense/): Here's what actually works.
- [Big Goals Can Backfire. Olympians Show Us What to Focus on Instead.](https://thegrowtheq.com/big-goals-can-backfire-olympians-show-us-what-to-focus-on-instead/): What it means to focus on the process.
- [How Exercise Shapes You, Far Beyond the Gym](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-exercise-shapes-you-far-beyond-the-gym/): Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. When you develop physical fitness, you’re developing life fitness, too.
- [8 Simple Tips to Live Healthier and Longer](https://thegrowtheq.com/8-simple-tips-to-live-healthier-and-longer/): Over the past few years, there has been an ever-increasing obsession with biohacking and life extension: FDA-approved studies to see if metformin, a drug historically used to treat Type 2 diabetes, can slow aging. A supplement called Basis, which purports to extend life and is backed by multiple Nobel Prize–winning scientists. Transfusing the blood of younger individuals into older ones.
- [Introducing The Growth Equation](https://thegrowtheq.com/introducing-the-growth-equation/): [mc4wp_form id="287"] Health and wellness is a 4.2 trillion dollar industry. Throw performance in there and we're probably talking over 6 trillion dollars, or half the entire GDP of China. And yet, as individuals and communities we are struggling to be well and sustain peak performance without burning out. The problem is simple: so much of what
- [A Better Way to Think About Self-Improvement](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-better-way-to-think-about-self-improvement/): Self-improvement as we know it, said the philosopher Alan Watts, is a hoax. Because the self that needs improving is the same self that is doing the improving! So long as you think of the self as a closed system, then improvement is impossible.If you really want to improve yourself, you are going to need to
- [When an Olympian Has No Grit.](https://thegrowtheq.com/when-an-olympian-has-no-grit/): Grit. What comes to mind? An athlete pushing through pain and fatigue. A potential Navy Seal surviving "Hell Week." Or for the more research savvy amongst us, Angela Duckworth's definition of Passion + Perseverance. When I began thinking about writing Do Hard Things, my attempt to redefine toughness, I knew where to start. I looked
- [Top Books of 2019 for Performance and Wellbeing](https://thegrowtheq.com/top-books-of-2019-for-performance-and-wellbeing/): Welcome to the annual reading list. If you're familiar with our work, you'll know that it integrates ideas, research, and practices from diverse domains. People always ask us how we do this. The answer is simple: We live in the world with our eyes open. And we read lots of books. Before we get into the list,
- [Coach Towards Independence, Not Dependence](https://thegrowtheq.com/move-towards-independence-not-dependence/): When success occurs, to what do we attribute it? Do we take full credit ourselves or acknowledge the helping hand of a mentor or coach? Does that coach claim full responsibility in creating the athlete who stands upon the podium? Does the business executive acknowledge the luck and hard work of those far below him
- [The Myth of Greatness](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-myth-of-greatness/): At the 1972 Munich Olympics, Frank Shorter did the unthinkable for an American: he won the marathon. At the same race, his friend, countryman, and occasional training partner Kenny Moore ran an incredibly strong race to take the heartbreaking 4th place spot. In his book Best Efforts, Moore describes a conversation he had with Shorter the
- [Coach People, Not Numbers](https://thegrowtheq.com/coach-people-not-numbers/): In his fascinating documentary Vietnam, director Ken Burns briefly profiles Robert McNamara, former US Secretary of Defense under John F Kennedy, and Lyndon B Johnson. McNamara focused exclusively on the measurables, believing that everything imaginable should be quantified. "What you measure gets managed," as the popular saying goes. McNamara took this to the extreme, demanding
- [The Chase for the Sub 4-Minute Mile and The Complexity of Success](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-chase-for-the-sub-4-minute-mile-and-the-complexity-of-success/): “Wes Santee has recently broken the world mile record in the time of 3:58.3, and it should stand for many years to come.” -1950With the passing of Sir Roger Bannister, who in 1954 became the first man to run a mile in under 4 minutes, we know the quote above is false. Where did it
- [The Key to a Good Life? Lose Yourself in Something.](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-key-to-a-good-life-lose-yourself-in-something/): One of the best feelings in the world is losing your attachment to yourself. So much of our time is spent in self-focused ways. What happens if I do this? Or that? Doubt. Fear. Self-judgement. The judgement of others against ourselves. Planning. Scheming. It's a whole lot of I, I, and I. You get the point. Yet there's a paradox:
- [Flipping the Switch to Compete.](https://thegrowtheq.com/flipping-the-switch-to-compete/): After a recent workout, one of my college athletes came up to me and said something that stuck with me. “This is normal Steve. Easy going, mild. But halfway through the workout, I looked over and you had this look of intensity that I hadn’t seen in you. And I was like, oh that was 4:01
- [Is Your Boss Causing Your Burnout?](https://thegrowtheq.com/is-your-boss-causing-your-burnout/): Burnout is an epidemic. The World Health Organization recently sounded the alarm, upgrading burnout from a general state of exhaustion to a definable syndrome. In a Gallup survey of over 7,500 workers, 23% reported feeling burned out very often, while another 44% said they felt burned out sometimes.When it comes to solutions, we tend to
- [Practices and Habits over Resolutions](https://thegrowtheq.com/practices-and-habits-over-resolutions/): I'm not a big fan of resolutions. Resolving to do something is not the same thing as actually doing it, and I've found that the more big and grand and resolute we get about proclaiming we're going to do something, the less likely we are to *actually* do it, at least in a sustainable manner.
- [Are you Normalizing Bad Behavior?](https://thegrowtheq.com/are-you-normalizing-bad-behavior/): “Would you jump off a bridge if all of your friends did?” That question seems to have been passed down in the parenting handbook for generations. It’s meant to combat the pre-teen and teenage years when our pre-frontal cortex isn’t quite fully developed and peer pressure reigns supreme. A silly question taken to an
- [You Are Enough Right Now: Freedom and Self-Improvement](https://thegrowtheq.com/you-are-enough-right-now-freedom-and-self-improvement/): There is lots about the self-improvement industry that can make you feel like you aren't enough. In order to actualize, you need this particular diet; that workout plan; this social media behavior; that mediation practice. While it may be true that those kinds of things can help you actualize, they probably won't work if you feel like you need to, if
- [An Antidote to Quick Fix Culture](https://thegrowtheq.com/an-antidote-to-quick-fix-culture/): We live in an age of the quick fix, be it in fitness, relationships, business, learning, creativity, or health.
- [Motivation: It's Not Just About How Much, But Also What kind.](https://thegrowtheq.com/motivation-its-not-about-how-much-but-what-kind/): How driven are you to pursue your goal? Are you willing to put in the work to run your marathon, finish the house-remodeling project, or develop your side business? When it comes to motivation, we focus on the quantity of it. Do we have the energy and desire to get to the finish line or
- [Being Clutch Isn’t Magic, It’s A Trainable Skill](https://thegrowtheq.com/being-clutch-isnt-magic-its-a-trainable-skill/): We all know the clutch athlete when we see them. The Michael Jordan’s of the world who seemingly will their team to victory. The quarterback who comes through time and time again, engineering winning drives as if they’re routine. The athletes who rise to the occasion, improving their performance when the game is on the
- [Letting Go Of What Works For Something That Works Better](https://thegrowtheq.com/letting-go-of-what-works-for-something-that-works-better/): Here's a simple parable. It's about a cup and a quart. You really like milk. The more you can posses the better. You've got a cup of milk in your hand. There's a quart on the table. In order to get the quart you've got to let go of the cup. What cups are you holding onto
- [7 Ways to Detect B.S. and Guru Syndrome](https://thegrowtheq.com/7-ways-to-detect-b-s-when-reading-pop-science-and-self-help/): Popular science and evidence-based self-help writing—both in books and articles on the internet—has grown astronomically over the past decade. On the one hand, this is great because it means that more people have access to fascinating and potentially helpful, even life-changing, ideas. On the other hand, this is not so great because so much of what passes
- [Setting Goals that Work For You, Not Against](https://thegrowtheq.com/setting-goals-that-work-for-you-not-against/): Growing up as an athlete, I lived off goals. They were specific, measurable, and outcome-focused. When I was 14 years old they were on my bulletin board, daily reminders of what I wanted to accomplish. As accomplishing my running goals became harder and harder, and the personal bests started to dwindle, specific goals started to
- [A New And More Accurate Way To Think About Change and Homeostasis](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-new-and-more-accurate-way-to-think-about-homeostasis-and-change/): Homeostasis is often conceptualized as the desire of an organism or system to stay the same. This is thought to be true whether one is talking about the body, the mind, a single individual, or an entire species. One of my favorite writers, George Leonard, puts it like this in his book Mastery: "Every one
- [A Better Way To Optimize](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-better-way-to-optimize/): The word optimize gets thrown around all the time these days. We're supposed to optimize our schedules, optimize our routines, and optimize our lives. This is generally taken to mean doing more and doing faster. But the actual definition of the word is significantly different. According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, optimize means "to make as perfect, effective, or
- [Why We Ease Off When Our Goal is Near](https://thegrowtheq.com/why-we-ease-off-when-our-goal-is-near/): Have you ever gotten nearly to the end of a significant project and just coasted in? Maybe it was a term paper in your college years, or a critical analysis of a business opportunity during your working years. You put in an enormous amount of painstaking work, making sure every sentence is perfect, until at
- [The Best Routine, According to Science](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-best-routine-according-to-science/): Marina Koren wrote in The Atlantic, “My mornings are the messiest part of my day. I do not rise and shine. Instead, I hit snooze on the alarm and throw the covers over my head.” This, Koren goes on, causes her distress because “it never seems to be the case with other people’s morning routine.” Koren is referencing
- [What to Do When it All Goes Wrong...](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-to-do-when-it-all-goes-wrong/): "One of the hardest things to do is to get out of a rut. When things are going poorly, and you know you can do better. It's easy to spiral towards doubt and negativity. And all of a sudden you see yourself going backward. And you're helpless." The athlete I was talking to was referencing
- [What You Give Attention to Is What You Value](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-you-give-attention-to-is-what-you-value/): Take your phone out of your pocket and place it beside you, just where you can see it in your periphery. I’ll wait…Okay, now we can carry on. With my college athletes at the University of Houston, our team meetings are a little different. Instead of standing in front of them lecturing about running or
- [Truth is Paradox: Making Big Decisions When The Answer Is You Have No Idea](https://thegrowtheq.com/truth-is-paradox-making-big-decisions-when-the-answer-is-you-have-no-idea/): Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is this: Much of the important stuff in life is tricky. Though we crave the contrast of black and white, so much is grey. Consider a few examples: Showing up and getting started even when you don't feel like it can be the best way to get out of a
- [Go to the Weak Spots to Get Stronger](https://thegrowtheq.com/go-to-the-weak-spots-to-get-stronger/): So you occasionally experience fear, doubt, and insecurity? Welcome to being a human.One of the best ways to get stronger is to stop suppressing your fears and weaknesses and instead lean into them, with the support of others when necessary.This is hard work. But the payoff is huge. When you get to know all of
- [Are You Making It Seem More Difficult Than It Is?](https://thegrowtheq.com/when-you-can-normalize-easy-exercising-making-it-seem-like-something-that-just-occurs-it-leaves-you-more-mental-space-to-deal-with-tackling-the-difficult-days/): “Did you workout today?” How would you answer that question? Did you go for a run, participate in a spin class, lift some weights? Was it an easy jog, a stroll in the park, or were you exercising until the brink of exhaustion? For most of us, the term ‘workout” refers to doing any sort of
- [Three Questions to Get Over Impostor Syndrome and Gain True Confidence](https://thegrowtheq.com/three-questions-to-get-over-impostor-syndrome-and-gain-true-confidence/): One of the best ways to overcome impostor syndrome and gain true confidence is to realize that you don't have all the answers. No one does. You might fake others out for a while but you cannot fake out yourself. The more you try the more insecure you'll feel. In my coaching work with entrepreneurs, executives, and physicians we regularly
- [Even the Best in the World Have Doubts, Fear, and Anxiety When Performing](https://thegrowtheq.com/even-the-best-in-the-world-have-doubts-fear-and-anxiety-when-performing/): What goes through your head before a big performance? Regardless of if it's a big race or cramming in work to meet a deadline when a challenging task is staring us right in the face, we are often met with doubt, anxiety, and fear. Negative emotions float to the surface while debilitating self-talk circles around
- [Panic or Prepared? The Importance of Embracing Reality](https://thegrowtheq.com/panic-or-prepared-the-importance-of-embracing-reality/): Imagine that you are about to take on a difficult challenge. Maybe you are lined up for your first marathon, or about to step on stage to give a speech in front of thousands of strangers, or sitting down at a desk waiting to take a test that could determine the entire trajectory of your
- [Skip the Gym, And Lots of Stuff, to Keep Yourself and Community Safe](https://thegrowtheq.com/skip-the-gym-and-lots-of-stuff-to-keep-yourself-and-community-safe/): Though it's been a while, my schooling is in public health, and we are in the middle of a public health crisis. So I am going to go in a slightly different direction than usual this week. Please bear with me. This is important.Stay home. I haven't missed a gym session in over three years. I've
- [You Can’t Boost Your Immune System, but You Sure Can Suppress It!](https://thegrowtheq.com/you-cant-boost-the-immune-system-but-you-sure-can-suppress-it/): “You can’t ‘boost’ the immune system, but you sure can suppress it!” This phrase is one I’ve heard off and on through the years by colleagues and professors. In my short foray into a doctorate, the program I was a part of was working on the immune system and exercise. As we’ve all been inundated with virus-related
- [Working From Home and Dealing with "Lifestyle Experts"](https://thegrowtheq.com/working-from-home-and-dealing-with-lifestyle-experts/): Before anything, for all of the below the most important thing is this: Don't judge yourself! What we are experiencing with COVID-19 is anything but normal.All kinds of experts (me included) are going to offer all kinds of advice for what to do with hours at home. Take what is helpful, throw out what is
- [Be Patient, Tough Times Don't Feel as Tough in the Future](https://thegrowtheq.com/be-patient-bad-times-dont-feel-as-bad-in-the-future/): A little less than three years ago I was quite sick for eight months. I struggled to have more than two decent days in a row, and often it was more like two decent hours. During this period it seemed like my situation was going to last forever. The hours felt like days and the days felt like
- [Preparing for the Long Haul](https://thegrowtheq.com/preparing-for-the-long-haul/): I was sitting in my 2nd-period class when 9/11 occurred. Another student was sitting in the corner, on a computer that was old even then for that time period, when the news started to reverberate. At first, we thought it was a bombing of the World Trade Center, then it became what we now know it
- [Exploring Performance and Well-being Amidst a Pandemic](https://thegrowtheq.com/exploring-performance-and-well-being-amidst-a-pandemic/): In this first episode of The Growth Equation Podcast Brad and Steve delve deep into what it means to be at your best—both for yourself and for your community—amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic. Brad and Steve discuss the importance of laying down a solid foundation of well-being across different domains including physical, emotional, intellectual, social and
- [Surviving Uncertainty: Control What You Can Control. Always Stick to Principles Over Patterns.](https://thegrowtheq.com/surviving-uncertainty-control-what-you-can-control-always-stick-to-principles-over-patterns/): In sports, we have a lot that we can control that directly impacts our performance. We determine how much we practice and our level of preparation. We control our sleep, recovery, and nutrition, which allows us to improve our physical gifts. We are in charge of how we approach competition and what actions we take
- [Social Distancing Desperately Needs a Re-Brand](https://thegrowtheq.com/social-distancing-desperately-needs-a-re-brand/): The best thing for most people across the world to be doing right now is limiting in-person interaction with others. But calling this social distancing is a mistake. If anything, what we so desperately require is the opposite, social solidarity. COVID-19 has showed us just how connected we all are. The only way communities can slow and beat
- [Leaders Understand What They Don't Know](https://thegrowtheq.com/effective-leaders-recognize-what-they-know-and-more-importantly-they-recognize-what-they-dont/): Have you ever worked a job where you had someone with little experience tell you how to do it? Maybe you were a coach or teacher and had that one parent who had no clue what was going on, but they constantly told you how to teach or coach. The parent who says, “My child needs
- [The Best Basketball Player on the Planet: Sabrina Ionescu; and Leadership Principles for Sport and Life](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-best-basketball-player-on-the-planet-sabrina-ionescu-and-leadership-principles-for-sport-and-life/): In this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast Brad and Steve discuss what lies behind the unrelenting drive and peak performance of basketball phenom, Sabrina Ionescu. They explore the principles that propel her success and share how these principles can be applied by just about anyone, to just about anything. They also dive into what Ionescu's experience
- [It's Okay—Even Essential—to Lower the Bar](https://thegrowtheq.com/its-okay-even-essential-to-lower-the-bar/): Many of us are obsessed with productivity and pushing forward. We have high expectations of ourselves and others.That's fine. Hopefully much good comes of it.But sometimes those high expectations don't make sense—especially not if you desire to be in a decent mood, which, after all, is key to making sustainable progress in any endeavor.A significant amount of
- [Being Great is Easy. Being Good is Harder.](https://thegrowtheq.com/being-great-is-easy-being-good-is-much-harder/): We're told to shoot for the stars, to set scary goals, to dream big, to go big or go home. When it comes to striving for success, we focus on raising the ceiling; doing something that we haven't done before; setting a new personal record. Our focus tends to be on being great.Comedian and actor Steve
- [How to Change Your Mind](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-change-your-mind/): In this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve explore cognitive dissonance and why it's so hard to change a mind—both your own or that of another. They delve deep into the psychological, physical, and social reasons that people stick to their guns, even when it benefits them to think differently, and they
- [Doing Stuff for the Sake of Doing Stuff is Not the Same Thing as Productive Action](https://thegrowtheq.com/doing-stuff-for-the-sake-of-doing-stuff-is-not-the-same-thing-as-productive-action/): Brad and Steve examine the difference between doing stuff for the sake of doing stuff and doing stuff because it is meaningful, valuable, and because you want to. Especially amidst uncertainty, people tend to throw themselves into action. Sometimes this is merely a way to distract or numb yourself from facing a challenging situation. But if
- [How We See the World Shapes How We React to It](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-we-see-the-world-shapes-how-we-react-to-it/): Sitting in front of you are two milkshakes in a bottle. On the label of one is a picture of a delicious looking ice cream sundae with the words “decadence you deserve” written over the top. The nutrition label confirms your suspicions, the indulgent shake delivers a whopping 620 calories. The “sensi shake” sitting next
- [Principles from the Best Endurance Athletes for Our Times: Run the Mile You Are In](https://thegrowtheq.com/principles-from-the-best-endurance-athletes-for-working-through-a-pandemic-patience/): By now it should be clear that overcoming COVID-19 will be a marathon, not a sprint. We, as individuals and communities, must play the long game. Unlike endurance athletes, who choose to participate in prolonged and grueling events, we did not sign up for COVID-19. Yet there is still much we can learn from the
- [Living in a World of Experts of Everything](https://thegrowtheq.com/living-in-a-world-of-experts-of-everything/): I did something I shouldn’t have during a pandemic. I went on Facebook. Littered among videos, memes, and updates from family members were the latest takes from a team of epidemiologists, doctors, virologists, and statisticians, keeping me informed on all things COVID-19. Of course, these doctors didn’t actually have MD’s or PhDs, they were a
- [Tech Gurus and ALL CAPS TWITTER vs. Actual Science](https://thegrowtheq.com/overconfident-techies-leaders-and-all-caps-twitter-vs-actual-science/): In response to COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted "FREE AMERICA NOW." Though Musk may be the most popular and followed of the bunch, other high-profile technologists and investors are making statements in a similar vein. In response to Musk's statement, Brad tweeted a synopsis of what we've come to call "Guru Syndrome":
- [If You Learn How to Listen to Your Body It Will Tell You What You Need to Know](https://thegrowtheq.com/we-are-missing-the-message/): “The air is up here! Put your hands over your head and stand up straight.”Coaches across the country yell the same phrase to tired athletes every day. In this instance, it was to a group of pre-teen soccer players who had just completed running sprints up and down the field. Players who ignored the initial
- [Searching versus Researching](https://thegrowtheq.com/searching-versus-researching/): Difference Between Search and Research "I searched the topic..." "Did you research it?" In a time where controversial topics and issues abound, the word research tends to come up a lot. During an argument or debate, someone inevitably pulls that card, claiming to have done their research or asking if you have. It's the trump card.
- [The Michael Jordan Way (and Why It May Not Be the Best Way)](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-michael-jordan-way-and-why-it-may-not-be-the-best-way/): The documentary The Last Dance portrays Michael Jordan as a fierce competitor who, even after winning multiple NBA championships and MVP awards, still had a chip on his shoulder. In this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve discuss what we can learn from the Jordan model; a model founded on performance from
- [A Little Hope for Society](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-little-hope-for-society/): We're at a very difficult point in our country. Where division is at it's highest, where people of different political parties instantly judge and don't interact. Where individuals are oppressed, and economic disparities are front and center. The sport of track and field provides a small glimmer of hope and path to follow.I grew up
- [Everything You Need to Know About Routines](https://thegrowtheq.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-routines/): The first rule of routines is to develop one that works for you. The second rule of routines is to release from it when it no longer works. In this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve talk about all things routines; the benefits, the costs and how COVID-19 is changing our routines.
- [Growth Comes From Discomfort](https://thegrowtheq.com/growth-comes-from-discomfort/): Lebron James is arguably the best basketball player on the planet. It would be easy for him to play to his strengths. But in 2014, he added a new element to practice. A one-on-one contest where buckets only counted if you shot off the wrong foot and with the wrong hand. James was minimizing a
- [Learning from the Best to Overcome Doubt, Fear, and Panic](https://thegrowtheq.com/learning-from-the-best-to-overcome-doubt-fear-and-panic/): If you’ve been around sport long enough, you’ve witnessed a pre-competition breakdown. Anxiety and nerves run high, panic overwhelms, and the tears start to flow. The athlete wants to be anywhere else, doing anything else—but they are trapped.
- [The Quick and Slow Routes to Building Tough Teams](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-quick-and-slow-route-to-building-tough-teams/): Truly caring is the key to molding tough teams.
- [How to Get Unstuck](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-get-unstuck/): Trying really hard works—until it gets in the way.
- [What A Simple Fitness Routine Can Teach You About Life](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-a-simple-fitness-routine-can-teach-you-about-life/): Spend less time sharpening the knife and more time thickening it.
- [When Goals Get in the Way of Success](https://thegrowtheq.com/when-goals-get-in-the-way-of-success/): Goals are great. They provide a target, something to shoot for and measure progress against. They serve as reminders, bringing our focus back to what matters. They help motivate us, pushing us to accomplish tasks. For good reason, we preach goal setting in everything from athletics to education. Yet, it’s not all rainbows and unicorns
- [Overcoming Bias to See More Clearly](https://thegrowtheq.com/in-search-of-the-truth-were-all-biased-what-can-we-do-about-it/): Becoming aware of the hardwired biases in your mind is key to just about everything.
- [What the NBA's Return to Play Can Teach Us About Leadership](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-the-nbas-return-to-play-can-teach-us-about-leadership/): It's not always enough to nail the basics. Sometimes you've got to go deeper, adapting as you proceed.
- [Are You Over-Reliant on Experience and Under-Reliant On Data?](https://thegrowtheq.com/are-you-over-reliant-on-experience-and-under-reliant-on-data/): Overcome a common trap: over-valuing your experience and under-valuing data and probability.
- [Fight, Flight… or Courage?](https://thegrowtheq.com/fight-or-flight-or-courage/): Cutting-edge science shows that confronting our fears is a trainable skill.
- [Are you checked out, going through the motions? Look at your foundation.](https://thegrowtheq.com/are-you-checked-out-going-through-the-motions-look-at-your-foundation/): “I underestimated mental health, honestly. I had anxiety. A little bit of depression. Just being locked in here .... I checked out.” -- NBA player Paul George on competing in the playoffs in the bubble. What does it mean to check out? For whatever reason, our society tends to think of checking out as an
- [Instead of Cutting College Sports, Schools Should Stop Spending Money Like Fools](https://thegrowtheq.com/instead-of-cutting-sports-colleges-should-stop-spending-money-like-fools/): This past week, the University of Minnesota cut its track and field team, along with men's gymnastics and tennis. From Akron, to William and Mary, to UC-Riverside, college sports across the country are being eliminated, including the sport I love, track and field. They have done so under different guises. Some claim Title IX, the
- [How to be Clutch (and Avoid Choking)](https://thegrowtheq.com/clutch/): This week marks the conclusion of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals and the start of the NBA Finals and MLB playoffs. We've seen (and are sure to see more) spectacular performances and unfortunate collapses. On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve discuss what we can do to be clutch and avoid
- [Mindsets—Do They Matter?](https://thegrowtheq.com/mindsets-do-they-matter/): Mindsets are all the rage. How you see the world around you influences your success. Believe that your abilities and talents are static? Well, you’ve got a fixed mindset and might be in trouble. Believe that you have the ability to learn and develop through hard work, you’ve got a growth mindset and are going
- [The Power of Trust Your Training](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-power-of-trust-your-training/): I recently started reading a new book called Trust. Written by Pete Buttigieg, it argues that a loss of trust in each other and in our institutions is causing severe harm in many developed countries, including America. I am not here to do a political analysis. If you want that, read Pete's book. It's very
- [The Year of Stress and Resilience](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-year-of-stress-and-resilience/): This year might be the year of stress. What we need is its counterpart: resilience. We’re all facing chronic stress, whether it comes from the economy, the virus, the political situation, or the unending uncertainty and doom that the news cycle projects. Unease and anxiety push us toward feeling despair and maybe even hopelessness. We
- [You Can't "Goal-Set" Your Way to a Breakthrough](https://thegrowtheq.com/stop-setting-goals/): When I was a 17-year-old high school runner spending my summer days quite unproductively running nine miles in the morning, watching movies all day, and then running another eight miles in the evening, I would often go into a day dream like state on my runs. It was the only way to get through the
- [The Benefits of Having a Difficult Conversation](https://thegrowtheq.com/difficult-conversation/): What do you think matters more for your child? Option 1: Joining the PTA, coaching their peewee football team, or volunteering at their school to help out. Option 2: Talking to your child about complex social issues. There’s little doubt that when it comes to parenting, coaching, or leading involvement matters. Being engaged in the
- [Three Experiments That Show We are Born to Belong](https://thegrowtheq.com/we-are-born-to-belong/): Imagine for a moment that you are sitting in a chair at the center of a room, with dozens of your peers surrounding you. All eyes are on you, as the boss-man standing across the way begins to speak. “You will never make it in this business. You don’t have the skill. You are too
- [Driven Apart or Coming Together: It’s Our Choice](https://thegrowtheq.com/driven-apart-or-coming-together-its-our-choice/): In 1954, two separate groups of 11-year olds arrived at a sprawling 200-acre Boy Scout camp in Oklahoma. Both groups of children arrived at the camp, unaware of the existence of the other. For the first week, each group spent their days doing traditional summer camp activities; games, hikes, and swimming. They grew close to
- [Mistaking Complexity for Understanding](https://thegrowtheq.com/mistaking-complexity-for-understanding/): Let's start with some science: The athlete’s aerobic glycolysis occurs via mitochondrial biogenesis delivered via ATP phosphorylation… Wait, before you stop reading, what does that mean? Nothing. I threw together some exercise science jargon. Every field has its own jargon, technical terms, or abbreviations that mean something to those who reside in that field, but
- [Fake Work is Easy and Alluring, Real Work is Hard](https://thegrowtheq.com/keep-the-small-things-the-small-things/): When you are a writer and you sit down at your desk with a massive project ahead of you, all sorts of alternative items that you could work on arise. Your deadline isn’t for months, but you know you need to get something done, so answering relevant e-mails or making an outline for the seventh
- [Put Your Ego Aside; Play The Long Game](https://thegrowtheq.com/play-the-long-game-put-principles-first-put-your-ego-aside/): In 1858, Abraham Lincoln ran for US Senator of Illinois against Stephen Douglas, a man who Lincoln held little sympathy for. About Douglas, he once remarked, “He does not quite know himself. Like a skillful gambler, he will play for all the chances . . . He never lets the logic of principle displace the
- [Avoiding the Trap of More, More, More](https://thegrowtheq.com/avoiding-the-trap-of-more-more-more/): In 1950, the average new home was 983 square feet. In 1960, that grew to 1,200 square feet. 1970? 1,500 square feet. Fast forward to 2018, and we’re at 2,300 square feet. The 1950’s version of ourselves would walk the streets of generic suburban America and assume everyone was living in mansions and had achieved
- [Routines are Good. Adaptability is Better.](https://thegrowtheq.com/routines-are-good-adaptability-is-better/): I had written two books and hundreds of articles and blogs in a coffee shop. I had a routine. It was dialed in and led to predictable performance outputs: Go to the coffee-shop. Order something good. Open my computer. Write. As of today, I haven’t set foot in a coffee shop in 10 months. The
- [Humility and Curiosity, Like Peanut Butter and Jelly](https://thegrowtheq.com/to-be-curious-stay-humble/): Whenever a new season of The Crown drops, Wikipedia searches for Queen Elizabeth and associated Royal family members increase by five-fold. A tsunami of google searches about Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Princess Diana, and specific historical circumstances washes over the internet. All of the sudden, millions of people are interested in long-forgotten events, such as
- [How You Do Anything is NOT How You Do Everything](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-you-do-anything-is-not-how-you-do-everything/): “You’re lazy.” I heard this a lot growing up. My older brother, who was much more academically inclined, would constantly get on me about rushing through my school work and doing the bare minimum to get by. For example, in English class, thanks to my hatred of reading at the time, I’d regularly watch the
- [Crisis Reveals Character](https://thegrowtheq.com/crisis-reveals-character/): It was 46 degrees. I had athletic pants with running tights on underneath, a thermal long sleeve top with another long sleeve shirt and a hoodie over the that, two pairs of socks, and about three blankets over that. My wife was similarly dressed. We were inside the warmest part of our house. Welcome to the
- [What's Old is New Again](https://thegrowtheq.com/whats-old-is-new-again/): In the late 1990’s, there was one constant in America, an item you could find just about anywhere: from grocery stores to Barnes and Noble, from the back of cereal boxes to attached to steaks. Over one billion America Online CD’s littered every aspect of our lives in the early days of the internet. It’s hard
- [Stop Comparing Your First Draft to Someone Else's Final](https://thegrowtheq.com/your-first-draft-isnt-supposed-to-look-like-your-final/): Writing a book is a long and arduous process. It takes months, if not years, of researching, exploring, and outlining before you even get to the actual writing. When you finally sit down to write, you're left with an inevitable feeling of doubt: Your prose isn't as fluid and magical as other books in the
- [Stop Talking About Your Values If You Aren't Acting On Them](https://thegrowtheq.com/when-our-actions-and-values-dont-align/): Nike released an advertisement this week that was well-presented, with an incredibly powerful and much-needed message. The ad featured a montage of pregnant women exercising and moving, with the uplifting message that they, too, are athletes. We see video of mothers at every stage of life’s wonderful journey, from pregnancy to post-partum. Included are cameos
- [Growth Comes From Struggle](https://thegrowtheq.com/growth-comes-from-struggle/): When it comes to getting better in sport, many of us walk around with the idea that we need to push until failure. To grow our muscles, we lift until they are Jell-O; to improve endurance, we run until we’re sprawled on the track gasping for air. Go until you have nothing left is appealing.
- [Getting Better Gradually, Not Miraculously](https://thegrowtheq.com/getting-better-gradually-not-miraculously/): At the 2012 London Olympics, the home country put on a show. Team Great Britain captured 29 Gold medals, trailing only the US and China in that regard. It was their most successful Olympics in over 100 years. There was a flood of books, Ted talks, and articles celebrating and glorifying the methods that UK
- [An Honest Rant on College Admissions](https://thegrowtheq.com/an-honest-rant-on-college-admissions/): The film Operation Varsity Blues, a chronicle of the massive college admissions scandal that occurred from 2011 to 2018, was just published on Netflix. It is a pretty damning (and tragic)film. In this episode of The Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve use the film as a jumping off point to an in-depth discussion of everything that is
- [What 6-Year-Olds Can Teach Us About Handling Adversity](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-6-year-olds-can-teach-us-about-handling-adversity/): Adults often look down upon children. Not in a mean-spirited type of way, but more so in holding the belief that kids are fragile and need of protection from the harshness of life. Yet, it's often the other way around. It's the kids who are adaptable and the adults who are fragile. Facing a return
- [Want to Do Better and Feel Better? Pay Attention.](https://thegrowtheq.com/want-to-do-and-feel-better-pay-attention/): I've been on a bit of a George Saunders binge. For those who don't know, Saunders is an American writer most known for his short stories and, more recently, novels, including the popular Lincoln in the Bardo. In his latest book, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, Saunders lays out his system for writing. What
- [The (Unfortunate) Power of a Story](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-unfortunate-power-of-a-story/): At the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, women were allowed to run the 800m for the first time. Up until that point, women were restricted to the short sprints, while men had a full plate of events to contest, ranging all the way up to the marathon. Lina Radke-Batschauer of Germany captured the Olympic gold in
- [When Something that is Supposed to be Easy Feels (Really) Hard](https://thegrowtheq.com/when-the-difficult-feels-easy/): On Thursday, June 22nd, Jim Ryun ran a mile in 4:07. In his training log, he wrote "was hard.” The mile race was the prelims for the AAU National Championship. Ryun had advanced to the final. But as someone who was just a few years removed from gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated when he
- [Money is Not the Best Motivator (Here's What Is)](https://thegrowtheq.com/money-is-not-the-best-motivator-heres-what-is/): Anyone who tells you that money isn't important is either delusional or has so much money they've become blind to how important it actually is. That said, above a certain amount—between 75K and 100K with adjustments in both directions for geography, according to research conducted by the Nobel Prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman—additional money is not
- [When Everyone Is Headed In the Same Direction, Look the Other Way](https://thegrowtheq.com/when-everyone-is-headed-in-the-same-direction-turn-around/): When Michael Jordan clinched his first NBA championship, teams averaged 7.1 three-point attempts per game. Fast forward to today and the average NBA team is taking nearly 35 three-point shots a game. Even the team that shoots the fewest amount of threes per game averaged nearly 29 attempts, four times as many as their Jordan-year
- [Load Management (In Sport, Work, and Life)](https://thegrowtheq.com/load-management-in-sport-work-and-life/): All the stars in the NBA are getting hurt. This comes off the coattails of a hyper-condensed season because of COVID-19, followed by a shortened off-season that led directly into another condensed season. The injuries, many of which are classic overuse issues, aren't a coincidence. They are the result of lots of stress, not enough
- [Stop Comparing Yourself to the Performative Junk on Social Media](https://thegrowtheq.com/we-all-play-the-comparison-game/): You’re standing in line waiting for those in front of you to order their favorite drink from the local coffee shop. Or maybe you’re sitting in the movie theatre, waiting for the ads to end and the main feature to begin. What do you do in these in-between moments? In a past life, you might
- [The Value of Doing Something Real in the World](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-value-of-doing-something-real-in-the-world/): I've gotten quite upset by a realization that so many conventionally successful people are completely out of touch (at best) and moral failures (at worst). Certainly not all, but many millionaires and billionaires. When I find myself in situations like these I tend to look to my elders for wisdom. In this case, I texted
- [Making the Difficult Appear Easy](https://thegrowtheq.com/making-the-difficult-appear-easy/): This past weekend Simone Biles pulled off an athletic feat that had never been seen before in women’s gymnastics: the Yurchenko double pike. In simplistic terms, while her competitors generally flip 1.5 times when coming off the vault, Simone rotated a full 2.5 times. All without an escape plan. “Unlike other Yurchenko vaults, where the
- [How Boredom Can Lead to Breakthrough](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-boredom-can-lead-to-breakthrough/): What do you do when you feel bored? There was a time in the past when the answers may have been diverse and varied. Read a book, call a friend, go for a walk, play a game, or if you’re a child, make up an entire adventure. Now, we all inevitably have the same reaction:
- [How to Go Hard Without Hitting the Wall or Burnout Out](https://thegrowtheq.com/avoiding-hitting-the-wall-learning-to-pace-yourself/): Launching a book is like training for years to line up in a single 400-meter dash. You wake up on launch day and sprint out of the blocks: tweeting, sharing on Instagram, doing podcasts, basically promoting like crazy. But partway through the sprint, you realize you are running a mile. You've got to make it through
- [The Paradox of Competition: It Either Raises Your Game or Causes You To Quit](https://thegrowtheq.com/competition-raises-our-game-or-causes-us-to-quit/): While watching the Olympic Trials in track and field, I am always struck by a performance contrast. On one hand, you have the athletes who are in the mix, competing to make the final or even be on the Olympic team. They raise their game, pulling off incredible performances. But then if you glance back,
- [Can You Be Great Without Being Obsessed?](https://thegrowtheq.com/can-you-be-great-without-being-obsessed/): In my performance coaching, one of the questions I get asked a lot is, “Can I reach my full potential without being obsessive?” It doesn’t matter if it’s an athlete or executive, driven individuals often believe that the only way to reach success is to go all-in, work like a maniac, and grind as if
- [Countering the Incentive to Hate and Divide on Social Media](https://thegrowtheq.com/countering-the-incentive-to-hate-and-divide-on-social-media/): Venture onto Facebook, Twitter, or any online forum, and you are littered with people taking firm stances on the latest controversial topic. They espouse their views—for this, against that—all the while condemning the other side. Such rants are increasingly filled with verbiage bordering on hate and contempt, an utter disbelief that anyone could hold such a
- [What a Soccer Shoot Out Can Teach Us About Pressure and Life](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-performing-under-immense-pressure-can-teach-us-about-life/): In a recent soccer shoout, England fell short in capturing the European Championship with a heartbreaking loss against Italy. England has never won the European Championship. After 120 minutes of soccer, the game remained deadlocked at 1-1. That meant turning to the most anxiety-inducing invention of modern sports: the penalty kick shootout. A brutal mano-a-mano,
- [A Brief Guide to Navigating Difficult Topics](https://thegrowtheq.com/difficult-topics-demand-nuance/): Climate change, transgender athletes competing in various classes, immigration reform, police funding, critical race theory, whether or not Sha'Carri Richardson should be banned from the Olympics for breaking a rule and smoking pot, and so on... Chances are as you read through that list of words and phrases, you had a hint, or maybe even
- [If You Think Simone Biles is "Weak," You Are Wrong. Here’s Why.](https://thegrowtheq.com/if-you-think-simone-biles-is-weak-you-are-wrong-heres-why/): When Simone Biles withdrew from the team gymnastics competition after one event, there were two reactions: empathy on the one hand and proclamations that she was “weak” and “letting down her teammates" on the other. The latter are wrong. At best they are ignorant, at worst full of malice. It is not just my opinion
- [Competing With (Instead of Always Against)](https://thegrowtheq.com/competing-with-instead-of-always-against/): "Can we have two golds?" After clearing every height on their first attempts all the way up to 7 feet, 9 and a quarter inches, 2020 Olympians Mutaz Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi were tied for the lead in the high jump. They both failed to clear 7'10'' three times in a row, meaning the deadlock
- [Olympic Lessons For All of Us](https://thegrowtheq.com/olympic-lessons-for-all-of-us/): With the 2020 Olympic Games coming to an end, we thought we'd recap some of the best moments and explore what we all can learn from them, regardless of whether you are an athlete, an executive, an artist, a consultant, a parent, or something else altogether. Themes include: accepting what is happening to get where
- [What it Means to be a True Champion](https://thegrowtheq.com/champion/): Perfection. It’s a daunting task, to have everything line up, to go as planned. It was the final day of the NCAA championship and we were staring at a need for perfection. To get to this point, the stars had to align. Five years earlier, it was just a dream. A seemingly outlandish goal. It
- [A Simple Way to Evaluate Principles and Practices](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-simple-way-to-evaluate-principles-and-practices/): Core to our work at the Growth Equation is looking for patterns across different areas of research, literature, history, and practice. We are interested in uncovering principles that are universal, or at least close to it: that is, they can be applied to diverse contexts. We are not interested in the latest small single study,
- [Morality is Contagious](https://thegrowtheq.com/our-peers-shift-our-ethics/): At the age of 21, an outfielder burst into the big leagues, drilling over 30 home runs in his rookie season. He wasn’t a sure-fire prospect, having been drafted in the 15th round. But by the age of 24, he’d have an MVP award and a world series title under his belt. Yet, his contribution
- [What Elementary School Teachers Can Teach You About Learning and High Performance](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-elementary-school-teachers-can-teach-you-about-learning-and-high-performance/): The education system in the US often gets a bad rap. We complain endlessly about how we’re falling behind, about how students aren’t taught the right things, or how students are stuck in a classroom that doesn’t look much different than a century ago. There may be some validity to those statements, but when you
- [Distorted Expectations Are Ruining Your Reality](https://thegrowtheq.com/our-distorted-expectations-are-ruining-our-reality/): This past week, an internal Facebook document was released which showed, essentially, that Instagram is toxic, and Facebook, Instagram's parent company, is well aware. One internal Facebook slide stated, “We make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls." Sadly, this isn’t a surprise. Instagram creates a false reality: a highlight reel of
- [Making Sense of Who We Are](https://thegrowtheq.com/making-sense-of-who-we-are-my-story-of-being-a-whistleblower/): Nine years. Nine freaking years. That’s how long this cloud has been a part of my life, hanging over my head, the potential for a storm to erupt always in the back of my mind. For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, here you go: In 2012, I blew the whistle on anti-doping
- [Grit Only Works If You Also Have Fit—Otherwise It Can Hurt](https://thegrowtheq.com/grit-only-works-if-you-also-have-fit-otherwise-it-can-hurt-you/): In my junior year of high-school, I applied to the prestigious Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. I didn't get in. Over the years, I've submitted essays and articles to all kinds of publications, from my local newspaper to the New York Times. Countless more have been rejected than accepted, and on a significant order
- [Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing](https://thegrowtheq.com/keep-the-main-thing-the-main-thing/): In 2019, only 35 percent of fourth-graders were proficient, on-level readers. After a year and a half of pandemic altered learning, various reports suggest that kids are months, if not years, behind where they should be. In classrooms across the country, we’ve got an alarmingly high number of third-graders who are reading at a first-grade
- [Don’t "Optimize" Your Way Out of Peak Performance](https://thegrowtheq.com/dont-optimize-your-way-out-of-peak-performance/): In the modern world, optimization is king. From athletics to the workplace, figuring out how to be more productive and more efficient is the never ending quest of high performers. The natural evolution of this mindset is to see, and even track, your "on" and "off" task time, with one goal being to minimize the
- [Nailing the Basics is Simple Not Easy—The Growth Equation Manifesto](https://thegrowtheq.com/nailing-the-basics-is-simple-not-easy-the-growth-equation-manifesto/): If you are overwhelmed and exhausted by competing information, claims, purported secrets, and so-called biohacks in health, fitness, and performance, you are not alone. We are tired too. In this post, we are going to go deep on debunking myths, explaining why they are pervasive, and then getting to what actually works for sustainable excellence
- [F*ck it and Let it Rip](https://thegrowtheq.com/fck-it-and-let-it-rip/): There was an incredible moment in the Detroit Tigers vs. Seattle Mariners baseball series that demonstrated an enduring lesson for performance—and really, for all of life. In game one of the series, the Detroit Tigers are the heavy underdogs. On the pitcher's mound is 24-year-old rookie Troy Melton. It's his first-ever playoff start, in a
- [Beyond Grit](https://thegrowtheq.com/beyond-grit/): The capstone test for Navy SEAL candidates, Hell Week, is notorious for its brutal difficulty. It's five and a half days of extreme training designed to push candidates to the utter brink. It includes sleep deprivation and hypothermia from kneeling in the frigid ocean water with waves crashing into you, all while being assigned physically
- [Getting it Done Even When You Don't Feel Your Best](https://thegrowtheq.com/getting-it-done-even-when-you-dont-feel-your-best/): Recently, a surgeon Brad coaches got called into an emergency case at 2 AM. The goal was straightforward: save as much of someone’s leg as possible. He was tired. His mind was noisy. He felt off. He took all that with him into the operating room—and nailed the case anyway. One of the most underrated
- [What It Means To Compete](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-it-means-to-compete/): Today we are going to talk about competition. Carlos Alcaraz just beat Jannik Sinner to win the US Open. A few months prior, Sinner beat Alcaraz to win Wimbledon. Mere weeks before that, Alcaraz topped Sinner to win the French Open. Over their last 15 matches—in total including 3,152 points—Alcaraz has won just 6 more
- [The Antidote to Internet Brain: Doing Real Things](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-antidote-to-internet-brain-doing-real-things/): A few weeks ago, Steve posted on social media about how the word trauma has undergone concept creep. Once reserved for major or chronic disruptions, trauma is now commonly used to describe everyday occurrences. Some ​researchers​ suggest its widening use may have a negative impact on mental health. But this article isn’t about that research,
- [The Most Underrated Performance Enhancer: Having Fun](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-most-underrated-performance-enhancer-having-fun/): For the first 90 games of the season, the Detroit Tigers were the best team in Major League Baseball. But the hot streak dates back even further. They finished last year on a tear. When they made the playoffs and upset the Houston Astros in the first round, many analysts thought it was a fluke.
- [Where Have All the Serious People Gone?](https://thegrowtheq.com/where-have-all-the-serious-people-gone/): This post is kind of about politics, but not really. Wherever you sit on the political aisle, we ask that you take a deep breath, don't immediately react, and read on. The main points here are important for everyone. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been inundated with videos of defense and health secretaries Pete
- [The Valley Before the Breakthrough](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-valley-before-the-breakthrough/): Eight weeks ago, one of us (Brad) was struggling mightily in the weight room. After a powerlifting meet in the Spring, he had taken three months away from heavy deadlifting. The break wasn’t because he was hurt but because he wants to play the long game, and occasional time off from the big lifts is
- [Sometimes The Hardest Part Isn’t Getting There—It’s Staying There](https://thegrowtheq.com/sometimes-the-hardest-part-isnt-getting-there-its-staying-there/): If you aren’t a track and field fan, you may have missed the most impressive high school performance in the history of sport. It sounds like hyperbole, but in this case, there’s no other way to describe it. At the USA championships, Cooper Lutkenhaus, a 16-year-old sophomore, ran 1:42.27 for 800 meters. How good is
- [The Imperfect Path to Greatness](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-imperfect-path-to-greatness/): An ever-increasing trend in the world of optimization is striving to be perfect. You often see this advice online: Never drink coffee. Always do an exacting workout. Get that 100% sleep score. Don’t have the Fritos or Oreos because you need to eat clean. Perfectionism is worn as a badge of honor, a show of
- [Zombie Burnout: A New Way to Think About the Restless Exhaustion of Modern Life](https://thegrowtheq.com/zombie-burnout-a-new-way-to-think-about-the-restless-exhaustion-of-modern-life/): It's time for a new term: zombie burnout. It represents the half-dead, half-alive shuffling through the day that leaves you both restless and exhausted at the same time. It depletes performance in just about every endeavor. And it's increasingly becoming a risk for everyone in modern life. Two Types of Burnout Yes, you can burn
- [The Biggest Trap with Success—And How to Overcome It](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-biggest-trap-with-success-and-how-to-overcome-it/): The number one golfer in the world just called winning major championships “not fulfilling.” It's making headlines in the sports world, and people are sensationalizing his comments. But what we actually saw is someone who is the best in the world showing that he's still human, and articulating it in a direct way. There is
- [How to Shift What You Think Is Possible](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-shift-what-you-think-is-possible/): “That’s impossible. I can’t do that.” We’ve all said it at some point in our lives. Most commonly, we’re starting a new endeavor, looking at what it’s going to take, and the task before us seems insurmountable. We’re the primary school students staring at the blank screen, unsure how in the world we’ll get to
- [Extraordinary Lessons from Sport that Apply to Life Too](https://thegrowtheq.com/extraordinary-lessons-from-sport-that-apply-to-life/): Amid all the craziness in the broader world, over the last few months, there have been a handful of extraordinary moments in the world of sports. And since, at their best, sports are a mirror for life, each offers important lessons for us all. Respond not React First, there was the golfer Rory McIlroy’s incredible
- [You Can't Force Motivation. You Can Plant the Seeds.](https://thegrowtheq.com/you-cant-force-motivation-you-can-plant-the-seeds/): One of the hardest things in coaching is seeing someone’s potential when they can’t see it for themselves. It’s right there in front of you, as clear as day, and yet for whatever reason, you can’t quite get that person to see what they're capable of. Now, take that same situation as a parent. Your
- [Overcoming Performance Anxiety](https://thegrowtheq.com/overcoming-performance-anxiety/): The parent of a high school baseball player recently asked us for tips to help his son manage nerves before critical at-bats. We’ve been asked a version of this question countless times: by lawyers arguing at the Supreme Court, musicians about to take the stage, surgeons before operating, and students before exams. Everyone faces performance
- [How to Develop Mental Toughness](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-develop-mental-toughness/): An expert's guide to sticking it out through pain and suffering.
- [You Don't Have to Feel Great to Perform Well](https://thegrowtheq.com/you-dont-have-to-feel-great-to-perform-well/): “I said to myself: what the hell am I doing here... I just didn't want to be there." “All I want is to get this over with.” As a big performance approaches—whether it’s in the boardroom, surgical operating theater, or on the track—anxiety and fear can send us spiraling. Our legs feel heavy, our mouth
- [A Shining Example of True Greatness](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-shining-example-of-true-greatness/): We often write about actual greatness versus pseudo greatness here at The Growth Equation. Often, it’s from a distance, an example of an elite athlete or world-renowned artist who gives us a glimpse into the nature of striving to be the best. But recently, we had the opportunity to see it up close. A few
- [The Power of Having Your Own Back](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-power-of-having-your-own-back/): A common theme among high performers—ourselves included—is a drive to keep pushing for progress. You never want to become complacent. You always want to ask yourself, "What can I do better?" This mentality is core to a growth mindset; it lies at the heart of greatness, excellence, and mastery. However, while you are pushing yourself
- [False Promises of The Manosphere: A Crisis of Mattering and Status](https://thegrowtheq.com/false-promises-of-the-manosphere-a-crisis-of-mattering-and-status/): It’s easy to brush off the struggles of men or the rise of the online ​“manosphere”​ as a last gasp of the patriarchy or an overblown and manufactured crisis solely for the culture war. But that’s a mistake. The data show that young men are truly struggling in unique ways—graduation rates are steeply declining; suicide
- [Maintaining Hope Amidst Turmoil](https://thegrowtheq.com/maintaining-hope-amidst-turmoil/): Maintaining Hope Amidst Turmoil (Read this on the Growth EQ website ​here​.) "I am now the most miserable man living," remarked the thirty-something-year-old man who had suffered two mental breakdowns and was frequented by thoughts of suicide. His friends described him as a "sad, gloomy man, a man of sorrow." And it wasn't a surprise
- [How to Cook Without Burning Down the Kitchen](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-cook-without-burning-down-the-kitchen/): Steve and I recently spoke at a conference that included some of the world’s top investors. Many, if not all, were type-A pushers—smart, driven, ambitious, and wanting to be the best at what they do. As the conference went on, we received a few questions regarding overload: How do you know when you have too
- [Starved of Significance—Why Intense Moments (Like Youth Sports) Matter More Than Ever](https://thegrowtheq.com/starved-of-significance-why-intense-moments-like-youth-sports-matter-more-than-ever/): When parents lose their minds in youth sports, we often ascribe it to the parent living vicariously through their kid, trying to gain status through their child's performance or to relive their glory days. While that's certainly a driver, it is not the only one. What if another big reason youth sports has become such
- [Extraordinary Composure Under Extraordinary Pressure](https://thegrowtheq.com/extraordinary-composure-under-extraordinary-pressure/): Rory McIlroy entered the final round of this year's Masters tournament in a position to win. After 11 years of trying, it would mean a career grand slam, placing him on the Mount Rushmore of Golf's all-time greats. He was looking good—until hole 13, when he made a terrible double bogey, giving up his lead.
- [How to Develop a Deep Reading Habit](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-develop-a-deep-reading-habit/): Deep reading and focus are competitive advantages—and we are losing both. We recently ​wrote​ about digital dementia—how an overload of distractions and constant stimuli leads to internet brain and is ultimately making society dumber. Here, we want to narrow in on a specific skill—deep reading, a skill we think is perhaps most important of all—and
- [Seeing Clearly in a Delusional World](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-keep-our-delusions-in-check/): Most of us have what I like to call “Uncle Rico” or “Al Bundy” stories. The person who insists, like those two fictional characters, that if only they hadn’t gotten hurt, or had gotten that first audition, or had someone listen to their mixtape, that they, too, would have made it. You may even have
- [Save Your Brain, A Digital Survival Guide](https://thegrowtheq.com/save-your-brain-a-digital-survival-guide/): Our brains are fried. Or at least that’s what it feels like for most of us. Chances are you’ve experienced at least one of the following: You sit down to read a book, only to find that your brain isn’t complying. You read a paragraph but don’t remember it a second later. Your attention can’t
- [Why People's "Deeply Held" Values Can Change So Quickly](https://thegrowtheq.com/our-identity-is-more-powerful-than-our-core-values/): This is what I stand for. These are my principles, my values. A common line we've all heard, and probably said ourselves, many times before. We tend to think of principles and values as items that are stable and consistent. We believe in something, and that belief holds true across a long period of time. We
- [A Truly Optimal Routine](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-truly-optimal-routine/): If you’ve been online recently, you may have seen a few morning routines presented to you as the height of discipline. They’re pseudo-optimized nonsense. At best, pseudo-optimized routines are performance art or elaborate kabuki that is not intended to be replicated. At worst, they make those not matching their 'level of commitment' feel like failures.
- [The Benefits of Learning How to Lose](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-benefits-of-learning-how-to-lose/): “I can’t function as a human being after a loss. I can’t eat. I can’t shave. I can’t hug my kids.” Urban Meyer said this in 2003 when he was head coach at the University of Utah. For the next 15 years of his coaching career, he wouldn’t do much losing. His worst year during
- [The Fitness Influencer Survival Guide–Separating Hype from Reality](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-fitness-influencer-survival-guide-separating-hype-from-reality/): We are inundated with information like never before. One of the most important skills to develop in the 21st century is the ability to distinguish hype from reality. That’s why at The Growth Equation, we rely on a three-legged stool that includes research (1), history (2), and practice (3). The latter two are particularly important
- [Pseudo Optimization Vs. Real Optimization](https://thegrowtheq.com/pseudo-optimization-vs-real-optimization/): Everyone loves to talk about optimization. The term gets thrown around by business leaders, fitness influencers, and engineers too. It brings to mind peak performance, getting the best out of yourself, and eliminating inefficiencies. But humans are complex, and when you optimize one part of a system, you face tradeoffs in others. A few examples:
- [Elon Musk, Chain Saws, and Pseudo Greatness vs. The Real Thing](https://thegrowtheq.com/elon-musk-chain-saws-and-pseudo-greatness-vs-the-real-thing/): Over the past few days, we saw two representations of greatness on big stages: The first was Elon Musk at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), where he paraded around with a Chainsaw over his head, signifying how hard he was working making cuts to federal bureaucracy. This came shortly after Musk ​bragged​ about having
- [Getting in the Right State to Perform](https://thegrowtheq.com/getting-in-the-right-state-to-perform/): Before the Olympic 200-meter final, Noah Lyles came out of the tunnel, bouncing around like a maniac. Given that Lyles was sick at the time, and ended up finishing in third place, he got some flack for his energetic stunt. But here's the thing: sick or not, his pre-race antics were probably the right thing
- [Why We Are All on Edge and Burned Out and What to Do About It](https://thegrowtheq.com/why-we-are-all-on-edge-and-burned-out/): Let’s have a quick thought experiment: How would you make an animal docile, depressed, and apathetic? You might start by making it feel low in status. Pitting it against its peers who are all bigger, stronger, or smarter. Pushing it down the hierarchical totem pole. Or maybe you follow classic experiments that deprived animals of
- [The Messiness of Actual Greatness](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-messiness-of-actual-greatness/): True performance hinges on balancing contrasts, such as caring without attachment, trying hard yet relaxing, setting goals while detaching from outcomes, and being confident yet humble. These paradoxes unlock peak potential in various domains.
- [The Importance of Learning How to Lose Well](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-importance-of-learning-how-to-lose-well/): “I can’t function as a human being after a loss. I can’t eat. I can’t shave. I can’t hug my kids.” Urban Meyer said this in 2003 when he was head coach at the University of Utah. For the next 13 years, he wouldn’t do much losing. Over that time frame, he lost on
- [To Perform Better, Be Joyfully Deliberate.](https://thegrowtheq.com/to-perform-better-be-joyfully-deliberate/): What does a high-performance environment look like? Depending on where you go to answer this question, you might be met with descriptions such as obsessive and relentless work ethic, high expectations and standards, excellence, optimizing everything, and accountability. The picture that often comes to mind is a place that demands perfection, or at least as
- [Your Environment Invites Action](https://thegrowtheq.com/environment-invites-action/): You're tired. It's been a long day of work, you walk in the door, with intentions to exercise, but that nice comfy couch is calling your name. You can't resist the pull of sitting down, turning on the TV or grabbing your iPad and relaxing. "Just for a few minutes," you think before you'll head
- [How to Get Out of Your Own Way to Perform at Your Best](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-get-out-of-your-own-way-to-perform-at-your-best/): Ninety percent of coaching is helping people to get out of their own way. In talking to some of the best athletes and executives on the planet for my new book, Win the Inside Game, I heard many stories of when their minds were screaming at them to quit, to find a hole to
- [The Case for Mastery and Mattering in a Chaotic World](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-case-for-mastery-and-mattering-in-a-chaotic-world/): Two crucial qualities for a deeply satisfying life.
- [What Aging Can Teach Us About Sustainable Success](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-aging-can-teach-us-about-sustainable-success/): In the health and wellness space, reversing aging has become trendy. There are all sorts of supplements you can take, protocols you can follow, and dubious tests you can take to help you on your journey to find the fountain of youth. Perhaps most famous of those on this journey is Brian Johnson, who runs
- [Balancing Competitiveness and Letting Go](https://thegrowtheq.com/balancing-competitiveness-and-letting-go/): Michael Jordan’s competitiveness is legendary. There was the time when at one of Jordan’s basketball camps, OJ Mayo, who was then 17, told a 42-year-old Jordan that he couldn’t guard him. Jordan stopped the camp, sent everyone to bed, and told the young kid, “You may be the best HS player, but I’m the best
- [A Simple Formula for Responding Not Reacting](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-simple-formula-for-responding-not-reacting/): When you react to a situation you fuse with it and become it. Going from one reaction to the next is an emotional roller-coaster.
- [Our Anonymous Age is Making us Mad: Finding Clarity in a Lost World](https://thegrowtheq.com/our-anonymous-age-is-making-us-mad-finding-clarity-in-a-lost-world/): Listen to an audio version of this article: The community faced a major problem. It was thriving, growing rapidly as more and more were flocking to it. But, then as soon as the group reached 150 people, chaos took over. Insubordination, discontent, and even violence grew. Factions developed, the once tight-knit community fractured, and people
- [4 Rules for Running Fast](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-4-rules-for-running-fast/): When it comes to exercise, we often get extremely complicated. For strength training, we get lost in the exercise type, the sets and reps, and the speed of the bar. In running, we look at different speed or intensity zones, heart rates, interval lengths, and recoveries. It's easy to get lost in the details. In
- [A Letter to My Younger Self: On Regret, Resilience, and Dealing with the Messiness of Life](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-letter-to-my-younger-self-on-regret-resilience-and-dealing-with-the-messiness-of-life/): “Was it worth it?” “Would you do anything different?” “What advice would you give your younger self?” I get these questions a lot. And despite knowing that they are coming, I often struggle to give an answer on the spot. I could offer something trite and cliché, but these demand something deeper, essentially a glimpse
- [How Belonging Makes the Difficult Seem Manageable: Why We Are Wired to Share the Load](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-belonging-makes-the-difficult-seem-manageable-why-we-are-wired-to-share-the-load/): Imagine for a moment that you are sitting in a chair at the center of a room, with dozens of your peers surrounding you. All eyes are on you, as the boss-man standing across the way begins to speak. “You will never make it in this business. You don’t have the skill. You are too
- [Stop Hovering and Let Kids Play—Their Mental Health Depends On It](https://thegrowtheq.com/stop-hovering-and-let-kids-play-their-mental-health-depends-on-it/): Growing up in the nineties, there was one constant in both our lives: neighborhood sports. Just about every day following school, you could find us amidst a dozen friends playing basketball, baseball, football, or rollerblade hockey. Steve would make the walk through his Houston neighborhood to the street with a cul-de-sac, picking up other kids
- [To Perform Better, Own Your Space](https://thegrowtheq.com/to-perform-better-own-your-space/): There’s something different about playing at home. It feels familiar, welcoming, and less threatening. Back in my competitive running days, whenever I competed at my home track, it was as if I knew every inch of the track surface. Sure, every track is the same distance, but on your home track, it’s a different kind
- [The Balancing Act of Chasing Gold](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-balancing-act-of-chasing-gold/): Every four years we come together and watch athletes from across the world make their dreams a reality, put on their national jersey, and compete to become the best in the world. The Olympics has its flaws, but there is no denying the magic of seeing the best of the best compete on the biggest
- [The Need for Peak Experiences in a Superficial World](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-need-for-peak-experiences-in-a-superficial-world/): In my favorite fiction book, ​Once a Runner​, there is a scene where the protagonist Quentin Cassidy has gone all-in. He's living in a cabin in the woods, training with his coach and training partner, Bruce Denton, all in the pursuit of seeing what's possible. One day, Denton suggests a tough but manageable workout, twenty
- [The Best Workout for Endurance and Health](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-best-workout-for-endurance-and-health/): What's the best workout? I get asked this question all the time. I never have a good answer for a simple reason: there is none. There is no magical workout that gives you everything you need. There's not even the best workout for a specific parameter, like improving your Vo2max. But when I venture online,
- [Overcoming the Attentional Health Crisis](https://thegrowtheq.com/overcoming-the-attentional-health-crisis/): Just as we have an obesity crisis, we also have an attentional health crisis. Though their presentation is different, a significant part of their underlying cause is the same, and some of the solutions are too. Researchers use the terms evolutionary mismatch or dysevolution to describe situations in which our modern environments come into harmful
- [Negative Pre-Game Speeches Don't Work. Here's What Does.](https://thegrowtheq.com/getting-ready-to-perform-choose-to-be-positive-ditch-the-negative/): Heading into the NFC championship, one win away from the Super Bowl, the Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator sat his team down and made them watch last year's championship game; a game in which the defense had been embarrassed by the San Francisco 49ers, giving up 37 points in total. Is showing your players their
- [How to Raise a Champion—Chill Out](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-raise-a-champion-chill-out/): When it comes to their child’s athletic pursuits, parents can go a bit crazy. They lose it on the sideline, yelling at the referee at their 8-year-old’s soccer match. They stress over whether their kid is making progress and if he or she is good enough for the travel team or to make varsity. Even
- [The Crisis of Masculinity](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-crisis-of-masculinity/): Young men are struggling. Look at the data. It’s not pretty: Education: There is a ​significant gap​ in high school graduation rates and college enrollments. Women graduate college at significantly higher rates than men in every state in America. Mental Health: the ​suicide rate​ for men is four times that of women. Intimate Relationships: Nearly
- [The Will to Continue](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-will-to-continue/): I had a whirlwind of a holiday season. A mixture of events that forced all of us to hold the extremes of joy and sadness at nearly the same time. First the good news, we welcomed a new baby girl into the world. She's happy, healthy...and of course not sleeping that much! Everything went well
- [A Good Life is Active not Passive](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-good-life-is-active-not-passive/): On a grave risk to your wellbeing that you probably overlook
- [How An Allostatic Approach Can Help You Find Stability In A Crazy World](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-an-allostatic-approach-can-help-you-find-stability-in-a-crazy-world/): On keeping our sanity and showing up at our bests in a batshit crazy world.
- [An Exercise Program for Life, Not Instagram](https://thegrowtheq.com/an-exercise-program-for-life-not-instagram/): A powerful reframe is to think of exercise as part of your job, even if you aren't a professional athlete. This way, exercise won't feel like a sacrifice—and it shouldn't. Exercise improves focus, cognition, creativity, problem-solving, emotion regulation, stress tolerance, and is the number one thing you can do to improve your long-term physical and
- [How to Be Resilient](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-be-resilient/): At the end of the day, resilience comes down to a few core factors: leaning into community, being kind to yourself, finding small routines to support your mental health, allowing yourself to feel sadness and loss and yet maintain hope at the same time, and a commitment to showing up again and again as you trudge through the mess.
- [The Best Route to Big Gains? Small Steps](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-best-route-to-big-gains-small-steps/): Achieving significant results in sports and life comes from consistent, incremental improvements rather than extreme efforts. Coaches like Matt Dixon and Patrick Sang advocate for gradual challenges to avoid burnout and injuries. Social media may pressure athletes into pursuing quick gains, undermining long-term progress. Consistency is vital for lasting success.
- [How to ACTUALLY Make America Healthy Again](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-actually-make-america-healthy-again/): There is no denying American health is in trouble. Forty percent of us are ​obese​. More than seventy percent are ​overweight​. America ranks last among comparable countries in ​life expectancy​. Our maternal and infant ​mortality​ rate is among the highest of developed nations. More Americans report deep ​loneliness​ than ever. These are but a few
- [The Problem with Making Health and Happiness Your Central Aims](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-problem-with-making-health-and-happiness-your-central-aims/): Look around, and everyone is selling (and craving) happiness and health. From podcasters to politicians, there's been a cry for doing something to help people in these two domains. In a viral ​post​ on social media, a US senator Chris Murphy implored us to acknowledge our "crisis of meaning and purpose." In a recent New
- [Swimming Upstream in the Current Ethos](https://thegrowtheq.com/swimming-upstream-in-the-current-ethos/): Robert Pirsig, George Leonard, and Erich Fromm are three of my favorite thinkers. They each have had a large influence on my life. They each embody a compassionate masculinity. And though they used different words and approached the topic from different angles, they were all interested in something similar. Pirsig called it Quality. Leonard called it Mastery. Fromm called it Productive Activity. Pirsig’s Quality
- [Finding Resilience in the Thick of Disorder](https://thegrowtheq.com/finding-resilience-in-the-thick-of-disorder/): Over the last few weeks, the situation in my hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, and the Western part of the state more broadly, has been hard to describe. On Friday, September 27, Hurricane Helene made landfall and wreaked havoc across the Blue Ridge Mountains. Nearly three weeks later, and just today my family got running
- [10 Rules for Sustaining Excellence](https://thegrowtheq.com/10-rules-for-sustaining-excellence/): The Detroit Tigers are one of the youngest, hottest teams in baseball, maybe even all of sports. The average age on the big league team is just 26.7 years old, and the farm system is full of prospects as young as 18. Midway through the season, it looked like the team was in a building
- [Stop Hiding Behind Complexity](https://thegrowtheq.com/stop-hiding-behind-complexity/): Lots of people make things overly complex. Sometimes complexity is necessary but often it's not. A lot of times people make things complex so they can sell them. It's hard to monetize the basics, but come up with an intricate and sexy-sounding approach to something and people will pay⁠—and often a nice amount⁠—for it. That's
- [We Make Fitness Too Complex and That is Dumb](https://thegrowtheq.com/we-make-fitness-too-complex-and-that-is-dumb/): A new report from the Global Wellness Institute, a nonprofit focused on research in preventative health and wellness, found that Americans spent $264.6 billion dollars on physical activity in 2018, far more than any other nation. The United States leads the world in spending for every segment, including fitness classes ($37 billion), sports and recreation ($58 billion), apparel and
- [Finding Hope in Unexpected Places, Even When the Odds are Stacked Against Us](https://thegrowtheq.com/when-the-odds-are-stacked-against-us-finding-hope-in-unexpected-places/): In 2023, Theo Struyck, a retired US postal worker, was enjoying his golden years, spending quality time with his grandkids in his modest 1,100 square foot home an hour outside Los Angeles. Then, against all odds, he hit the Powerball jackpot: a life-changing $1.7 billion. The odds of winning were insanely low, a mind-boggling 1
- [Understanding the Voices in Your Head](https://thegrowtheq.com/understanding-the-voices-in-your-head/): "If other people could hear my inner dialogue during competition, they'd think I was certifiably crazy." That refrain is one I've heard from countless people, regardless of the sport or activity they are pursuing. Our self-talk can be a strange world. One filled with bitter arguments among ourselves, a self-flagellation of negativity, or a Tony
- [3 Elements for Finding Meaning in Life](https://thegrowtheq.com/3-elements-for-finding-meaning-in-life/): A simple yet powerful framework for building a deep life.
- [Are You Nervous or Excited? It's Up to You](https://thegrowtheq.com/is-it-nerves-or-excitement-its-up-to-you/): In the 1960s, two intrepid researchers took their subjects and injected them with adrenaline. They saw the typical physiological effects: an increased heart rate and an increase in tremors or "jitteriness" from the participants. All to be expected.Next, the researchers put their subjects in a waiting room with another person. Unbeknownst to our participants, this other
- [Nurturing Independence: How Autonomy-Supportive Practices Cultivate Success](https://thegrowtheq.com/nurturing-independence-how-autonomy-supportive-practices-cultivate-success/): Leading others is one of the toughest tasks we can take on. What kind of leader are we going to be? Do we do our best imitation of a drill sergeant, dictating and demanding power and control, hoping that the rigid environment pushes people to get the job done? Do we act more like a
- [6 Steps to Stay Sane in an Insane World](https://thegrowtheq.com/6-steps-to-stay-sane-in-an-insane-world/): The world is crazy, but then again, it always has been. Perhaps we feel it more acutely in our current era because we are so connected to everyone and everything, and because so many of the "digital town squares" that promised to bring us together and uplift us have sunken to the lowest common denominator
- [The Case for Wise Hope and Wise Action](https://thegrowtheq.com/when-the-hard-thing-is-wise-hope-and-wise-action/): It is easy to be delusional and pollyanna. It is easy to be pessimistic and despairing. It is hard to accept a challenging reality for what it is—and to stay hopeful and take productive action in its midst.
- [Categories Like Depression, OCD, and Neuroatypical Work Until They Get in the Way](https://thegrowtheq.com/categories-like-depression-ocd-nueroatypical-work-until-they-get-in-the-way/): There seem to be two camps, or at least two vocal camps, on categorizations related to identity. There is the 'category defines me and my view of the world and is everything' camp. And there is the 'categories don't matter, we are all human' camp. This theme is apparent in many realms, including chronic illnesses
- [The Science of Freaking Out](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-science-of-freaking-out/): This post is based on our new book, Do Hard Things. Check it out! Acute stress can be debilitating. It can cause professional baseball players to lose the ability to throw a ball 30 feet, something they've been doing since elementary school. In theater, it can cause stage fright, freezing, and forgetting lines that you've
- [Working Hard in a Burnout Society](https://thegrowtheq.com/working-hard-in-a-burnout-society/): I am a pusher. I love my work. I derive a significant portion of my fulfillment and identity from it. For this I I am a pusher. I love my work. I derive a significant portion of my fulfillment and identity from it. For this I am fortunate. And yet, if I don't remain vigilant
- [A Minimum Effective Dose for Sustainable Success](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-minimum-effective-dose-for-sustainable-success/): Let's start with a simple fitness story, and expand from there: About two years ago, for a wide variety of reasons—including time, mental energy, and a calf that becomes painful and explodes with repetitive motion—I decided to shift my armchair athleticism from running to strength training. I went from running 50 miles per week to
- [What the Olympics Can Teach Us About Life](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-the-olympics-can-teach-us-about-life/): For all their flaws, the Olympics are special. We get to see real people, most of whom aren't paid millions, but some variation of peanuts, step into the once-every-four-years spotlight. It's their singular chance to change their lives, cement their legacy, or just walk away knowing that they gave their all to chasing the dream.
- [You Don't Have to be an Asshole to be Great](https://thegrowtheq.com/you-dont-have-to-be-an-asshole-to-be-great/): What does it take to win, to be your best—if not the best—at what you do? Unfortunately, there is a longstanding narrative that being the best requires being an asshole. You have to be single-minded, obsessed, despise losing, hate your competitors, or some variation of those ideas. Early in Steve's coaching career, that's what he
- [Why Nike's Olympic Ad Gets Greatness Dead Wrong](https://thegrowtheq.com/why-nikes-olympic-ad-gets-greatness-dead-wrong/): Nike released a new commercial timed to the start of the Olympics. It begins with the question "Am I a bad person?" and then proceeds to link greatness to being "deceptive," "obsessive," "selfish," "obsessed with power," "maniacal and delusional," "not respecting" your competition, having "zero remorse," "no empathy," and "no sense of compassion." First of
- [The Perils of Heroic Individualism](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-perils-of-heroic-individualism-and-ideas-for-a-more-grounded-society/): It has been a year since The Practice of Groundedness was first released, and well over two years since I finished writing the book. Much has happened since. COVID-19 went from being a novel virus to a full-blown pandemic, dramatically altering our way of life. Democratic backslide has proliferated in the western world, perhaps most
- [Redefining Success So It Doesn't Crush Your Soul](https://thegrowtheq.com/redefining-success-so-it-doesnt-crush-your-soul/): Conventional thinking about success is dumb. Here's a better way.
- [The Benefits of Focusing on Principles Instead of Goals](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-benefits-of-focusing-on-principles-instead-of-goals/): Goals are helpful—so long as you can kill your attachment to them when you need to. Having a plan is good, but being able to evaluate that plan and change it—or even leave it altogether if necessary—is critical to well-being and sustainable success. Why? Because life happens. The environment around you changes. You realize that
- [Longevity and Vo2max? Does it Actually Matter?](https://thegrowtheq.com/longevity-and-vo2max-does-it-matter/): If you ever traffic in the health and wellness space, you’ve undoubtedly heard about Vo2max and its impact on longevity. From Peter Attia to Andrew Huberman to Rhonda Patrick…to well, everyone, they’ve all covered why you need to figure out how to improve your Vo2max! And for good reason. Let’s look at relatively recent research:
- [The Difference Between Tolerating Pain, Suffering and Performing](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-difference-between-tolerating-pain-suffering-and-performing/): Since the release of Do Hard Things, the questions I've received most are some variety of "What about the David Goggins, be a badass and ignore your limits, approach?" In what follows, I'll answer it. First, what Goggins has accomplished is incredible. There is no arguing that. Some of the feats he's been through are
- [How to Apply an "RPE" Scale to Life](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-apply-an-rpe-scale-to-life/): On the wall of my local gym, where the coaches program training based on how athletes feel, hangs a chart that looks something like this: Rate of perceived exertion (RPE) is commonly used in high-performance sport to balance effort and recovery. More time in upper zones means more time in lower ones. Stress plus rest
- [A New Way to Think About Pain](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-new-way-to-think-about-pain/): New Research: Pain is not just in the mind or in the body. It is in the entire system. Treating it, then, requires a broad approach.
- [Load Management for Life](https://thegrowtheq.com/load-management-for-life/): A fews weeks back, I tweaked my calf on a deep pendulum squat. I proceeded to have a brief conversation with a physical therapist who trains at my gym. He recommended two rehabilitation exercises. I thanked him and, without really thinking, added, "I'll do these exercises and otherwise rest it for a bit." He almost
- [Ruggedness and Flexibility and American Politics](https://thegrowtheq.com/ruggedness-and-flexibility-and-american-politics/): In a recent talk on my new book, a question about politics came up, because of course. Even if you loathe politics, I'm asking you to stick with me here, because I think where this ends up will be interesting and of value. There's a small part of the book (2 out of 226 pages, to
- [What The Best Can Teach Us About Winning](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-the-best-can-teach-us-about-winning/): Noah Lyles is the reigning 100m world champion. This gives him the title of fastest man in the world. Recently, at the Olympic Trials, before getting into his block, Lyles pulled out something from his jersey to flash at the camera. They were Yu-gi-oh cards. If you're like me and have only the faintest idea
- [Protocols and Peak Performance](https://thegrowtheq.com/protocols-and-peak-performance/): Last week, the popular podcast host Andrew Huberman went on the Tonight Show. During his appearance, he ​said​ that getting sufficient low-angle morning sunlight is "the single best thing you can do for your physical and mental health, believe it or not." This, of course, is patently false. To be sure, getting outside early in
- [The Right Way to Go "All In"](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-right-way-to-go-all-in/): Jaylen Brown was recently awarded the NBA finals' most valuable player. The twenty-seven-year-old averaged 21 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and nearly 2 steals per game. In 2016, when he was in school at California Berkeley, Brown went to an NBA finals game and ​said​: "I'm Jaylen Brown, California, Berkeley right up the street. I
- [What Separates 'Super Champions' from 'Almost Champions?'](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-separates-super-champions-from-almost-champions/): Great athletes are fascinating. It’s a thrill to watch the very best of the very best. And though your natural abilities (or lack thereof) may prevent you from becoming as good as the champs, you can improve yourself by emulating their behavior. And yet there’s an overlooked group that is worth your attention, too, if for
- [What Drives Ninety-Nine Percent of Performance](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-mistake-of-thinking-you-are-a-world-class-performer/): We tend to think national and world class athletes have it all figured out. They are dialed in, optimizers of everything: they do the little things that the rest of us don't. We also believe that the coaches of such athletes must be obsessed with the final 0.1%, always searching for marginal gains. This story
- [The Struggle Makes the Reward](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-struggle-makes-the-reward/): Why does anyone buy anything from IKEA? You open the box and are left with an inordinate amount of pieces, that somehow you're supposed to use a pictograph instruction book to put the whole thing together. It is a test of your will, patience, and ingenuity. And in some cases, your marriage! (It's become known
- [Take the Work Seriously. Yourself? Not So Much.](https://thegrowtheq.com/take-the-work-seriously-yourself-not-so-much/): How not to lose your mind, burn out, or some combination of the two.
- [Excellence Requires Intimacy](https://thegrowtheq.com/excellence-requires-intimacy/): If we want to experience fulfillment and quality in whatever it is that matters to us, we've got to find ways to remove sources of separation.
- [Feeling Frustrated, Get Curious.](https://thegrowtheq.com/feeling-frustrated-get-curious/): Let me set the scene: Pure panic. Crying, screaming, and a piercing gaze called for help. As I stood there, I wasn't sure what to do. I leapt into action, trying to figure out what the problem was and how to help. It was chaos—until it was over. A jingle of the car keys, and
- [The Case for Friction](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-case-for-friction/): We need to start thinking about building our identity in the same way we think about building our physical fitness.
- [Doing Real Things is Good for the Soul](https://thegrowtheq.com/doing-real-things-is-good-for-the-soul/): Even the best outcomes are meaningless if we don't get to go through the process of creating them.
- [Is Technology Alienating You From Real Life?](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-simple-way-to-think-about-using-new-technologies/): A new technology drops. Some people immediately adopt it, assuming all that is new is good. Other people immediately shun it, assuming all that is new is bad. Neither of these approaches is ideal. There is a middle—and better—way. It has to do with the concept of evaluating alienation. In the simplest terms, alienation means
- [Own Your Distractions So They Don't Own You](https://thegrowtheq.com/own-your-distractions-so-they-dont-own-you/): It is the turn of the year and one thing seems certain: the pace of information, stimulation, and distraction is not slowing down. The culture of heroic individualism—an ongoing game of oneupmanship where measurable achievement is the main arbiter of success and the goalpost is always 10 yards down the field—can be summarized neatly with
- [Stop Over-Optimizing Everything](https://thegrowtheq.com/stop-over-optimizing-everything/): Since the glory days of Babe Ruth, with only a few dips here or there, home runs have been king in baseball. But over the past decade or so, an interesting phenomenon has occurred. Home runs are still emphasized above all else, but strikeouts are up, and the percent of time batters make contact is
- [Achieving Greatness Without Falling Apart](https://thegrowtheq.com/achieving-greatness-without-falling-apart/): Caitlin Clark is a star, transforming and elevating the game of women's basketball in a way that we've yet to see. At the heart of her story is the pursuit of greatness, striving for the outer bounds of her potential. How do we channel the passion, drive, and borderline obsession that the greats often possess,
- [In Defense of Craft](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-benefits-of-craft-work/): Whether it's stacking wood, lifting weights, running a mile, drawing a picture, recording a song, or writing an essay, I've come to believe strongly that there is something nourishing and gratifying about doing work where there is nothing and then there is something—and you are the only thing between the two. The following reflections may
- [The Transformative Mental Health Benefits of Mastery](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-mental-health-benefits-of-mastery/): Throwing yourself into an activity and gradually pursuing concrete, tangible progress is good for your brain. Many people discovered this firsthand during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, as they took up gardening, baking, and exercise. What all of these activities share in common is that they afford the person doing them a path toward
- [To Perform Under Pressure, Shift Your Perspective](https://thegrowtheq.com/to-perform-under-pressure-shift-your-perspective/): Imagine standing in front of thousands of fans, with over a million more watching on TV back home, about to compete for a spot on the United States Olympic team. The next two minutes determine whether not only whether or not you get to achieve your childhood dream of competing in the Olympics, but also
- [The More You Do, The Less You Accomplish](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-more-you-do-the-less-you-accomplish/): As I was making my way through Cal Newport's new book ​Slow Productivity​, one of the more paradoxical principles is that doing more things reduces the total amount you accomplish. I had long sensed this intuitively, and Steve and I even wrote about it in Peak Performance, under the section titled "Be a Minimalist to
- [For a Good Life, Think Boundaries Not Balance](https://thegrowtheq.com/for-a-good-life-think-boundaries-not-balance/): Balance is a questionable goal at best. After years of reporting, I've found that the majority of people report being happiest and most fulfilled during times when they were unbalanced, giving their all to something they cared deeply about. But "giving their all" doesn't necessarily mean only doing that one thing. People need to rest. And a healthy identity is
- [Four Things Top Performers Do Every Day](https://thegrowtheq.com/four-things-top-performers-do-every-day/): Michael Joyner, a physician and researcher at the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minneapolis, is one of the most productive humans alive. Joyner, an expert on physiology and human performance, has published more than 350 scientific articles, was recently named the distinguished investigator at the Mayo Clinic, and was awarded a grant through the Fulbright
- [The Value of Holding Yourself Back](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-value-of-holding-yourself-back/): I was struggling. I was in my competitive running days, in the best shape of my life, knocking out workouts I couldn't imagine, but races were not going well. I just couldn't put it together. I gave myself one last shot before packing in the bags for that season. In two weeks I was going
- [Hard Work Is Necessary, But Not Sufficient.](https://thegrowtheq.com/hard-work-is-necessary-it-is-not-sufficient/): As I peruse the self-help book aisle or stumble upon the latest entrepreneurial guru on YouTube, I'm often met with a simple message: work hard. There's truth to that message, of course. If you want to get better at just about anything, you need to work hard. But hidden beneath the stories of getting up
- [We Are Entering an Age of Ultra-Processed Information](https://thegrowtheq.com/we-are-entering-an-age-of-ultra-processed-information/): Last week, OpenAI unveiled an incredible new technology that allows you to type in simple prompts and get high-definition videos in return. Here are two brief examples: "​bling zoo​" and ​"golden retrievers podcasting on top of a mountain."​ I know these are meant to be funny and to showcase the awesome capabilities of this technology.
- [5 Lessons on Life From the Greatest Sporting Event](https://thegrowtheq.com/5-lessons-on-life-from-the-greatest-sporting-event/): What can the world's greatest sporting event teach us? A lot, even outside of sport. But wait...we're not talking about the Super Bowl here. What event then? The US Olympic Marathon Trials, which occurred a couple of weeks ago.It's a once every 4 years event, a single race to determine which 3 men and women
- [5 Principles for More Excellence With Less Angst](https://thegrowtheq.com/5-principles-for-more-excellence-with-less-angst/): As an executive coach, I saw a troubling trend among my clients even before Covid-19: Many were exhausted and on a path to burnout, if they weren’t already there. The chief physician of a large healthcare system came to me because he wanted to “feel more stable and have more control over how he spent
- [Motivation is Over-Rated: Here's What Works Instead](https://thegrowtheq.com/motivation-is-over-rated-heres-what-works-instead/): Conventional wisdom says that positive thinking, enthusiastic mood states, and inspiration are key to a good and productive life. But that's not entirely true, at least not according to the latest psychological science. A more accurate representation of the relationship between motivation and action is this: you don't need to feel good to get going—you
- [What Happens When You Do—Or Don't—Identify with Achievement](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-happens-when-you-do-or-dont-identify-with-achievement/): This past weekend I was at the gym testing my strength across the three big lifts for which I train: squat, bench-press, and deadlift. I've been training somewhat seriously for the last 18 months, and this was my first chance to leave it all out there and see where I was at. As I walked
- [Finding Meaning in Our Never Enough Culture](https://thegrowtheq.com/finding-meaning-in-our-never-enough-culture/): Let's start with a simple question: If you are hungry, distracted, and rushed, and someone places two bowls in front of you—one of brown rice and baked potatoes, the other of peanut M&Ms and Swedish fish—which one would you choose? If you are like most people, you'd probably choose the candy. This is by no
- [The Case for Ambition](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-case-for-ambition-2/): There is increasing momentum behind a movement that I'll call broadly "anti-ambition." I think this is misguided. We need ambition. For example, I am certainly glad Kati Kariko, the researcher who worked tirelessly for years pushing the science of mRNA until vaccines were finally developed, was ambitious. I think Kariko is a prime example of the fact that if you are
- [What To Do When You're Tired of Being Tired](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-to-do-when-youre-tired-of-being-tired/): In our first session this year, my coaching client Jane told me that she has rested, given herself permission to feel down, and lowered her personal bar. But even as she goes through the motions of self care, she told me, she still feels blah. “I’m just kind of stuck,” she said. “And I don’t
- [When Good Enough is Good Enough](https://thegrowtheq.com/when-good-enough-is-good-enough/): Let's start with an interesting observation: so many “influencers,” “optimizers,” and “wellness” and “happiness” gurus don’t have partners or kids. Yes, strive to be healthy and excellent and all that, but sometimes the key to adult life—perhaps especially if you’ve got kids—is that you’ve just got to order a pizza and move on. To be
- [The Truth About Quiet Quitting](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-truth-about-quiet-quitting/): The term "quiet quitting" has become a thing. It all started with a seventeen second TikTok video that went viral, in which the narrator says "it is not outright quitting your job but quitting the idea of going above and beyond at work." Since then, quiet quitting has been covered by The Washington Post, The New
- [How to Overcome the Arrival Fallacy](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-overcome-the-arrival-fallacy/): Wherever you are, the goal post is always 10 yards down the field. If you develop a mindset "If I just accomplish ___, THEN I'll arrive," you are in for a rude awakening. There is no arriving. The sooner you realize this, the better. The Arrival Fallacy was first coined by the behavioral scientist Tal
- [Don't Rush the Lift](https://thegrowtheq.com/dont-rush-the-lift/): Something I've been working on in the gym is not rushing my deadlift. Especially as the weights get heavy, there is a strong temptation to walk up to the bar and get it over with. I'm sure it's a subconscious fear: this is going to be hard; I don't want to think about it; I
- [Meet Your Heroes — And Be Disappointed.](https://thegrowtheq.com/meet-your-heroes-and-be-disappointed/): "Never meet your heroes. They'll surely disappoint." It's a common phrase, and one with some truth. But maybe that's a good thing? When I was a teenager, I devoured a book on a runner who might have been the epitome of toughness and grit. After all, he ran himself to the brink of death to
- [Amusing Ourselves to Death in the Attention Economy](https://thegrowtheq.com/amusing-ourselves-to-death-in-the-attention-economy/): Recently at the gas station, I was filling up my tank as a beautiful woman appeared on the high-definition screen placed on the pump. She told me when I'm feeling stressed out and overwhelmed, I need to repeat to myself a few times the phrase everything is figureoutable and then I'd be okay. My brain, she
- [The Key to Sticking to an Exercise Program? It's Supposed to Feel Easy!](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-key-to-sticking-to-an-exercise-program-its-supposed-to-feel-easy/): Grind culture is stupid. Lots of easy movement combined with a dash of hard work goes a long way.
- [Stop Doing Tabata Intervals. They Suck.](https://thegrowtheq.com/stop-doing-tabata-intervals-they-suck/): Walk up to a college or even high school track coach and ask, “Do you think 8 x 160-meter near-maximal sprints with only 10 seconds rest is a good workout?” They will laugh you right off the track. They will think you are nuts. Welcome to the Tabata workout protocol. The destination workout for all
- [15 Science-Backed Ways to Get Work Done](https://thegrowtheq.com/15-science-backed-ways-to-get-work-done/): “I get to the arena 5 hours before a game to start prepping—mentally, physically, and spiritually" —Lebron James The King, as James is affectionally called, has a pre-game routine that seems a bit excessive, but elite athletes are masters at putting themselves in a position to perform at their best. While there’s plenty of fun
- [Why We Need to Seek Out Discomfort](https://thegrowtheq.com/why-we-need-to-seek-out-discomfort/): Joseph Campbell is known for his work in mythology. He outlined the hero’s journey that influenced George Lucas in the creation of Star Wars. But when Campbell was asked by PBS's Bill Moyers what it was like to have a peak experience, to feel fully alive, he shared that his "peak experiences all came in
- [The Basics of Fitness: A Program for Everyone](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-basics-of-fitness-a-program-for-everyone/): It is easier to train for a marathon than for general fitness. That might sound sacrilegious for the runners out there. But let me explain: of course marathon training likely takes more time, energy, and effort. But at least you know what you're training for. You have a goal, checkpoints for how training is coming
- [The Problem With Biohacking, Optimization, and The Wellness Industrial Complex 2.0](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-problem-with-biohacking-optimization-and-the-wellness-industrial-complex-2-0/): In the self-help, biohacking, and personal improvement crowds, people often turn their entire lives into work, all in the name of getting better and living forever. I know some who get so into optimization, recovery-tracking, cold-exposure, and nutrient timing that every meal and shower—and even sleep—becomes something to excel at for a future goal. No
- [Internet Brain is a Real Thing](https://thegrowtheq.com/internet-brain-is-a-real-thing/): If you feel "off" more often than you'd like, you aren't alone. Many people do. In The Practice of Groundedness, I traced this general sense of dis-ease to a concept I called heroic individualism: an ongoing game of oneupmanship against yourself and others where the goalpost is always ten yards down the field. Heroic individualism
- [The Power of Constraints to Protect Against Existential Anxiety](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-power-of-constraints-to-protect-against-existential-anxiety/): In a world where technology is accelerating, you have access to what, for all intents and purposes, is infinity in more areas of your life. A few examples include dating apps (endless potential matches); flexible work schedules (endless time—until you die, that is—to do your work); streaming music or television (endless options for listening or watching); and,
- [Performance and Wellbeing Concepts Are Like Tools in a Toolkit](https://thegrowtheq.com/performance-and-wellbeing-concepts-are-like-tools-in-a-toolkit/): If you are in a hole, feeling acutely down and at a loss of meaning, it is probably not helpful to reflect on your purpose, engage in positive visualization, or write in a gratitude journal. A better bet is to accept what is happening in a non-judgmental manner, practice self-compassion, and reach out for help.
- [How to Be Consistent](https://thegrowtheq.com/dont-aim-to-be-consistently-great-aim-to-be-great-at-being-consistent/): If you go for broke you often end up broken. If you swing for home runs you often end up striking out. But if you just put the ball in play—over and over again—good things tend to happen. When it comes to health, well-being, and peak performance, quick fixes and heroic efforts are the common
- [A Brief Guide to Developing a Deep Reading Habit](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-brief-guide-to-developing-a-deep-reading-habit/): Deep reading, or full engagement in a book, is an absolute joy. It is good for mind and spirit, and it is also a competitive advantage in today's knowledge-based economy. Increasingly, people struggle to pay attention to just about anything, let alone a book. Yet deep reading confers many benefits above and beyond watching a
- [The Importance of Hardiness](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-importance-of-hardiness/): Hardiness is a psychological trait that motivates you to respond to stressful circumstances in ways that produce resiliency. It is a key to cultivating the existential courage that facilitates the ongoing search for meaning in life. Hardiness has three major components. 1) Commitment Accept the situation you are in and move forward anyway. Resist the temptation
- [The Key Factor Behind Fierce Self-Discipline](https://thegrowtheq.com/fierce-self-discipline-requires-fierce-self-compassion/): A key to sustainable progress is marrying fierce self-discipline with fierce self-compassion. Self-discipline is pursuing what one thinks is right despite temptations to abandon it; focusing on the task at hand; and showing up consistently, even when you don't want to. Self-compassion is being kind to yourself in the midst of struggle; creating space
- [The Myth of "One Percent Better Every Day"](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-myth-of-one-percent-better-every-day/): Every year around January first, a popular notion of getting just a percent or two better every day spreads far and wide. It sounds great, but it's often unrealistic, especially if you are already skilled to begin with. For example, try telling these people to get just a percent or two better every day:
- [The Rule of Compounding: Why Small Steps Lead to Big Gains](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-rule-of-compounding-why-small-steps-lead-to-big-gains/): Warren Buffet's $300,000 dollar haircut and what it means for you.
- [The Zen of Weight Lifting](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-zen-of-weight-lifting/): Chop wood, carry water and other lessons that apply far beyond the gym.
- [The Simple Equation That Will Make You Better at Everything](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-equation-that-will-make-you-better-at-everything/): As an athlete, if you want to improve something—your 100-meter time, say, or your deadlift PR—you’ve got to apply a challenge, some sort of “stressor,” and then follow it with a period of rest and recovery. Too much stress without enough rest and you get injury, illness, and burnout. Not enough stress plus too much rest and
- [Good Vibes Are Contagious](https://thegrowtheq.com/good-vibes-are-contagious/): This science all points toward the same basic truth: we are mirrors reflecting onto each other. The people we surround ourselves with shape us, and we shape those around us, too. The implications of this truth are important and actionable.
- [The Dark Horse Path to Happiness](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-dark-horse-path-to-happiness/): How to make a practice out of living.
- [Everything We Know About Exercise and Depression](https://thegrowtheq.com/everything-we-know-about-exercise-and-depression/): For exercise enthusiasts and those who study the mind-body connection—or perhaps better put, the mind-body system—it has long been known that physical activity helps with depression. And yet even as evidence for this effect continues to mount, “the incorporation of exercise as a key component in the treatment of depression is inconsistent,” write Felipe Barreto Schuch and Brendon Stubbs in
- [Emotional Flexibility: How to Hold *Everything* at Once](https://thegrowtheq.com/emotional-flexibility-how-to-hold-everything-at-once/): Life is messy. Though there may be times when everything is clicking and going well — or the reverse: times when everything seems downright awful — we almost always find ourselves somewhere in the middle. Good stuff and bad stuff, all at once. We PR in a big race; get promoted at work; get married; or have a
- [8 Rules to Do Everything Better](https://thegrowtheq.com/8-rules-to-do-everything-better/): Fundamental truths to help you be better and feel better, whatever your craft may be.
- [The Power and Peril of Caring Deeply](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-power-and-danger-of-caring-deeply/): You've got to care deeply to do well in just about anything. It's what sport coaches, military leaders, and bosses spend so much time trying to instill: some combination of buy-in, passion, and motivation. Caring deeply about your craft is a ticket to improving. Except when it's not. We often extol the virtues of caring,
- [Motivation Is Overrated](https://thegrowtheq.com/motivation-is-overrated/): A consistent practice may take some motivation to get going, but over time the equation is reversed. Dedicating yourself to the practice, no matter how you feel, is what builds motivation.
- [“Better” Means Stronger, Kinder, and Wiser](https://thegrowtheq.com/better-stronger-kinder-and-wiser/): A while back, I sent a tweet out into the internet that read: “Don’t compare yourself to others, compare yourself to prior versions of yourself.” It spread far and wide, but not everyone loved the message. A handful of folks questioned whether we should be looking back at prior versions of ourselves, especially after injuries, aging, and other hardships. I
- [Declutter Your Mind](https://thegrowtheq.com/use-the-konmari-method-to-tidy-your-mind/): “We have taken our wants and been told they are needs,” Joseph Ferrari, the lead author in the DePaul study, recently told The New York Times. This, he says, is why so many of us end up with loads and loads of stuff that doesn’t add value to our lives, the accumulation of which weighs us down
- [The Keys to a Consistent Physical Practice](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-keys-to-a-consistent-physical-practice/): "The athlete that dwells in each of us is more than an abstract ideal," said George Leonard, the philosopher of human potential and Aikido master. "It is a living presence that can change the way we live and feel." I love this quote because it is true. Everyone can benefit immensely from cultivating a regular physical practice. Physical
- [Stop Hiding Behind Complexity—It Can Be a Soul Sucking Barrier to Progress](https://thegrowtheq.com/stop-hiding-behind-complexity-its-can-be-a-soul-sucking-barrier-to-progress/): Complexity is a way to avoid facing the reality that what really matters for most things in life is simply showing up and doing the work. Not thinking about it. Not talking about it. Not dreaming about it. But doing it. The more complex you make something the easier it is to get excited about;
- [Quit Being So Hard On Yourself: Self Compassion and Performance](https://thegrowtheq.com/quit-being-so-hard-on-yourself-self-compassion-and-performance/): If you’ve ever been stuck with a crying baby you know that yelling back at it does not make matters better. It only makes them worse. There are two skillful ways of working with a crying baby: 1) Hold it, rock it, cradle it, and show it love. 2) Let the baby cry it out;
- [Choosing Well in a World of Ultra-Processed Everything](https://thegrowtheq.com/choosing-well-in-a-world-of-ultra-processed-everything/): A 2018 ​study​ from Stanford University found that, surprisingly, diets can actually work. What kind of diet? All different kinds, so long as—and here's the key—the participants stuck to it. ​What doesn't work​ is when people either adopt way too rigid diets or have no constraints on what they eat and lack nutritional education. (Personally,
- [Faith in the Process](https://thegrowtheq.com/faith-in-the-process/): My first job out of school was at a white-shoe consulting firm. We'd be tasked with solving big and thorny problems for clients. In just about every project, we'd reach the three-week mark and still have no idea where our work was going. As a new analyst, this was terrifying. Some of these engagements were
- [Don't Let Your Strengths Become Your Downfall](https://thegrowtheq.com/dont-let-your-strengths-become-your-downfall/): Read enough business or self-help books and they’ll inevitably tell you to identify your strengths. This is a good starting point. Understanding what makes you good at what you do allows you to take on the right challenges. It enhances your productivity and allows you to rise through the ranks. But your strengths often become
- [The Key to Happiness is Living in Reality](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-key-to-happiness-is-living-in-reality/): The past week has been filled with wild news about artificial intelligence—its rapid advance, lingering pitfalls, and serious risks. What struck me most about all the AI takes was a common theme that users had to repeatedly remind themselves that the AI chatbots are not sentient. This got me thinking—as AI continues to evolve and
- [Untangling Success: Does the Cream Rise to the Top?](https://thegrowtheq.com/untangling-success-does-the-cream-rise-to-the-top/): "The cream rises to the top." Our world is littered with aphorisms and sayings that all point to the same message: the quality of our work and our chances of success are deeply intertwined. If we produce good work it’ll catch on, the story goes, and success will soon follow. Yet connection between quality work
- [The Key to Peak Performance? Love.](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-key-to-peak-performance-love/): A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to moderate a panel at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, Lessons from The Edge: Understanding Peak Performance. The panel featured Olav Aleksander Bu, the Norwegian triathlon coach to Olympic gold medalist and Ironman champion; Roberta Groner, an elite marathoner who was 6th at the world championships as
- [A Better Way to Optimize](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-better-way-to-optimize-2/): Setting a goal on the edge of your comfort zone and letting it consume you can be as meaningful and invigorating as it gets. Whether it's a big creative project, an athletic feat, or falling in love, there's something to say about going all-in. The problem occurs when we get such tunnel vision that we
- [The Dangers of Going All-In](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-dangers-of-going-all-in/): By all accounts, it seemed like a success story. At 17 years old, he'd bet on himself. He and his brother packed their bags and moved from the comparatively affluent New Zealand to Kenya, home of the top runners in the world. What better way to pursue your dreams than to immerse yourself among the
- [The Difference Between Judging Your Experience and Living It](https://thegrowtheq.com/judging-your-experience-vs-living-it/): If you stop whatever you are doing and ask yourself, Am I happy? odds are, you won't be as happy as you just were. The worst way to be happy is to ask yourself if you are happy. Same goes for all kinds of desirable experiences. The more you wonder if your relationship is the right one,
- [Finding Your Optimum Zone to Perform to Your Potential](https://thegrowtheq.com/finding-your-optimum-zone-to-perform-to-your-potential/): This curve is helpful for a variety of pursuits. It outlines the relationship between stress (or physiological arousal) and performance. How do you get in the best place to perform? You find the goldilocks of physiological arousal: too little and you aren’t excited or pumped enough; too much and that stress turns into anxiety and
- [How to Regulate Your Nervous System](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-regulate-your-nervous-system/): Take a big inhale, hold your breath for five seconds, and release over three seconds to regulate your nervous system, posts a large Instagram account. If your attachments aren't secure, your nervous system won't be either, writes a psychologist on Twitter. Rock back and fourth to reset your nervous system when its dysregulated, explains a popular
- [Why We See Threats Everywhere](https://thegrowtheq.com/why-we-see-threats-everywhere/): Go for a walk around your neighborhood during the day. Are you constantly stressed, on the lookout for potential danger around you? For many of us (though certainly not all), we can mindlessly walk the sidewalks, daydreaming as we mosey along. Now, move yourself to an unknown city, in the middle of the night. Are
- [Infinite Games vs. Finite Games and Giannis's Failure](https://thegrowtheq.com/infinite-games-vs-finite-games-and-gianniss-failure/): A few weeks back, the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The Bucks entered as the one seed. The Miami Heat, the team who beat them, entered as the eighth seed. In the immediate aftermath of their loss, the Buck's superstar, Giannis Antekokounmpo, was asked by a reporter if
- [Feeling Stressed? Zoom Out.](https://thegrowtheq.com/feel-stressed-zoom-out/): What do you do when it feels like it’s all going wrong? When your mind spirals towards negativity, when your thoughts get locked into a pattern of rumination and catastrophizing, when you get stuck in inaction, ready to hit the eject button on the speech you are about to give, the race you are running,
- [Listen to Kobe: Spend Time Alone in Your Head](https://thegrowtheq.com/listen-to-kobe-spend-time-alone-in-your-head/): “How do you negotiate with your self. That’s the biggest thing." -- Kobe Bryant. When one of history’s greatest basketball players tells us about the power of navigating your inner world, we should listen. We all intuitively know this. We all have doubts and insecurities. We all experience a voice that tells us to throw
- [Beyond Work-Life Balance](https://thegrowtheq.com/beyond-work-life-balance/): It is impossible to be the perfect friend, athlete, parent, partner, employee, read 50 books every year, stay up to date on the TV shows everyone is talking about, do all the "self-care" things, and on and on and on. For many people, it is better to do a few things well—with full attention and
- [Don't Trust Your Gut Unless It's Calibrated](https://thegrowtheq.com/dont-trust-your-gut-unless-its-calibrated/): Imagine you are walking down a dimly lit street at night in a foreign city. Your shoulders tense up, unease courses through your body, and you become hyper-aware. Just about any sound grabs your attention. You notice strangers, especially if they come too close. You are on high alert: not because of some deliberate decision,
- [Big Food, Big Pharma, and Wanting versus Liking](https://thegrowtheq.com/big-food-big-pharma-and-wanting-versus-liking/): Millions of people experiencing overweight and obesity are losing significant amounts of body fat for the first time, thanks to Ozempic and other drugs like it in a new class of obesity medications called semaglutides. Though the mechanisms by which semaglutides operate are complex and still not completely known, they seem to work predominantly on
- [Predicting Potential is Messy](https://thegrowtheq.com/pre-wrote-predicting-potential-is-messy/): Track and field is the most objective and straightforward sport there is: did you run faster than the other person or not? When it came to recruiting high school runners when I was a college coach, it should have been pretty straightforward: choose the fastest people. But that's not how it works. You aren't rewarding
- [Doing the Tough Stuff](https://thegrowtheq.com/doing-the-tough-stuff/): Do Hard Things turns one today. The title of the book implies one of its main messages: embrace discomfort. When we embrace discomfort, it changes how we handle the tough stuff. A study that came out after the book was finished largely validates this sentiment. Researchers had individuals do some of the hardest things in
- [The Limits of Writing Your Own Life Story](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-limits-of-a-writing-your-own-story-view-to-life/): The writer John Barth once said, "everyone is necessarily the hero of their own life story." Modern research agrees. A number of peer-reviewed studies show a strong link between storytelling, resilience, and overall life satisfaction. So I was a bit surprised (and skeptical) when I came across a paper from the philosopher Galen Strawson arguing
- [Self-Management vs. Self-Leadership](https://thegrowtheq.com/self-management-vs-self-leadership/): Last week, I ​wrote​ about the limits of a narrative orientation toward life. In short, over-indexing on a specific personal story can become constraining and pigeonhole you into a rigid trajectory. I am going to pick that thread up here in a discussion on the difference between self-management and self-leadership. In her latest book, Act
- [The Long Lost Miracle Supplement](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-long-lost-miracle-supplement/): I found a secret to performance. Something that will improve your endurance exponentially. Don't believe me? Consider these facts. Researchers found that it increases two of the key components of endurance, hemoglobin and red blood cell mass. In one study on this compound, hemoglobin was an astonishing 14% higher! That's comparable to taking EPO! A
- [What It Means to "Own Your Seat"](https://thegrowtheq.com/imposter-syndrome-and-owning-your-seat/): A few years back, I was working on a piece for Lion's Roar, a magazine that focuses on ancient wisdom for modern times. I don't consider myself a particularly good Buddhist; the irony in that statement proves the point. In the piece I kept quoting from other thinkers. After the second round of revisions, the editor
- [Overcoming Fear: Lessons from Public Speaking](https://thegrowtheq.com/overcoming-fear-lessons-from-public-speaking/): Public speaking can be terrifying. It's you, standing up in front of a bunch of people, all eyes locked on what you are about to say and do. There's no hiding behind teammates, no passing the ball to someone else, not even a helmet with a face mask. Just you, alone on stage, trying your
- [The Truth (And Limits) of Grit, Growth Mindset, and Gratitude](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-truth-and-limits-of-grit-growth-mindset-and-gratitude/): A recent study evaluated evidence for growth mindset interventions, wherein students are taught to adopt a growth mindset and then their academic performance is tracked over time. Here is a summary of the results: This systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that, despite the popularity of growth mindset interventions in schools, positive results are rare and
- [Put On Your Game Face](https://thegrowtheq.com/putting-on-your-game-face-to-perform-better/): “There is who you are as a football player, and then, there is who you are as a human being, and the two for me, were just really different. I almost felt like I had an alter ego. I wanted to be Johnny Football. Johnny Football never had a bad time. So, when people asked
- [A New Way To Think About Practice](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-new-way-to-think-about-practice/): When you first hear the word “practice,” what comes to mind? Perhaps you think of an athlete executing drills in between games, or a musician playing scales on a piano to prepare for a recital. This is how I thought about practice for a long time. But researching, writing, and reporting on my past few
- [Rethinking What It Means to be The Best in the World](https://thegrowtheq.com/rethinking-what-it-means-to-be-the-best-in-the-world/): "Can you be the best in the world without cheating?" It was 2011. I was in graduate school, sitting around a table in a nondescript conference room with a handful of my classmates when visiting professor Verner Møller posed the question. Møller wasn't an amateur, he was an expert. He'd spent his academic career studying
- [How to Balance Pacing With Really Going For It](https://thegrowtheq.com/go-slow-to-go-fast/): The day you launch a book feels like sprinting an all-out mile; it's a full-on push—emails, social media posts, podcasts, columns, radio shows, responding to early readers, and more. The only thing is this: at the end of the all-out mile, you find yourself on the start-line of a 5K, which is launch week, a
- [Tragic Optimism and Non-Dual Thinking](https://thegrowtheq.com/tragic-optimism-and-non-dual-thinking/): Is it better to focus only on the positive…or expect life to be hard? Research suggests the idea of “tragic optimism” — holding space for both pain and joy — can help you to bounce back better from tough times, and is key to finding joy and meaning in life. The case for tragic optimism
- [The Best Books This Fall for Sustainable Excellence](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-best-books-this-fall-for-sustainable-excellence/): Welcome to our Fall 2023 reading list. If you are familiar with our work, you’ll know that it integrates ideas, research, and practices from diverse domains. (See our latest book, for example.) People always ask us how we come up with the ideas and theories for our books. The answer is simple: we do our
- [Treat Progress like a Path, Not a Road](https://thegrowtheq.com/treat-progress-like-a-path-not-a-road/): When people think about progress they often use the metaphor of a road. It's why "the road to progress" is such a common aphorism. You could certainly do a lot worse, but you could also do a lot better. The remainder of this piece argues that rather than conceiving of progress as a road, it
- [What Makes Criticism So Sticky?](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-makes-criticism-so-sticky/): Can you recall a time when your parents criticized you? It could be about your motivation for school or work or a time you messed up on the soccer field. Chances are there's a vivid memory that pops into your mind years, perhaps even many decades later. It doesn't even have to be over something
- [The Attention Game vs. The Recognition Game](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-attention-game-vs-the-recognition-game/): If you value basketball, find it very fulfilling, and want to craft a life around it, would you spend the majority of your time watching, playing, and practicing football? Probably not. It'd be simple to see that you are playing the wrong game. I want to explore two games that nearly all of us play:
- [Do Animals Choke Under Pressure?](https://thegrowtheq.com/do-animals-choke-under-pressure/): Pressure can be insidious to performance. It can alter the link between perception and action, making us feel like foreigners in our own bodies. It can push us to panic, freak out, and catastrophize; where all we see and can think about is how everything is going wrong. We even have special names for the
- [Factors of Resilience](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-brief-guide-to-navigating-periods-of-disorder/): I recently heard someone say that the inherent unpredictability and uncertainty of life can feel like "looking both ways before crossing the street, and then getting hit by an airplane." For better or worse, we often live under the illusion that things are stable when in fact they are always changing. We crave a straight
- [3 Evidence Based Strategies For Setting Goals and Resolutions](https://thegrowtheq.com/three-evidence-based-strategies-for-setting-goals-and-resolutions/): Heading into a new year is a great time to take stock of where you've been and where you want to go. Yes, it's true that January first is an arbitrary time to evaluate your life and make big decisions. But it is also true that even these artificial, man-made segments of time can be powerful. The
- [A Weight Gain Theory of Everything](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-weight-gain-theory-of-everything/): By now you've probably heard about a new class of drugs called semaglutides. They were recently approved by the FDA for weight loss. In clinical trials, participants lost astonishing amounts of weight. And so long as they continued taking the drug, they kept it off. Additionally, people taking semaglutides dramatically lowered their risk for heart
- [Make the Overwhelming Feel Routine](https://thegrowtheq.com/make-the-overwhelming-feel-routine/): "It's 10 pm, I'm going to bed," is what I told the group of friends, teammates, and strangers who were gathered in our house for a get-together during college. It was a Friday night and I had a long run the next morning. For much of my life, I was a bit obsessive. I wanted
- [The Key to a Strong Identity: Diversify Your Sense of Self](https://thegrowtheq.com/rugged-flexibility-and-diversifying-your-sense-of-identity/): The more you define yourself by any one activity the more fragile you become. If that activity doesn't go well—or when there is inevitable chaos or change—you lose a sense of who you are, which is a stressful and discombobulating experience. The opposite is "self-complexity," a term researchers use for having multiple components to your
- [Thinking Your Own Thoughts in an Algorithmic Age of Mass Distraction](https://thegrowtheq.com/thinking-your-own-thoughts-in-an-algorithmic-age-of-mass-distraction/): The past few years have come with plenty of disorder: Climate change. Political dysfunction. Pandemic. War. Artificial intelligence. The list goes on. It's hard to know what to think, let alone do, amidst so much uncertainty. It's even harder in a culture dominated by an attention economy that cares not about thoughtfulness or discernment but
- [You Need Rituals and Routines Now More Than Ever](https://thegrowtheq.com/you-need-rituals-and-routines-now-more-than-ever/): The philosopher Byung-Chul Han opens his book The Scent of Time by observing that life has become more rushed and directionless. "The time of a life is no longer structured by sections, completions, thresholds, and transitions," he writes. "Instead, there is a rush from one present to the next, an aging without growing old." Han
- [The Shortfalls of Willpower](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-shortfalls-of-willpower/): Chances are you've heard of the Marshmallow experiment. In the 1970s, a group of researchers led by Walter Mischel at Stanford sat preschoolers down with a marshmallow in front of them. The kids were told they could eat the treat now, or, if they waited until the researcher returned a few minutes later, they could
- [Introducing FAREWELL, Our New Podcast](https://thegrowtheq.com/introducing-farewell-our-new-podcast-project/): Exciting news: we are finally launching FAREWELL, our new podcast project. The goal of the show is simple: to help you get the best out of yourself on the things that matter to you most. We’ll do this via a combination of roundtable discussions, “coach-ups,” and interviews, all guided by yours truly (Brad and Steve)
- [The 15 Best Books of 2023 for Sustainable Excellence and Well-Being](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-15-best-books-of-2023-for-sustainable-excellence-and-well-being/): Welcome to our annual reading list. If you are familiar with our work, you’ll know that it integrates ideas, research, and practices from diverse domains. (See our latest book, for example.) People often ask us how we come up with the topics about which we write and the arguments we make. The answer is simple:
- [Do Difficult Things that Force Engagement](https://thegrowtheq.com/do-difficult-things-that-force-engagement/): I remember the comment clearly. I was lying on the ground, drained of all energy, exhausted, unable to get up. My legs were a mixture of on fire and full of lead. I wanted to puke. “Your parents haven’t felt what you are feeling for 30+ years, if ever.” It was an odd comment. We were
- [It's Hard To Do Everything At Once](https://thegrowtheq.com/its-hard-to-do-everything-at-once/): My plan was simple (or so I thought) and straightforward: come the end of December I would ease back on promoting The Practice of Groundedness and ratchet up on my next book project. As those of you who follow my work already know, that didn't pan out. After about three days of the experiment, I found
- [How Awe Helps With Anxiety](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-awe-helps-anxiety/): Most people have had the experience of losing themselves while listening to a musical album, viewing art, watching an athlete's peak performance, or hiking in nature. What all these events have in common is that they minimize your ego. Not ego in the sense of look how great I am, but ego in the simpler sense
- [Sometimes the Only Way is Through](https://thegrowtheq.com/stop-avoiding-the-thing-deal-with-it/): This week I've spent too much time thinking about controversial topics. Brad is well aware of this. In our collaborative partnership, I've uncharacteristically been the initiator of calls that end with long discussions on the day's hot topic. (Normally Brad is the one bugging me with ideas.) In the sports world, the particular topic that
- [Feel Anxious or Stuck? Realign with Reality.](https://thegrowtheq.com/feel-anxious-or-stuck-realign-with-reality/): “The greatest to ever do this event…there is no question, no female gymnast in history has ever taken this event on like Simone Biles,” veteran NBC announcer Tim Daggett gushed as Biles was standing at the end of the vault runway during the 2021 Olympic games. Midway through the jump, in the air, she bailed:
- [Competition to Promote Excellence](https://thegrowtheq.com/competition-to-promote-excellence/): A few nights ago, a familiar scene: after the Boston Celtics swept the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA playoffs, all of the players were chatting, smiling, and hugging it out in the immediate aftermath of the game. It is a starkly different atmosphere from a few decades ago, when, if there was any contact between
- [To Perform Your Best, Let Go](https://thegrowtheq.com/letgo/): If you want to perform better, you've got to try harder. That may well be one of the central tenants of western culture. If things aren’t going your way, you need to double down on your effort. The problem must be a lack of grind, motivation to push forward, or caring. From the athletic
- [Creating Team Cohesion That Actually Works](https://thegrowtheq.com/teamcohesion/): There is something special about being part of a sports team. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about little league baseball or playing at an elite level, being a part of a team has this sort of magic to create bonds and cohesion that supersedes whatever else is going on in the moment. For a
- [7 Principles for Handling Life's Challenges and Achieving Sustainable Success](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-key-to-sustainable-success-real-toughness/): Stress is the norm. Whether it’s from work, finances, or relationships, experiencing stress is part and parcel of the human experience. The problem comes when it escalates to untenable levels, perhaps even taking over and becoming a dominant emotion. Unease and anxiety push us toward feeling despair and maybe even hopelessness. We get stuck in
- [The Science Behind Holding Your Identity(s) Loosely](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-science-behind-holding-your-identitys-loosely/): This past weekend, I had an essay run in the New York Times about the categories and labels we apply to our sense of self. If you missed the piece, you can read it here. As these things tend to go, a few interesting parts of the initial draft got cut, and they all pertain to the
- [The Science of How Uncertainty Creates Stress and the Urge to Quit](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-science-of-how-uncertainty-creates-stress-and-the-urge-to-quit/): We have a deep need to close the gap between not knowing and knowing. When stress is seen through this light, then our inner dialogue and responses make more sense. The desire to step in a hole while running a race? Brings closure to our questioning of whether we could continue at the current pace
- [How To Build Motivation (And Not Destroy It)](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-build-motivation-and-not-destroy-it/): In my coaching work with executives, I often run into the same question: “How do I keep people from quitting?” After all, we’re in the midst of the great resignation. From Fortune 500 companies offering sabbaticals to local school districts offering retention bonuses, everyone is looking for incentives to keep employees around. Most of the focus
- [Learning How to Respond, Instead of React](https://thegrowtheq.com/learning-how-to-respond-instead-of-react/): How do you handle life’s difficult moments? When stress and anxiety are high, and the path forward is uncertain. Whether it’s in making a crucial business decision, in the midst of an argument with our spouse, or standing on the mound about to throw a pitch; when uncertainty and stress reign, we can either respond
- [Knowing When You Are Ready To Rise to the Occasion](https://thegrowtheq.com/know-when-you-are-ready-to-go/): In 1985, Neil Gaiman was a twenty-five-year-old writer with a smattering of fantasy stories, magazine articles, and two books to his name. They weren't glaring successes. One book was a collection of quotes. The other, a biography of the pop group Duran Duran, a work that he later admitted he wrote solely for the money
- [Want to Be a Better Leader? Embrace Reality.](https://thegrowtheq.com/want-to-be-a-better-leader-embrace-reality/): Conventional wisdom tells us that leadership is about confidence and control. The best leaders project a sense of self-assurance; they are here to show us the way, to lead us to the promise land. Often this means adopting a bit of a “fake it until you make it” approach, in which deep down you know
- [Improve Your Cognitive Performance by Ditching Your Device](https://thegrowtheq.com/want-to-improve-your-mental-performance-ditch-your-device/): In an increasingly distractible world, we're slowly losing the ability to sit with our thoughts and experiences. When our inner self becomes foreign, we become hyper-reactive to anything it says. The explosion in mindfulness books, podcasts, and apps is a consequence of this deteriorating ability. We are looking for a solution to a world in
- [When You Feel Lost, Go Local.](https://thegrowtheq.com/when-you-feel-lost-go-local/): For a very, very long time in our species' history, we were stuck in small tribes. These were groups of a couple dozen family members and our closest friends to help us live, hunt, and survive on the savannah. And for a long time, our communities were stuck. They couldn’t grow. Even though growth might
- [Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom—Here's How Mastery Can Help](https://thegrowtheq.com/anxiety-is-the-dizziness-of-freedom-and-what-to-do-about-it/): In a little known book called Fear of Freedom, first published in 1942, the philosopher Erich Fromm argues that humans long for both independence and individuation on the one hand, and belonging and community on the other. The modern person, Fromm writes, is free from the constraints of what he calls a "pre-individualistic" society. Most
- [The 15 Best Books of 2022 for Sustainable Excellence and Well-Being](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-15-best-books-of-2022-for-sustainable-excellence-and-well-being/): Welcome to the annual reading list. If you are familiar with our work, you’ll know that it integrates ideas, research, and practices from diverse domains. (See our latest book, for example.) People always ask us how we do this. The answer is simple: We do our best to live in the world with our eyes
- [The Problem With Soulmates and Perfect Jobs](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-problem-with-soulmates-and-perfect-jobs/): The concept of a soulmate originated in ancient Greece. It originally represented a single person somewhere in the universe that is your one true love and makes you whole. This attitude has expanded beyond love and into work too (i.e., if only I could find the perfect job). Though at first it may seem innocent,
- [The Benefits of Perfectly Imperfect Practice](https://thegrowtheq.com/to-improve-a-skill-do-it-wrong/): “I want you to reach out with your lower leg and slam your heel into the ground when you run." I was standing at the track with a coach who was telling me to do something that every coach with whom I had ever worked—from junior high to the pros— had advised against. Conventional wisdom
- [Some Quick Fixes For Stress and Anxiety That (Kind Of) Work](https://thegrowtheq.com/some-quick-fixes-for-stress-and-anxiety-kind-of-work/): Whether it's the "physiological sigh" popularized by podcaster Andrew Huberman or the New York Times advising people to "plunge your face into a bowl with ice water for 15 to 30 seconds," quick and concrete tactics for managing stress and anxiety are all over the internet. And the truth is, they work. Plenty of research shows that
- [Good Enough vs. Great](https://thegrowtheq.com/good-enough-vs-great/): Anyone can burn bright for a few days, weeks, months, or maybe even a year. But burning bright over the long haul requires consistency. And trying to be great all the time usually leads to illness, injury, and burnout. It also creates a lot of tension and stress. But if you can string together a
- [Why Society Loves Fake Toughness And Desperately Needs the Real Thing](https://thegrowtheq.com/why-society-loves-fake-toughness-and-desperately-needs-the-real-thing/): “He’s strong and he’s tough.” Who was Donald Trump talking about? Perhaps a medal of Honor recipient, or a mother who survived cancer, or a doctor who worked tirelessly on the front lines of a pandemic? No, Trump was describing Vladimir Putin. This wasn’t Trump’s first foray into calling an authoritarian tough, he once described
- [Resilience, Grit, Toughness and Learning How to Do Hard Things](https://thegrowtheq.com/do-hard-things-why-we-get-resilience-wrong-and-the-surprising-science-of-real-toughness/): In this behind-the-scenes podcast, Brad interviews Steve on his new book Do Hard Things. Where did the idea for the book come from? How do you go from an idea of "fake toughness" to a fleshed-out framework for the real thing? What are the biggest myths about resilience that trip people up? How do you
- [How Failure Can Unlock Performance](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-failure-can-free-you-up-to-perform/): Maddie had just failed. She walked on the start line ranked third in the 10k, attempting to go from barely making the team as a walk-on to securing a medal at the conference championship. The race started out well, but a little past halfway, she saw her hopes slipping away. She faded to thirteenth place,
- [Recapping the Six Biggest Performance and "Wellness" Ideas from 2021](https://thegrowtheq.com/recapping-the-six-biggest-performance-and-wellness-ideas-from-2021/): Brad and Steve let loose recapping the six biggest ideas in performance and wellness from 2021. You can find the episode on: iTunes and Apple Podcasts Spotify Android Stitcher *** Check out our exclusive community bonuses on Patreon. Get a copy of The Practice of Groundedness! It is currently over 40 percent off! Please write a review on Apple Podcasts and
- [The Creative Process with Sculptor Emil Alzamora](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-creative-process-with-sculptor-emil-alzamora/): Brad and Steve are joined by world-class sculptor Emil Alzamora to discuss his work, the idea (and life) of being a craftsperson, physical versus digital art, the creative process, the role of lightening inspiration versus hacking at it every day, and so much more. You can find the episode on: iTunes and Apple Podcasts Spotify
- [Fundamentals Not Fluff](https://thegrowtheq.com/fundamentals-not-fluff/): On this episode, Brad and Steve dispel some recent trends in the health, fitness, and high-performance space, delving into how they came into existence, why people follow them, and what, if any, benefit they may have. Then, we go into what actually works for improvement and why it's so easy to focus on fluff and
- [What Does it Mean to be Courageous in Daily Life, With Ryan Holiday](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-does-it-mean-to-be-courageous-in-daily-life-with-ryan-holiday/): Brad and Steve are joined by author Ryan Holiday for a wide-ranging discussion on courage: how it relates to self and society, and the big and small acts in our lives. They also discuss Ryan's routines, how he sticks to them, adhering to a process-mindset vs. an outcome one, and why physical practice is such
- [The 21 Best Books of 2021 for Sustainable Success and Well-Being](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-21-best-books-of-2021-for-sustainable-success-and-well-being/): Welcome to the annual reading list. If you are familiar with our work, you’ll know that it integrates ideas, research, and practices from diverse domains. (See our latest book for a great example.) People always ask us how we do this. The answer is simple: We do our best to live in the world with
- [Top 10 Books of 2021](https://thegrowtheq.com/top-10-books-of-2021/): Brad and Steve discuss their top 10 books of 2021. Fun banter, and a great reading and holiday gifting recommendations. You don't want to miss out on this one. You can find the episode on: iTunes and Apple Podcasts Spotify Android Stitcher *** Get a copy of The Practice of Groundedness! It is currently over 40 percent
- [Grit and Exploitation vs. Exploration](https://thegrowtheq.com/grit-and-exploration-vs-exploitation/): An interesting discussion on when grit is useful versus when grit gets in the way, and the value of exploration (going wide) before exploitation (going deep). Between the extremes of generalization and specialization there is quite a bit of nuance, and this podcast explores that in-between, using a few recent and large studies as a
- [Activity (And Other) Trackers](https://thegrowtheq.com/activity-and-other-trackers/): From Whoop to Fitbit to Oura, activity trackers are on the rise. On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve dive into these wrist, finger, and chest worn devices. They discuss various types of trackers and their applications, and when these sorts of things work versus when they get in the way, or worse, cause harm.
- [Do More Real Things in The World, Be Better, and Feel Better](https://thegrowtheq.com/do-more-real-things-in-the-world-be-better-and-feel-better/): On this episode of the Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve discuss the vast benefits of doing real, concrete activities in a modern world that is increasingly complex and full of subjective measures. They argue that everyone, especially knowledge workers, should have a "real thing" craft to which they dedicate at least some time, energy,
- [Being More, Doing Better, and the Case for Less](https://thegrowtheq.com/being-more-doing-better-and-the-case-for-less/): A common refrain amongst my coaching clients, and most people these days, is finding it challenging to pay deep attention to meaningful activities. Even after addressing low-hanging fruit—for example: eliminating distractions, designing the physical environment, and timing specific tasks—many people still struggle. The solution, it seems, almost always involves creating more space; space between activities
- [Dave Pell: Managing Editor... Of The Internet](https://thegrowtheq.com/dave-pell-managing-editor-of-the-internet/): We are lucky to be joined by Dave Pell, the reader, writer, and all-around creative behind the internet's longest running big-time newsletter, Next Draft. In this far-reaching conversation, we talk about how Dave shows up consistently to do high quality work, his daily routines, mental health and news consumption, running your own little internet empire,
- [Everyone Can Benefit From Coaching](https://thegrowtheq.com/everyone-can-benefit-from-coaching/): On this episode of the pod, Brad and Steve talk about all things performance coaching, including in fields outside of sport. They discuss everything from who can benefit from having a coach, to the value of credentials, to strategies you can use to separate hucksters from excellent professionals, to the nuts and bolts of their
- [SUBTRACT: The Power of Less](https://thegrowtheq.com/subtract-the-power-of-less/): Less is not more. More is more. Less is less. But sometimes—no, even often—less is better. In this episode, Brad and Steve talk to Leidy Klotz, a professor at the University of Virginia with appointments in engineering, architecture, and business. They focus on his new seminal work, Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less. The trio
- [Productivity vs. Productive Activity and Time Management](https://thegrowtheq.com/productivity-vs-productive-activity-and-time-management/): A fun and wide-ranging conversation on the entire notion of productivity and time-management. We start from a 30,000 foot view of what's the point of all this anyways? and then go all the way down to the ground floor, where we cover common pitfalls and concrete practices that can help you right now to get
- [Two Rare—But Powerful—Words: "It Depends"](https://thegrowtheq.com/two-rare-but-powerful-words-it-depends/): In a recent Growth Equation mastermind group, the topic shifted to what is lacking in so much of the mainstream so-called "wellness" or "productivity" or "self-improvement" movements. Someone named Jason said, They are always offering silver bullets and magical solutions. Someone named Rob piped in, What separates the Growth Equation's approach is that you all are
- [Closing the Empathy Gap](https://thegrowtheq.com/closing-the-empathy-gap/): We use a recent exploration of the NFL's empathy gap as a doorway into a broader conversation about the tradeoffs between analytics and the human side of things in organizational and individual life. Steve also coaches Brad through a challenge he's having in sticking to his own physical practice. You can find the episode on:
- [Focusing on the Process When Results Matter](https://thegrowtheq.com/launching-a-book-and-focusing-on-the-process/): We dive into what it was like to launch the Growth Eq's latest book, The Practice of Groundedness. In particular, we focus on our struggles trying to practice what we preach during a frenetic, hectic, and results focused week. Plus, if you've ever wondered what it is like to launch a book, you won't want to
- [How to Stay Grounded in a Frantic World](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-stay-grounded-in-a-frantic-and-frenetic-world/): Even before the pandemic, people were feeling that their work was unsustainable. Many were on the edge of burnout, overwhelmed by the unrelenting frantic and frenetic energy of today's world. It is helpful to have language for what this is, how it works, and what you can do about it. That's what I'll cover below.
- [Finding Stability in a Frenetic World](https://thegrowtheq.com/finding-stability-in-a-frenetic-world/): In this behind-the-scenes podcast, Steve interviews Brad on his new book The Practice of Groundedness. Where did the idea for the book come from? How do you go from an idea to a fleshed-out framework? Will groundedness help you run a faster 5k? All of those questions and more are answered in this week's podcast.
- [The Mind Outside of Your Head](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-mind-outside-of-your-head/): People often think of the brain and the mind as the same thing. But they are not. The brain is an organ inside your skull. The brain contributes to the mind -- or your thoughts, feelings, and general consciousness -- but it is only a small part of it. Your mind is also made up
- [A Better Way to Fuel Our Minds and Bodies](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-better-way-to-fuel-our-minds-and-bodies/): One of the biggest stories of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games was mental health. From Simone Biles to Naomi Osaka, more and more athletes were speaking up about mental health. And for good reason. It is hard, if not impossible, to separate the mind from the body. And for so many elite athletes, the pressure
- [The Cost of Caring—And Why It's Worth It Anyways](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-cost-of-caring-and-why-its-worth-it-anyways/): One thing I remember about middle school gym class is that the cool kids never tried. Though I could sense the reason then, I did not have the vocabulary that I do now. The cool kids didn't try because they were insecure. Many adults are the same. It is an easy trap to fall into.
- [Determining the Greatest of All Time](https://thegrowtheq.com/determining-the-greatest-of-all-time/): We take a slight divergence from our usual topics to dive into one of those perennial questions with no possible answer: Who is the greatest of all time? To give ourselves at least some constraints, we narrow down into the world of sports. Our goal for this discussion was to entertain and, perhaps more practically,
- [How to Spot Guru Syndrome (And What to Do About It)](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-spot-guru-syndrome-and-what-to-do-about-it/): With conspiracy theories—on everything from diet, to exercise, to a global pandemic and vaccines—flying left and right, we wanted to devote some time to understanding the tendencies behind the people who spread these ideas. The goal is not to dunk on them (though we definitely do some of that) but more importantly, to use these
- [Ask Me Anything (AMA) -- It Depends!](https://thegrowtheq.com/ask-me-anything-ama-it-depends/): We're back with another AMA. We field a broad range of listener questions on diverse topics, ranging from the Olympics to nutrition to how to actually implement a process mindset. You can find the episode on: iTunes and Apple Podcasts Spotify Android Stitcher Please write a review on Apple Podcasts and help new listeners discover the show! Find
- [How to Get Going When You Don't Want To But Know You Should](https://thegrowtheq.com/getgoing/): Many people are feeling a kind of languishing these days, a sense of stagnation and lethargy as if everything is a big effort. We dive into what is underlying this and, more importantly, how to work your way out. To do so, we draw upon all the latest evidence in motivation as well as plenty
- [3 Lessons from NBA Superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo on Humility and Peak Performance](https://thegrowtheq.com/3-lessons-from-an-nba-superstar-on-humility-and-peak-performance/): In the midst of the NBA finals, following a string of awe-inspiring performances, 26-year-old Giannis Antetokounmpo was asked during a press conference how he keeps his mind right. His three-part answer, in his own words: “Focusing on the past is ego. Focusing on the future is pride. Focusing on the present is humility.” What zen-master,
- [Unpacking The Best Press Conference Ever](https://thegrowtheq.com/unpacking-the-best-press-conference-ever/): A few days ago, NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo was asked about keeping his mind right during high pressure games. His answer, which this podcast opens up with, was a masterclass in high-performance psychology, and really, psychology for all of life. A short summary: "Focusing on the past is ego," he said. "Focusing on the future
- [Growth Academy #10: Transitions](https://thegrowtheq.com/growth-academy-10-transitions/): One of the hardest parts of work and life is facing transitions. These are often periods of discombobulation, where we may feel like we are losing a part of our identity. Here, we'll explore the science and art of big transitions, and provide tips and practices on how to prepare for and work through, with
- [Growth Academy #9: Self-Awareness (And Self-Distancing)](https://thegrowtheq.com/growth-academy-9-self-awareness-and-self-distancing/): We explore the illusion of trying to be "balanced," and how a better aim to strive for is the self-awareness to prioritize and choose to focus on what matters most to you in a given season of life. From there, we discuss the various strategies and practices that can be used to cultivate this sort
- [Growth Academy #8: Harmonious Passion](https://thegrowtheq.com/growth-academy-8-harmonious-passion/): In the last round of Growth EQ Academy podcasts (Academy episodes #6 and #7) we explored the genesis of motivation, drive, and passion, and what happens when it goes astray -- and also, how to prevent this from happening. In this episode, we turn to harmonious passion, or the kind of drive that can propel
- [Mental Health in Athletes (And Beyond)](https://thegrowtheq.com/mental-health-in-athletes-and-beyond/): Naomi Osaka recently withdrew from the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament. Mental health seems to have played a role. Osaka is not the first athlete and certainly won't be the last to struggle publicly and make big decisions as a result. In this episode, Brad and Steve dive into the topic of mental health in elite athletes.
- [Growth Academy #7: Obsessive Passion](https://thegrowtheq.com/growth-academy-7-obsessive-passion/): We go deep on the "bad" kind of passion, exploring how motivation and drive can become destructive -- leading to burnout, angst, unethical behavior, and depression -- and what you can do to stop this from happening in yourself and the teams in which you work. You can find the episodes on: iTunes and Apple
- [Growth Eq Academy #6: Motivation and Drive](https://thegrowtheq.com/growth-eq-academy-6-motivation-and-drive/): Intense motivation and drive -- what we call passion -- is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it can help you accomplish great things. A curse because it can narrow your world and get you to a point where you lose perspective and burn out. This kind of passion is like rocket-fuel:
- [CAL NEWPORT on The Moral Weight of Working, Not Working, and Bragging About Both](https://thegrowtheq.com/cal-newport-on-the-moral-weight-of-working-not-working-and-bragging-about-both/): Some people love to grind and work long days and on the weekends. Some people like never to work outside of traditional hours. Some people like to brag about how much they work. Other people like to brag about how little they work. When should we work? Is there such a thing as too much
- [The Annoying Sibling Theory of the Internet](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-annoying-sibling-theory-of-the-internet/): Many of you are well aware of the joys and perils of growing up with a brother or sister. They can be our best friends, that companion and confidante to help us navigate the wide world of adolescence. But as anyone with a sibling knows, that love can temporarily transform into annoyance, or dare I
- [Growth EQ Academy #5: Purpose](https://thegrowtheq.com/growth-eq-academy-5-purpose/): Motivation comes from diverse sources, but perhaps none is more powerful than purpose. Why is this the case? What happens in our brain and body when we are driven by a purpose? How can we all create more meaning in our own lives, not just so we can perform better, but also, and arguably more important, so
- [Growth EQ Academy #4: Routines](https://thegrowtheq.com/growth-eq-academy-4-routines/): The first rule of routines is to have one and stick to it. The second rule of routines is to be able to let go. We explore the truth of this paradox, how to build the optimal routine for yourself given your current life station, the power of pre-performance priming, and when to use energy
- [Working on the Weekend Depends On How You Define Work](https://thegrowtheq.com/working-on-the-weekend-depends-on-how-you-define-work/): "Unpopular opinion: the best thing young people can do early in their careers is to work on the weekends," tweeted a woman named Jordan Kong, who reports working in tech and splitting her time between San Francisco and Miami. "Disagree. Deadlift. Take long walks. Read fiction. Listen to music," responded yours truly. The truth, of
- [Languishing and the Art of Showing Up](https://thegrowtheq.com/languishing-and-the-art-of-showing-up/): I recently wrote that if I had to feel motivated to start a workout I would have done 23 workouts last year, not 230. If I had to feel inspired to start writing, well, there'd be hardly any writing. If you want to stop 20 minutes in, fine. But give yourself a chance. You often hear platitudes like
- [Growth EQ Academy #3: Rest and Recovery](https://thegrowtheq.com/growth-eq-academy-3-rest-and-recovery/): Forget about all the products and services that promise to help you recharge. You don't need all (or really, any) of that stuff. In this episode of the Growth Equation Academy, we detail the foundations of how to come down after challenging periods. Topics include breaks, taking an interval training approach to all of work,
- [Growth EQ Academy #2: Stress Yourself](https://thegrowtheq.com/growth-eq-academy-2-stress-yourself/): While there are many definitions of stress, we like to think of productive stress as a stimulus that challenges you in a manner which promotes growth. In this episode of the Growth Equation Academy, we dive deep into productive stress. Topics include just-manageable challenges, how to determine the right amount of stress, what conditions create deep-focus work,
- [Growth EQ Academy #1: Stress + Rest = Growth.](https://thegrowtheq.com/growth-eq-academy-1-stress-rest-growth/): It's the universal equation to make sustainable progress in anything. In this episode of the Growth Equation Academy, we review what we mean by "stress" and "rest," and discuss how the growth equation can be a valuable concept across diverse contexts—personally, professionally, and organizationally. Too much stress with not enough rest you get injury, illness, and
- [How Breaks Change Our Brain for the Better](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-breaks-change-our-brain-for-the-better/): When I was in 5th grade, I was determined to break the Haude Elementary school record in the mile. I knew I had to train to do it. So I set out to train by doing the only thing that made logical sense to my 10-year-old brain: run an all-out mile every day. Predictably, my
- [Fascinating Insights About Aging and Performance](https://thegrowtheq.com/fascinating-insights-about-aging-and-performance/): Phil Mickelson just won the PGA Championship at age 50. That is no joke. In this episode of the Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve use Mickelson's shocking victory as the basis for a conversation on aging and performance. They discuss the importance of mindset and intrinsic drive; how to thwart the decline of raw
- [The Instagram Filter Theory of Life and Doing Real Things in the World](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-instagram-filter-theory-of-life-and-doing-real-things-in-the-world/): Why is it that so many people seem so out of touch with reality these days? In this episode of the Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve explore a new theory that argues the best way to stay grounded (and not become an ego-maniac) is to do real, concrete things in the world where you either
- [Divorce in High Performers](https://thegrowtheq.com/divorce-in-high-performers/): Many were shocked to hear about Bill and Melinda Gates getting divorced. But some weren't. After all, they are both extreme pushers, those who care deeply about their mission and work. The cost of this deep caring is often making sacrifices in other areas of life. On this episode of the Growth Equation Podcast, Brad
- [How to Read More and Read Better](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-read-more-and-read-better/): One of the best ways to be smarter, kinder, and wiser is to read. Straight up. It's the truth. On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve dive deep into all things reading. They discuss deep versus superficial attention, nonfiction vs. fiction, how to develop a consistent reading habit that will work
- [Overcoming Extremism (In All Areas of Life)](https://thegrowtheq.com/overcoming-extremism-from-diet-to-politics-to-religion/): Fact: the oldest parts of our brains evolved to make quick judgements. "That's a big snake. Bad! Run away!" "That's an attractive person of the opposite sex! Good! Pass along the DNA!" Not only did snap judgements help our species survive by avoiding death and reproducing, they also helped us conserve precious resources. Weighing pros
- [Right Thinking](https://thegrowtheq.com/right-thinking/): There is infinite information out there. Every day, we are inundated with principles, concepts, and ideas. How does one wade through the deluge, let alone discern where to lean in and pay close attention versus where to lean out and ignore? On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve dive into models for right
- [Hero Worship and Performative Everything](https://thegrowtheq.com/hero-worship-and-performative-everything/): On this episode of the Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve discuss the culture's obsession with idolizing certain people, and how thanks to the internet, everyone has a chance to win at this game. But is it a game that you actually want to win? Or are the forces of so-called celebrity (or going viral, or growing a
- [The Limits of Growth and When Smaller is Better](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-problem-with-growth-when-smaller-is-better/): For myriad reasons, the culture of the past two decades has been obsessed with growth. I am going to call this the growth era. In the growth era, it doesn't so much matter what you are growing—your company, your audience, your income, your network, your muscles, or the size of your house—but just that you
- [Skill vs. Luck vs. Hard Work](https://thegrowtheq.com/skill-vs-luck-vs-hard-work/): Hard work is often talked about as a be-all end-all when it comes to performance, and even personhood. On this episode of The Growth Equation podcast, we explore what hard work can (and can't do), what pursuits are more prone to be impacted by hard work, and the difference between hard work making you as good as
- [Inside Baseball: Book Publishing](https://thegrowtheq.com/inside-baseball-book-publishing/): In this special bonus episode, Brad and Steve delve into the process of becoming authors, starting from their early days writing hardly-read blogs to landing book advances with large publishing houses. This episode is a must-listen for anyone who has ever wondered how to write a book, the difference between self-publishing and traditional-publishing, or what
- [Self-Absorption on Social Media is Making us Sick](https://thegrowtheq.com/self-absorption-on-social-media-is-making-us-sick/): In one of his more popular short stories, on "The Depressed Person," David Foster Wallace wrote that they are "far too self-involved" to form nourishing and meaningful relationships. The story goes on to argue, and quite convincingly, that perhaps the worst part of depression is the ego becoming both obsessed with itself and turning on
- [Slaying Sacred Cows in Health and Fitness](https://thegrowtheq.com/slaying-sacred-cows-in-health-and-fitness/): To foam roll or not to foam roll? Force yourself to endure an ice-bath after a grueling workout, or sit it out? Cardio or weights, or perhaps even more pertinent, will doing cardio hurt your weights (and vice versa)? Sure, "diets" are no good, but neither is being opposed to all weight loss, right? What
- [Unwinding Anxiety](https://thegrowtheq.com/unwinding-anxiety/): Anxiety, in the broadest of terms, is discomfort with uncertainty. In the words of psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and author Judson Brewer, "it's a severe condition; that is, it's the human condition." On this week's episode of The Growth Equation podcast Brad and Steve are joined by Judson for a wide-ranging conversation on anxiety. They touch on anxiety's
- [3 Psychological Qualities that Prevent Attachment to External Validation](https://thegrowtheq.com/3-psychological-qualities-that-prevent-attachment-to-external-validation/): Whether it's a boss's praise, a book or song hitting a bestseller list, or a ranking in sport or chess, we humans crave external validation. As a social species, this is part of our hardwiring. The more liked and valued we are, the more protection we get from the community, and the easier it is
- [What "Good Sleep" Really Means and How to Get It](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-good-sleep-really-means-and-how-to-get-it/): Sleep. It's a topic that affects everyone, and it's particularly timely coming off of daylight savings time, which doesn't do much other than make an entire country of people groggy. Against that backdrop, Brad and Steve figured it'd be a perfect occasion to dive deep into sleep. They discuss the fundamental and sometimes surprising habits
- [Why Practicing Humility is the Key to True Confidence and Belonging](https://thegrowtheq.com/why-practicing-humility-is-the-key-to-true-confidence-and-belonging/): A phenomenon that just about everyone is familiar with goes like this: You are striving hard to reach the next level at your given craft or pursuit. After loads of hard work, you finally reach it. When you do, you vacillate from feeling in over your head to feeling like you belong. Sometimes your ego
- [A World Without Email (And a More Optimal Life) With Cal Newport](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-world-without-email-and-a-more-optimal-life-with-cal-newport/): Do you dislike email, or at the very least, the amount of time, energy, and attention your inbox demands? If so, you aren't alone. In this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, we welcome Cal Newport, bestselling author of Deep Work, Digital Minimalism, and most recently, A World Without Email. We dive deep into Cal's new book. But we also
- [Coaching Beyond Sport](https://thegrowtheq.com/coaching-beyond-sport/): Coaching has long been a foundation of sport, but only more recently is it spreading into other industries. From business, to health care, to creativity, more people are seeking coaches to help them boost their performance and longevity, and the flip side of that coin, to help them avoid burnout too. On this episode of
- [Competing When All Hope Is Lost](https://thegrowtheq.com/competing-when-all-hope-is-lost/): Competing is easy when you’re in the mix. When your goal is within reach, when you have a shot at winning, finding that extra ounce of energy, that burst of motivation, comes naturally. It’s not hard to be a ‘tough’ competitor when you have a shot. You’re fully engaged in the task, ready to take
- [Getting Beyond Hack Culture](https://thegrowtheq.com/getting-beyond-hack-culture/): Hack culture—or the general idea that there are specific products, services, or supplements that will quickly make you healthier, happier, fitter, and more productive—has taken off in the last decade. In this episode of the Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve explore how and why this has happened. They discuss what, if any, "hacks" may be
- [The Science of Pacing (And Not Just For Sport, But All Big Projects In Life)](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-science-of-pacing-and-not-just-for-sport-but-all-big-projects-in-life/): COVID-19 has often been compared to a marathon (by us, too! Brad wrote a piece in The New York Times back in May of 2020 saying as much). A big part of this analogy relies on the importance of pacing; and not just physically, but how you frame the pandemic in your mind, too. Yet it's
- [Think Again: 8 Lessons on Intellectual Humility](https://thegrowtheq.com/think-again-8-lessons-on-intellectual-humility/): Intellectual humility is understanding that you don't know everything, that you are often wrong, and that it's okay, even a good thing, to change your mind when new evidence presents itself. Needless to say, intellectual humility is a quality that is both sorely lacking and desperately needed right now. That's why it is welcome news
- [Teamwork, Flow, and Peak Performance on K2](https://thegrowtheq.com/teamwork-flow-and-peak-performance-on-k2/): A few weeks ago, a team of Nepali climbers made history, summiting K2 for the first time in winter, a feat that represents mountaineering's last crowned jewel. In this episode of the Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve delve into how the impossible was made possible. In particular, they focus on the role of teamwork, pride,
- [Tom Brady and the Relationship Between Peak Performance and Age](https://thegrowtheq.com/tom-brady-and-the-relationship-between-peak-performance-and-age/): This past weekend, in the NFL playoffs, one game featured quarterbacks aged 37 and 43. The other game featured quarterbacks aged 24 and 25. Quite a stark difference, huh? In this episode of the Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve dive into the relationship between peak performance and age. They draw upon the latest research and
- [Factors of Resilience](https://thegrowtheq.com/factors-of-resilience/): Resilience is the capacity to bounce back when you get knocked down and to persevere during challenging times. It is a timeless quality, but also one that feels particularly timely. In this episode of the Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve discuss what they refer to as the factors of resilience, or the attributes and practices
- [The Secrets of Lasting Change](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-secrets-of-lasting-change/): Over 70 percent of New Year's resolutions fail in the span of just a few weeks. Yikes. In this episode of the Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve discuss what the latest science says on making change that sticks. They touch on the habit-forming cycle of trigger, behavior, reward, and discuss why so many people follow it
- [We Finally Made it to 2021—Now What?](https://thegrowtheq.com/we-finally-made-it-to-2021-now-what/): Well, 2020 was a long and challenging year. It's over! But just because the calendar flipped doesn't mean everything is suddenly fine. In this episode of the Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve discuss an interesting behavioral science concept called the "fresh start effect," which says people tend to start aspirational behaviors on Mondays, the first day
- [How to Make Your Brain a Better Place](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-make-your-brain-a-better-place/): In this episode of the Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve discuss the evidence-based, do-it-yourself methodologies to improve day-to-day mental health and well-being. They explore movement, meditation, and other ways to create space between a situation and your response to it. There is a whole lot of noise when it comes to this sort of
- [Taylor Swift and the Principles of Hot Streaks](https://thegrowtheq.com/taylor-swift-and-the-principles-of-hot-streaks/): Taylor Swift just released her latest album, Evermore. It is wonderful. It is also the second album she's released this year, following Folklore, which is also wonderful, and was released back in July. The crazy thing is this: Swift didn't start working on either of these albums until April of this year. This means that she averaged
- [Tony Hsieh's Tragic Death—and why Chasing Success, Happiness, and Health is a Trap](https://thegrowtheq.com/tony-hsiehs-tragic-death-and-why-chasing-success-happiness-and-health-is-a-trap/): A few weeks ago, Zappos founder and CEO Tony Hsieh tragically died in a house fire. It is unclear whether the death was accidental, if Hsieh was intoxicated at the time, or if he locked himself in a room. What is clear is that during the last few months of his life, Hsieh was spiraling
- [The Trappings of Unchecked Striving: Zappos and Tony Hsieh's Tragic Death](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-trappings-of-unchecked-striving-zappos-and-tony-hsiehs-tragic-death/): A few weeks ago, Zappos founder and CEO Tony Hsieh tragically died in a house fire. It is unclear whether the death was accidental, if Hsieh was intoxicated at the time, or if he locked himself in a room. What is clear is that during the last few months of his life, Hsieh was spiraling
- [Two Simple But Underused Rules for Progress in Anything](https://thegrowtheq.com/two-simple-rules-for-better-anything/): My family just got a new puppy. An adorable, little—for now, anyways—German Shepherd. Sleep hasn't been great. Ananda needs to go out at least once in the middle of night, and sometimes more. This is the first time since my son was an infant, a few years back now, that I've gone to bed knowing
- [The Zen of Running and Writing](https://thegrowtheq.com/katie-arnold/): In 2010, the writer Katie Arnold welcomed her second daughter into the world. Three weeks later she lost her father, also her best friend. Dealing with the grief was discombobulating. As she told us in this week's podcast, “I could not talk my way out of it. People could not reassure me the fears I
- [Best Books of 2020 For Success and Well-being](https://thegrowtheq.com/best-books-of-2020/): Welcome to the annual reading list. If you’re familiar with our work, you’ll know that it integrates ideas, research, and practices from diverse domains. People always ask us how we do this. The answer is simple: We do our best to live in the world with our eyes open. And we read lots, and lots
- [McKinsey, Opiods, and The Dark Side of High Performance](https://thegrowtheq.com/mckinsey-opiods-and-the-dark-side-of-high-performance/): Earlier this week, the New York Times broke a story detailing how the prestigious consulting firm McKinsey and Company "proposed paying pharmacy companies rebates for Oxycontin [a popular opioid] overdoses." Worse, partners at McKinsey allegedly tried to cover the evidence of their recommendation. In this episode of The Growth Equation podcast, Brad, a former McKinsey consultant himself,
- [Amusing Ourselves to Death](https://thegrowtheq.com/amusing-ourselves-to-death/): In this episode of the Growth Equation podcast, Brad and Steve dive into an underground classic from the 1980's: Amusing Ourselves to Death, by Neil Postman. The main premise of the book is that the medium via which we consume information is a metaphor for the culture; our brains, both as individuals and as a collective,
- [Rich Roll: The Art of Meaningful Conversation](https://thegrowtheq.com/rich-roll/): Rich Roll is a globally renown ultra-endurance athlete, wellness advocate, bestselling author, husband and father of four. He also hosts the wildly popular Rich Roll Podcast, one of the top 100 podcasts in the world with over 100 million downloads. On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve welcome Rich. He shares
- [Trust: The Most Important Thing There Is](https://thegrowtheq.com/trust-the-most-important-thing-there-is/): A wise professor once told Brad, “Trust is the most important thing there is and all inefficiencies at their core are created by a lack of trust.” On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve discuss the importance of trust and what it means to trust yourself and to trust others. They
- [A Better Way to Think About Exhaustion and Rest](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-better-way-to-think-about-exhaustion-and-rest/): One of my coaching clients, who I’ll call Jenny, is a 39-year-old entrepreneur. Lately, she’s been struggling with fatigue, nothing too severe but a general sense of exhaustion, or, in her words, “not feeling as sharp and energetic as I’d like.” The first solution that comes to mind is simple: rest. But what if she tries resting and still feels sluggish? Jenny’s
- [Special Episode: Election Madness](https://thegrowtheq.com/special-episode-election-madness/): In this raw, uncut, and immediately uploaded episode, Brad and Steve explore the still-unfolding chaos around the 2020 US presidential election, how we got into this mess, and how we can get out. For the two articles we reference in the podcast: Driven Apart or Coming Together: It's Our Choice The Simple Reason that
- [The Simple Reason That 2020 Polls Were So Wrong](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-simple-reason-that-2020-polls-were-so-wrong/): First off, rather than you make assumptions and have implicit bias, some facts: I'm an independent person who voted for Bush two; then Obama—barely the first time (Sarah Palin swayed me), and enthusiastically the second time. I would have voted for anyone besides Trump in 2016; and this year, I remain hopeful about the prospect
- [How to Stop Technology from Taking Over Your Life](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-stop-technology-from-taking-over-our-lives/): A good friend and fellow creative and entrepreneur recently eliminated all social media from his life. About his experience, he wrote the following: It’s really eye-opening just how much of our lives many of us “live” on social media, trapped in an alternate reality we don’t even realize we’re in most of the time. I
- [A Discussion About Race with Jojo McDuffie](https://thegrowtheq.com/discussion-on-race/): It infiltrates every aspect of our lives and deserves the time for a thoughtful discussion. On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve welcome back friend of the podcast Jojo McDuffie to discuss the topic of race. The three share their different experiences with race growing up in Michigan, Texas and Virginia.
- [Hurt People Hurt People](https://thegrowtheq.com/hurt-people-hurt-people/): It is often the people and communities that are the most dismissive of things like therapy and vulnerability that need those things the most. The tragedy is that instead of embracing and working through tough emotions such as fear and pain, people all too often numb them away with substances, or hide them behind fake
- [Defining Success: Lebron vs. Jordan](https://thegrowtheq.com/defining-success-lebron-vs-jordan/): This month Lebron James won his fourth NBA Championship and once again spurred the question: who is better, Lebron James or Michael Jordan? On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve tackle the question, but go beyond the championships and MVP awards and consider performance and success more broadly. They discuss their
- [The Social Media Episode](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-social-media-episode/): The Social Dilemma, a documentary on the rise of social media and the damage it has caused to society, is one of the top shows on Netflix and it has us thinking. On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve tackle the issue of social media and its impact on our health
- [The Meaning of Life (Perhaps)](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-meaning-of-life-perhaps/): Over the past few days, I've been immersing myself in the work of the early twentieth century poet, Rainer Maria Rilke. Now seems like as good a time as any for this. Not to stop taking productive action, but to step out of the 24-7 news cycle, even if only for a bit, into something
- [Listener Mailbag with Brad and Steve: Diet, Motivation, and Home Office Design](https://thegrowtheq.com/listener-mailbag-with-brad-and-steve-diet-motivation-and-home-office-design/): Ever wonder what Brad and Steve do for the first and last 90 minutes of each day? What their in-home offices look like? What their favorite apps are? On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve take more questions from their listeners. They share how they stay motivated and stay connected to
- [Nearly All Breaking News is a Sham—Don’t Be a Victim of It](https://thegrowtheq.com/nearly-all-breaking-news-is-a-sham-dont-be-a-victim-of-it/): You can check a few websites—or better yet, skim an old-fashioned newspaper—once a day and know more than enough about what is going on in the world. You could probably check just once a week and still be plenty informed. The whole business of today’s “breaking” news on the internet (and television) is built
- [Top 5 Growth Equation Articles From September](https://thegrowtheq.com/top-5-growth-equation-articles-from-september/): September continued to be a weird (to put it lightly) month. There is a lot of uncertainty in the world and everyone is experiencing it differently. Some people are thriving amidst all the chaos, others are struggling mightily. Whatever you are feeling is okay. It can change from day-to-day, even hour to hour. We hope
- [Stop Asking “Can We?”; Start Asking “Should We?”](https://thegrowtheq.com/stop-asking-can-we-start-with-should-we/): “The 15 minutes…are those consecutive minutes?” asked Theresa, a Paulding County board of education member. Theresa was wrestling with the problem staring her in the face. The Georgia Department of Health requires schools to classify anyone who has been within 6 feet of one another for longer than 15-minutes as a “close contact.” If you
- [Listener Mailbag with Brad & Steve: Routines, Reading, and Suffering](https://thegrowtheq.com/listener-mailbag-with-brad-steve-routines-reading-and-suffering/): You asked, they answered! On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve take questions from their listeners. The pair discuss strategies for staying positive when the news is seemingly all negative, how to balance multiple passions, and how to be patient with long-term goals. Steve tackles the importance of pausing training when
- [Amelia Boone: Obstacle Racing and Mental Health Warrior](https://thegrowtheq.com/ameliaboone/): Amelia Boone is one of the most accomplished obstacle race athletes in history, having won the Spartan Race World Championship in 2013 and the World’s Toughest Mudder in 2012, 2014 and 2015. She’s also struggled with OCD and an eating disorder that resulted in hospital and treatment center stays. On this episode of The Growth
- [She's Back! Life with Shalane Flanagan, Marathon Champion, Olympian and Coach](https://thegrowtheq.com/shes-back-life-with-shalane-flanagan-marathon-champion-olympian-and-coach/): She’s back! This week on The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve check in with NYC Marathon Champion, Olympian, coach, and friend Shalane Flanagan. The trio first discuss the challenges that come with transitions. Shalane candidly describes the hard and dark days she faced when transitioning away from being an athlete and how she struggled
- [7 Mental Habits That Work Really Well—Until They Get In Your Way](https://thegrowtheq.com/7-mental-habits-that-work-until-they-get-in-your-way/): Rely on these qualities when they are helpful and then leave them behind when they are not.
- [Growth EQ Principles: Self-Compassion](https://thegrowtheq.com/growth-eq-principles-self-compassion/): On this week's episode of Growth Equation Principles, Brad and Jojo explore self-compassion, and explain why cultivating it is key to lasting performance and wellbeing even, and perhaps especially, for high-achievers.
- [Six Hot (and Thoughtful) Takes on Performance](https://thegrowtheq.com/six-hot-and-thoughtful-takes-on-performance/): On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve offer six hot (and thoughtful) takes on topics related to performance and well-being. They discuss whether it's better to have low expectations and if inspiration can actually help performance. The two debate how much of performance is luck versus skill and how our perceptions
- [Growth EQ Principles: Patience](https://thegrowtheq.com/growth-eq-principles-patience/): Understanding that most important things in life are nine-inning games can help support happiness, performance, and satisfaction. On this week's episode of Growth Equation Principles, Brad and Jojo explore patience.
- [Inspiration is for Amateurs](https://thegrowtheq.com/inspiration-is-for-amateurs/): At first a spark is key; without it, there is no flame. But in order for that flame to grow into a powerful fire, it needs oxygen.
- [The Pandemic and the Burnout Epidemic](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-pandemic-and-the-burnout-epidemic/): In the United States the COVID-19 pandemic is slogging away, now entering its sixth month, making it the perfect time for Brad and Steve to discuss one of their favorite topics: burnout. On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, the pair dive into why so many of us are feeling burnt out at this
- [Growth EQ Principles: Process over Outcome](https://thegrowtheq.com/growth-eq-principles-process-over-outcome/): On this week's episode of Growth Equation Principles, Brad and Jojo explore what it really means to focus on the process—and how this mindset can be powerful in everything from work, to sport, to parenting, to all of life.
- [How to Deal with Uncertainty](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-deal-with-uncertainty/): Most people hate uncertainty to such a degree that they would accept a crappy but certain outcome over feeling uncertain. In this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve discuss best practices for facing and dealing with uncertainty. First, they dissect how we typically react to uncertain times, with feelings of anxiety, stress
- [Everything You Need to Know About Intermittent Fasting](https://thegrowtheq.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-intermittent-fasting/): It can work. But not without risk. Here's how and why.
- [Growth EQ Principles: Presence](https://thegrowtheq.com/growth-eq-principles-presence/): On this week's episode of Growth Equation Principles, Brad and Jojo explore what it means to be present and how to cultivate this key quality in an increasingly noisy world.
- [An Interview with Champion Ultrarunner and Mountaineer Kilian Jornet](https://thegrowtheq.com/an-interview-with-champion-ultrarunner-and-mountaineer-kilian-jornet/): He's won some of the most prestigious ultra marathons in the world and holds the fastest known time for the ascent and descent of Matterhorn, Mont Blanc, Denali and Everest. On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve ask runner and mountaineer Kilian Jornet about what drives him and how his motivation has changed over
- [Discipline IS Freedom—Which Means Constraints Are Too](https://thegrowtheq.com/discipline-is-freedom-which-means-constraints-are-too/): Sometimes you need restrictions to truly be free.
- [Growth Eq Principles: Consistency](https://thegrowtheq.com/growth-eq-principles-consistency/): On this week's episode of Growth Equation Principles, Brad and Jojo dive into consistency. Consistency means showing up, even when you don’t want to. It makes you better at not only your craft—via compounding gains—but also the skill of exerting effort itself. Sustainable peak performance isn’t about being consistently great. It’s about being great at being
- [What Poker Can Teach Us About Focusing on the Process and Peak Performance](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-poker-can-teach-us-about-focusing-on-the-process-and-peak-performance/): Bad beats drag you down. They focus you on something you can't control—the cards—rather than on something you can, the decision.
- [What Makes Good Coaches (And How to Find Them)](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-makes-good-coaches-and-how-to-find-them/): Brad and Steve are both professional coaches, Brad working with executives, physicians and entrepreneurs and Steve with professional and collegiate athletes. On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve tackle the question: What makes a good coach? They discuss the importance of pattern recognition; understanding the general toolkit and applying it to the needs
- [The Science of How to Build and Maintain Motivation](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-build-and-maintain-motivation/): How do you build and maintain motivation? On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve endeavor to answer that question. First, they discuss the difference between internal motivation and external motivation and why the former sets you up for longer-lasting success. Next, they discuss the power of behavioral activation, or the ability of your actions
- [The Power of Movement and How to Develop a Personal Movement Program](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-power-of-movement-and-how-to-develop-a-personal-movement-program/): Now, perhaps more than ever, it is important to move. On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve go deep on the diverse and far-ranging benefits of movement, including improved physical health, sleep, sleep, cognitive function, emotional health, and creativity. Then, they offer a framework for how to develop a personal movement practice. They examine
- [Click-On-This Culture is (Literally) Killing Us](https://thegrowtheq.com/all-in-the-name-of-clicks-a-brief-rant-on-society/): As a society, we're in desperate need of one big family therapy session.
- [The Convergence of Sports and Society with Jojo McDuffie](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-convergence-of-sports-and-society-with-jojo-mcduffie/): Traditionally, athletes who speak out on cultural or political matters are told to “stay in their lane.” Today, however, the convergence of culture, politics and sports is more palpable than ever. On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve are joined by Jojo McDuffie, a coach at the University of Virginia who
- [The Keys to Deep Work and Deep Living with Cal Newport](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-keys-to-deep-work-and-deep-living-with-cal-newport/): The ability to focus without distraction is seemingly harder than ever. In this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve speak with Cal Newport, Associate Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University and author of several books, most recently Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World (2016) and Digital Minimalism: Choosing
- [Deeper Understanding Means Deeper Seeing](https://thegrowtheq.com/perception-is-reality-and-reality-is-perception/): The more we know the more we see.
- [Stress + Rest= Growth](https://thegrowtheq.com/stress-rest-growth/): This podcast gets its name from a simple but powerful equation: stress + rest = growth. In this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve revisit this equation. They discuss its origin, define stress and rest, and discuss how the growth equation can be applied at a macro and micro level; on a
- [How Interval Training Can Help You With Time Management](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-interval-training-can-help-you-with-time-management/): This idea has shaped elite sports over the last century, but it’s only in the past decade that it’s being lifted from the playing field and applied elsewhere.
- [Returning to the Office, Classroom and Arena](https://thegrowtheq.com/returning-to-the-office-classroom-and-arena/): The NBA’s proposal to return to play next month has Brad and Steve thinking: what will all of our returns from COVID-19 quarantine life look like? In this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve discuss what a return to the office, the classroom or the arena might look and feel like, and
- [A New Way of Thinking: Not Either-Or, But Both-And.](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-new-way-of-thinking-not-either-or-both-and/): Holding two seemingly opposite concepts at the same time can make your mind feel like it is going to explode! But it is worth practicing nonetheless.
- [Transcending CrossFit and the Foundations of Health with Kelly Starrett](https://thegrowtheq.com/transcending-crossfit-and-the-foundations-of-health-with-kelly-starrett/): For coach, physical therapist, author, and speaker Kelly Starrett, sports and fitness have always been about inclusion and diversity, about creating safe and progressive places. That’s why when the CEO of CrossFit sparked outrage this month with his tweets related to COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement, Kelly knew he had to make a
- [13 Rules for Life](https://thegrowtheq.com/13-rules-for-life/): The secret is there is no secret. What follows are 13 rules—supported by ancient wisdom and modern science—to help you feel better and be better.
- [How to Make the Good Changes from Quarantine Stick](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-make-the-good-changes-from-quarantine-stick/): COVID has been like an intense detox program. Our collective addiction is to novelty, buying things, constant stimulation, speed, productivity, and complexity. COVID locked us in a room—quite literally—where it was hard, if not impossible, to fulfill these desires.
- [Cancel Culture Can Be, But Isn't Always, Dumb](https://thegrowtheq.com/cancel-culture-can-be-but-isnt-always-dumb/): First, a definition. Cancel culture: a form of boycott in which an individual (usually a celebrity) who has shared a questionable or controversial opinion, or has engaged in past behavior that is perceived to be offensive, is "cancelled," or ostracized and shunned by former friends, followers, and supporters alike, leading to declines in careers and fans. Life is too short
- [Quick Hit: Crossfit and Guru Syndrome](https://thegrowtheq.com/quick-hit-crossfit-and-guru-syndrome/): Something we think about often is what I call "Guru Syndrome," when someone becomes an untouchable expert with an inability to even consider how they might be wrong. Run the opposite way!In this episode, we discuss Crossfit, the recent controversy involving their CEO, and how that relates to Guru syndrome. Resources: Profile of Crossfit CEO
- [Having Skin in the Game: Why it’s Worth it to Care Deeply](https://thegrowtheq.com/having-skin-in-the-game-why-its-worth-it-to-care-deeply/): Poet T.S. Eliot eloquently wrote, “Teach us to care and not to care.” In this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve talk through the costs and benefits of having skin in the game; of caring deeply about something. Whether the arena is business, sports, politics, or something else, they argue that despite
- [The Art of Having Skin in the Game](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-art-of-having-skin-in-the-game/): "The things you care about make you vulnerable. The things you care about break your heart."
- [Are Your Days All a Blur? Here's How to Change That.](https://thegrowtheq.com/are-your-days-all-a-blur-heres-how-to-change-that/): One day bleeds into the next. Time feels hazy and surreal. Multiple friends have told me that, as a result of the coronavirus lockdowns, they no longer have any real sense for what day of the week it is. One hypothesis for why we’re feeling this way is that many normal markers of time no longer exist. Maybe you used
- [Olympian Shalane Flanagan on Marathons, Motherhood, Motivation and More](https://thegrowtheq.com/olympian-shalane-flanagan-on-marathons-motherhood-motivation-and-more/): Shalane Flanagan is a former professional runner. She won the Silver Medal in the 10,000 meters at the 2008 Summer Olympics and first place at the 2017 New York City Marathon. Shalane is also a running coach, cookbook author, sports broadcaster, and, most importantly, a new mom. On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast,
- [The Art and Practice of Science](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-art-and-practice-of-science/): Science is more important, but more misunderstood, than ever. On this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve tackle a timely topic: science. They explore what science is, what science is not, and how and why science is increasingly coming under attack. As a listener, you'll be left with a concrete toolkit for figuring out
- [Adele, The Body Positive Movement, and Weight Loss](https://thegrowtheq.com/adele-the-body-positive-movement-and-weight-loss/): Recently, the New York Times ran a story about fighting fat discrimination while still wanting to lose weight. This was published around the same time that Adele, one of our most talented and beloved musicians, posted a picture of herself showing dramatic weight loss. Adele's post lead to a furor of commentary about whether or the picture was a positive or
- [A New and Honest Take on Digital Device Hygiene](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-new-and-honest-take-on-digital-device-hygiene/): In this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, we focus on all the ways in which we interact with our devices: the good, the bad, and the ugly. We welcome a special guest, Mario Fraioli, who has built a successful career on largely the internet. We try not to waste time and dive straight into the tough nuance:
- [The Science—And Art—Of Leading Yourself and Others](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-science-and-art-of-leading-yourself-and-others/): Brad and Steve dive into different methods of leadership. The science calls this authoritarian, servent, and transformation leadership styles. They call it the difference between leading people (or yourself) from a place of love versus a place of fear. Per the usual, nuance is the name of the game. The goal isn't to completely abandon or completely
- [Drones and Digital Everything or In-Person Connection?](https://thegrowtheq.com/drones-and-digital-everything-or-in-person-connection/): Community and belonging are so important. They are essential to our physical and emotional health and also to our ability to perform at our best. For now, we need to use digital tools to stay connected the best we can. After COVID, we need to get back to in-person connection. I'm increasingly concerned that already existing
- [Step Away from the 24-Hour News Cycle](https://thegrowtheq.com/step-away-from-the-24-hour-news-cycle/): A lot of cable, Internet, and social media news is a bit like candy: You know you probably shouldn’t indulge in it but there’s just something about it that’s so enticing. So you tell yourself you’re “going to have just one”—one minute, one article, one political Tweet or Facebook comment—but the next thing you know
- [The Power of the People Around You](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-power-of-the-people-around-you/): An enormous part of self-improvement are the people whom you surround yourself. I've had the opportunity to spend time at world-class organizations — in sport, places that produce numerous Olympic medals; in work, places that invent groundbreaking new products and services. What sets the best apart from the rest isn’t cutting-edge technology, ritzy facilities, or even great individual athletes,
- [What Lies Behind Every "Breakthrough" Performance](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-lies-behind-every-breakthrough-performance/): Most people like to think of progress as a straight line. Though this certainly can be the case, it’s not always so—especially not when it comes to observable improvement. In his new book, Atomic Habits, James Clear uses the example of an ice cube. Ice melts only when it hits 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Does that mean the energy
- [How to Actually Get Some Rest for Once](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-actually-get-some-rest-for-once/): The thing about scrolling through social media is that it often feels like it should be a restful activity. It even looks like one. You’re barely moving, after all; you might even be lying down. And yet when is the last time you closed Twitter feeling refreshed? In case you haven’t yet heard, rest is important. It’s when our
- [How to Build High-Performance Habits](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-build-high-performance-habits/): In the 1950s, a plastic surgeon named Maxwell Maltz noticed that it took his patients about three weeks to get used to their faces after cosmetic surgery. He also realized that that was about how long it took him to get acclimated to new behaviors in his own life. In 1960, Maltz published a book called Psycho-Cybernetics,in which he
- [The Incredible Power Of Friendship](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-incredible-power-of-friendship/): I’ve been thinking about friendship a lot lately. So many of the digital devices that supposedly connect us are leaving many of us, myself included, feeling a bit lonely. Yes, it’s true that email, text messaging, and social media can be enjoyable and beneficial, and that they can spawn wonderful relationships. (I met the coauthor of my book on Twitter
- [The Case for Not Changing a Thing: An Ode to Patience](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-case-for-not-changing-a-thing-an-ode-to-patience/): We humans suffer from the commission bias: a preference toward doing something rather than nothing. We’re also novelty-seeking creatures, drawn to bright and shiny objects. These propensities have served us well throughout evolution. Long ago, they drove us to develop useful tools, to hunt even during times of surplus, and to explore new and fruitful
- [Why Do Rich People Love Endurance Sports?](https://thegrowtheq.com/why-do-rich-people-love-endurance-sports/): Cycling, running, and obstacle course racing are dominated by white-collar workers. And while disposable income makes competing more feasible, researchers are also starting to discover a psychological pull that draws these people to masochistic events.
- [How to Use Your Phone with Intention](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-use-your-phone-with-intention/): Chances are you’ve been on a run or ride or hike recently, come across a beautiful scene—perhaps clouds parting, like curtains, to reveal a mountaintop, or an open vista of endless desert—and felt the instinctual, compulsory urge to grab your phone. “This will make a great Instagram,” you’ve thought. This is a problem, because what
- [Lifting Weights Helps Ease Anxiety and Depression](https://thegrowtheq.com/lifting-weights-helps-ease-anxiety-and-depression/): At the beginning of the year, when I was coming out of a rough experience with obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, and depression, I decided to switch from running regularly to lifting weights. This was despite mountains of evidence pointing to the benefits of aerobic exercise for mental health. The story I told myself was that running is a catabolic
- [Shalane Flanagan on How to Achieve Peak Performance](https://thegrowtheq.com/shalane-flanagan-on-how-to-achieve-peak-performance/): Last year, on November 5, I watched the end of the New York City Marathon on television. I got chills as Shalane Flanagan crossed the finish line, becoming the first American woman to win the race in 40 years. I could only imagine the years of dedication, passion, and resolve behind that extraordinary moment. After
- [You Can Be Happy and Lonely At the Same Time](https://thegrowtheq.com/you-can-be-happy-and-lonely-at-the-same-time/): Thanks to the proliferation of digital technologies, never has it been so easy and inexpensive to reach — pretty much anywhere and at any time — family, friends, and colleagues. I regularly Facebook-message with a Sherpa friend who lives in Nepal; use Twitter to get real-time updates from an athlete I coach who lives in
- [The Original “All Natural” Remedy For Burnout? Nature.](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-original-all-natural-remedy-for-burnout-nature/): Here’s a modern paradox: People report that they feel significantly happier outdoors than they do indoors, yet we spend less than 5 percent of our waking hours in nature. Such were the findings of a recent study published in the journal Global Environmental Change, which used an iPhone app called Mappiness to track the location and corresponding emotional state of
- [The Best Way to Follow Your Dreams Is by Keeping Your Day Job](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-best-way-to-follow-your-dreams-is-by-keeping-your-day-job/): One of my favorite inspirationalbooks is The Crossroads of Should and Must: Find and Follow Your Passion, byElle Luna. The basic premise goes like this: Far too many people stick to “should” — the safe route, what they feel they ought to be doing and what is expected of them — rather than pursuing “must,” or the thing that
- [Be Better at Life By Thinking About Yourself Less](https://thegrowtheq.com/be-better-at-life-by-thinking-about-yourself-less/): (Note: The below is excerpted from our book Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success) It was the 2015 IAAF World Championships, and Ashton Eaton was dead tired. Eaton, as you may know, is a two-time Olympic champion decathlete who some say is the greatest athlete of all time.
- [5 Tips to Improve Work Performance From the World’s Best Athletes](https://thegrowtheq.com/6-tips-to-improve-work-performance-from-the-worlds-best-athletes/): If you want to get better at what you do — whatever that may be — a good place to start is by looking to the world’s best, and for good reason. It turns out that the mind-sets and practices of the top athletes, artists, intellectuals, and entrepreneurs are actually quite similar; generally backed by
- [For Super Driven People, Not Working *Is* The Work](https://thegrowtheq.com/for-super-driven-people-not-working-is-the-work/): It’s well established that intrinsic motivation promotes long-term performance and protects against burnout. Whether it’s on the playing field or in the workplace, the more that your drive comes from within and the more you perceive your work as an end in itself — that is, you enjoy what you’re doing, not just the external rewards and recognition
- [The Fascinating Science of Belief](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-fascinating-science-of-belief/): Marathon season is here, which means runners across the country are obsessing over how they can make even the most marginal performance gains. Although I’m skeptical of supplements, there is one that boasts a strong record of effectiveness, carries virtually no downside, and is not banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Its use among the
- [In Fitness — as in Life — Patience is a Virtue](https://thegrowtheq.com/in-fitness-as-in-life-patience-is-a-virtue/): Recently, there’s been a surge in the popularity of workout programs, like P90x and ClassPass, which are based on “muscle confusion,” or the premise that constantly switching up your workout routine — i.e., “confusing” your muscles — is the pathway to fitness gains. It’s an enticing idea, as evidenced by the numbers: Since 2004, P90x has sold five million
- [A 1970’s Book About Tennis is About Far More than Tennis](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-1970s-book-about-tennis-is-about-far-more-than-tennis/): Perennial Super Bowl–winning hero Tom Brady is merely the latest in a long line of sporting legends — including Steve Kerr, Pete Carroll, and Billie Jean King — who credit a little book about tennis with helping them to stay cool, calm, and collected under pressure. The book, called The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance, was written
- [Love is An Ongoing Practice](https://thegrowtheq.com/love-is-an-ongoing-practice/): I make a living coaching and writing on passion and peak performance. I know that medals won, deals closed, and promotions earned all feel nice. But I’m increasingly coming to think that if your primary goal is a long, happy, and healthy life, you’d be far better off focusing on love. This is an age-old theme
- [Three Secrets to Performing at Your Highest Level](https://thegrowtheq.com/three-secrets-to-performing-at-your-highest-level/): It’s one thing to reach the top of a mountain. It’s another thing to stay there for a long time, through good weather and bad. Serena Williams, Tom Brady, Lebron James, and Diana Taurasi are all notable examples of elite performers who have accomplished the latter. They’ve ascended to great heights, and, somehow, they’ve managed to
- [Finding Balance in Life Is Easier Than You Think](https://thegrowtheq.com/finding-balance-in-life-is-easier-than-you-think/): As an athlete, if you want to continuously improve, then you have to change up your training on a somewhat regular basis.But, equally problematic, if you introduce too much stimulus and challenge too frequently, you’re liable to get injured or burn out. In human biology, a similar process is referred to as allostasis, which is an organism’s capacity
- [Having a Mantra Will Make You Better](https://thegrowtheq.com/having-a-mantra-will-make-you-better/): Buddhism, Stoicism, and Taoism all teach adherents to repeat particular chants or mantras to steady the mind. Only recently, though, have researchers begun to look into the power of this practice. A 2015 study published in the journal Brain Behavior described research in which participants were asked to lie down, first with no instruction, and then, after a few minutes, with
- [You Don't Always Need to be Super Productive](https://thegrowtheq.com/you-dont-always-need-to-be-super-productive/): Danielle Steel is a novelist who has written 179 books. She writes seven books annually, rarely sleeps more than five hours a night, and works every day of the year, save a single week of vacation. Steel’s work has been read by hundreds of thousands of people. Is Steel’s drive and productivity something to be celebrated and emulated? It depends, at
- [David Epstein Makes the Case for Being a Generalist](https://thegrowtheq.com/david-epstein-makes-the-case-for-being-a-generalist/): In 2014, science writer David Epstein rocked the sports world with his debut book, The Sports Gene, which uncovered the vast impact of innate talent on athletic performance and showed readers how they could nurture their nature. The book debunked the then-celebrated 10,000-hour rule, or the notion that you could be great at anything with 10,000 hours of
- [5 Lies You've Been Told About "Following Your Passion"](https://thegrowtheq.com/5-lies-youve-been-told-about-following-your-passion/): A few years ago, when I began to focus more on my writing career, my mom, a former writer herself, gave me a book titled Passion: Every Day. It was filled with inspiring quotes like “I dare you, while there is still time, to have a magnificent obsession” and “follow your desire as long as you live.”
- [The Two Keys to Forming Habits—and Making Them Stick](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-two-keys-to-forming-habits-and-making-them-stick/): Over the past decade or so, there’s been a steady stream of science about your habits. Much of this has been detailed in bestselling books like The Power of Habit and Atomic Habits. The gist is that human behavior follows a predictable cycle: Trigger → behavior → reward. A simple example is exercise. The trigger could be your
- [The 9-Word Ultimate Fitness Manifesto](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-9-word-ultimate-fitness-manifesto/): n Monday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released new physical activity guidelines for the first time in ten years. They recommend that adults get at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week, which is unchanged from the last time guidelines were released, in 2008. This amounts to just 22 minutes per day and
- [Walking Might Be the Best Exercise There Is](https://thegrowtheq.com/walking-might-be-the-best-exercise-there-is/): Hard to beat this simple movement, according to science anyways.
- [An Ode to Being Old: What's Lost is Gained in Wisdom](https://thegrowtheq.com/an-ode-to-being-old-whats-lost-is-gained-in-wisdom/): What age is someone most likely to achieve their peak performance? It's a good question, and a logical place to start is with cognitive flexibility, or the ease with which one can switch between thinking about two different concepts or think about two different concepts simultaneously. Lots of people call this “sharpness,” and research shows it peaks between the
- [Athletes Share Their Mental Health Coping Strategies](https://thegrowtheq.com/athletes-share-their-mental-health-coping-strategies/): I've written about my own struggles with mental illness before. But as I’ve learned more about it, I’ve come to realize that knowing you’re not alone—that other people go through similar experiences—and building a support network are two of the more powerful things you can do if you’re dealing with something like anxiety, depression, or OCD. To
- [Don't Lose Your Edge as You Age.](https://thegrowtheq.com/dont-lose-your-edge-as-you-age/): Let’s start with a few numbers: 36, 34, 38, 36, 35, 35. These are the respective ages at which Shalane Flanagan, Des Linden, Meb Keflezighi, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, and Anthony Ervin recently dominated major international championships. Whether those ages seem young or old to you may depend on where you’re at in your own
- [Want to Perform Better? Play to Win.](https://thegrowtheq.com/want-to-perform-better-play-to-win/): October 17, 2002. Birmingham, Michigan. A day I’ll never forget. My small-town public high school football team had made the state playoffs for the first time in over two decades. In a tournament with 32 teams, we were seeded dead last. Our first-round opponent was Birmingham Brother Rice, a large private school and perennial sports
- [How to Make Friends with Pain and Challenge](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-make-friends-with-pain-and-challenge/): This month, during the final few miles of the 122nd running of the Boston Marathon, if all goes to plan, elite U.S. marathoner Des Linden will be in a world of pain. Pain is, after all, necessary for Linden—or any athlete—to get the most out of herself. But, Linden says, “I won’t spend time negotiating with myself about
- [The Case for Lowering Your Expectations](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-case-for-lowering-your-expectations/): onsider Amelia Boone. The world-champion Spartan racer is a Type A pusher. When she’s not winning Spartan events or racing ultramarathons, she’s a corporate lawyer for Apple. Boone has always set high expectations for herself, and that has undoubtedly helped propel her to the top. But after a string of serious injuries in 2016, including
- [How Physical Activity Can Get You Out of a Rut](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-physical-activity-can-get-you-out-of-a-rut/): his month, following an extraordinarily rough stretch of current events—hurricanes, mass shootings, wildfires, regressive health care policies, global instability—a close friend, normally a happy and upbeat guy, called to tell me he was down, stuck in a rut. I told him I felt the same and that I doubted we were alone. It seems like lots
- [Rich Roll on How to Sustain Peak Performance](https://thegrowtheq.com/rich-roll-on-how-to-sustain-peak-performance/): Last month, off the coast of Sweden, in the islands of the Stockholm archipelago, 304 athletes started the Otillo, an adventure race that involves swimming and running from island to island as fast as possible. The entire ordeal spans 26 islands and covers more than 46 miles. The water was frigid, and the winds were gusting
- [The Minimalist's Strength Workout](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-minimalists-strength-workout/): Like most athletes who would rather be outdoors running, riding, swimming, or hiking, I don’t set aside much time for the gym. Yet I fully realize the importance of building general strength and mobility—not just to support my outdoor activities, but also for everyday health and fitness. I’d like to be able to unload groceries,
- [The Most Underrated Workout? Hiking](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-most-underrated-workout-hiking/): Have you ever met anyone who regretted taking a good, hard day hike? Me neither. There’s something special about moderately paced movement through nature that leaves one feeling refreshed, renewed, and satisfied. Because of that, hiking is rarely considered a sport in the same way as trail running or mountain biking, both of which are
- [Productivity Lessons from Artists and Entrepreneurs](https://thegrowtheq.com/productivity-lessons-from-artists-and-entrepreneurs/): Though building up your body and mind to tackle athletic challenges may seem like a unique endeavor, that’s not the case. Performance is performance, and there are many parallels between training for a marathon, making great art, and building a business that lasts. All are challenges that demand hard work and self-control in pursuit of
- [The 5 Most Basic Rules of Health and Fitness](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-5-most-basic-rules-of-health-and-fitness/): Here at The Growth Equation, we write about the foundational principles of health and fitness all the time. In a world rife with nonsense hacks and cleanses, doing so is more important than ever. In an attempt to further cut through the noise, we spoke with Michael Joyner, a physician, researcher, and expert on health and human performance at the Mayo
- [Are Elite Athletes Healthy?](https://thegrowtheq.com/are-elite-athletes-healthy/): lite athletes seem to epitomize health—lean, powerful, efficient, and bursting with energy. But that image is one that is almost always presented during competitions, when they are rested and focused; it doesn’t necessarily mean that the years of grueling training and obsessive dedication required to reach the highest levels of sport are good for a person. Stuart
- [Sustaining a Lifetime Passion](https://thegrowtheq.com/sustaining-a-lifetime-passion/): We all want to have long and healthy relationships with our athletic pursuits, so we take care of our bodies through proper training, sleep, nutrition, and mobility. And while that’s all important—vital, even—few of us pay as much attention to how we nurture our minds. For example, how do we sustain passion for a sport over the course of
- [Three Simple Ways to Get Better at Getting Better](https://thegrowtheq.com/three-simple-ways-to-get-better-at-getting-better/): Back when I was in high school, there was a sign hanging in the lockeroom: “Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.” Unfortunately, none of my coaches ever defined what, exactly, constitutes perfect practice. But in the reporting for my new book, Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science
- [The Science—and Art—of Taking Risks](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-science-and-art-of-taking-risks/): This past February, pro middle-distance runners Kate Grace and Shannon Rowbury were flying down the home stretch of the Millrose Games Women’s Wannamaker Mile,vying to finish as the top American. With fewer than 30 meters to go, Grace decided to put in one final surge. It worked—barely. She edged out Rowbury by fewer than two-tenths of
- [There Are Two Kinds of Happiness. Getting Outside Boosts Both.](https://thegrowtheq.com/there-are-two-kinds-of-happiness-getting-outside-boosts-both/): If you’re reading at The Growth Equation, you’re likely a pusher—someone who runs, climbs, kayaks, hikes, skis, or bikes far more often and intensely than many other people in your life. And while we spend lots of time considering the physical consequences of these endeavors, we don’t spend nearly as much time considering the psychological and
- [Fitness Trackers Fail Because They're Not Human](https://thegrowtheq.com/fitness-trackers-fail-because-theyre-not-human/): Chances are you or someone you know received a wearable fitness device this holiday season. These devices, perennially atop gift-giving lists and integral to New Year’s resolutions, measure everything from steps taken to heart-beats beaten to hours slept. In doing so, they motivate better habits and drive healthy behavior change—or so the theory goes. But recent
- [Six Daily Exercises to Boost Mobility](https://thegrowtheq.com/six-daily-exercises-to-boost-mobility/): Olympic cyclist Evelyn Stevens, Olympic volleyball player Kerri Walsh Jennings, big wave surfer Laird Hamilton, and extreme kayaker Brad Ludden have one thing in common: they all train with Kelly Starrett. A doctor of physical therapy at CrossFit San Francisco, Starrett has built a reputation as the leading expert on mobility exercises, which he calls foundational, not ancillary, to performance. “This isn’t just about injury prevention,” he
- [Recovery is All In Your Head](https://thegrowtheq.com/recovery-is-all-in-your-head/): Although it may seem counterintuitive, you don’t get faster, bigger, or stronger during a workout. The main function of hard physical training is to break your body down so it can grow back stronger. Fitness gains come later, during recovery, and recent research is revealing that simply being sedentary post-workout isn’t enough: in order to
- [The Key to High-Performance Cultures](https://thegrowtheq.com/they-key-to-high-performance-cultures/): When six-time Ironman champion and one of the fastest ever female long-course triathletes Rebekah Keat decided, in 2013, to train with coach Siri Lindley and her “Sirius Elite Squad” in Boulder, Colorado, she had no idea she’d fall in love. “I was excited to train in a new group environment, but the draw card was Siri herself,” says Keat. “I
- [What's Behind the Relentless Pursuit of Excellence?](https://thegrowtheq.com/whats-behind-the-relentless-pursuit-of-excellence/): For many athletes, passion is the driving force behind their relentless pursuit of excellence. Michael Gervais, PhD, sport psychologist and counselor to some of the world’s best athletes, puts it simply: “Sustained passion is a hallmark of mastery.” Many groundbreaking athletes, artists, and intellects describe the feeling as an eternal hunger. Irrespective of what they’ve accomplished, or
- [How Your Local YMCA Could Save the World](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-your-local-ymca-could-save-the-world/): Our country, it should come as no surprise, is increasingly polarized. The divide is worsened by the bubbles we live in, and the internet makes it easier than ever to only associate with like-minded people. As a result, we become more entrenched in our views and less likely to interact with “the other.” I want to offer a simple solution:
- [No Such Thing As Writer's Block; Just Getting-Started Block](https://thegrowtheq.com/no-such-thing-as-writers-block-just-getting-started-block/): Something I think about a lot in writing is the benefit of just getting a draft on paper. All my best work begins as a crappy first draft. Because ALL my work begins as a crappy first draft. There is no magic, just revision: chipping away, word by word, with a mental chisel. Are there
- [How to Get the Most Out of Yourself, Even On Your Worst Days](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-yourself/): When it comes to performance often worry about the ceiling, the greatest performance that someone is capable of. What’s their personal best? How good are we on our best day, when everything clicks? But the more I’ve coached, the more I’ve worried about raising the floor. Establishing a performance that you can accomplish, no matter
- [Struggling to be Content](https://thegrowtheq.com/struggling-to-be-content/): I often imagine that people exist on a metaphorical barbell⁠. On one side is drive and passion and on the other side is ease and contentment⁠. Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is whether or not it's problematic to tilt too strongly to one side. Personally, I've gotten better at contentment. And yet I'm embarrassed to admit it's still
- [Staying on the Path](https://thegrowtheq.com/staying-on-the-path/): I've recently written quite a bit about the path of mastery, or a journey of personal growth and development that knows no end and is worthwhile in and of itself. This has included posts on some of the core principles underlying mastery, the importance of doing the work itself (and the trappings of being promoted
- [Comparison is the Thief of Joy](https://thegrowtheq.com/comparison-is-the-thief-of-joy/): At the Canadian Olympic marathon trials, the odds on favorite was Cam Levins, who had recently broken the 43-year old national record in the marathon. It wasn't Trevor Hofbauer, a former basketball player who had risen through the ranks of amateur running to notch a very impressive 2:16 marathon. Even with such an improvement, Hofbauer's
- [What To Do When You're Feeling Lost](https://thegrowtheq.com/what-to-do-when-youre-feeling-lost/): If you’ve ever pushed hard or cared deeply about something then you’ve probably experienced a feeling of being lost. Perhaps this manifests as being unsure of what to do next; unsure of how to do it; or even unsure of why you’re doing what you’re doing in the first place. This, says the spiritual teacher Rob Bell,
- [Growth like a Gardener](https://thegrowtheq.com/growth-like-a-gardener/): Improvement is about planting seeds, nourishing them, and providing them with a safe space to grow.
- [Performance Lessons From The Wild World of Elite Chess](https://thegrowtheq.com/performance-lessons-from-the-wild-world-of-elite-chess/): ESPN recently published a story exploring how chess masters often lose 10-15 pounds during a week-long tournament. According to scientists, this is related to the human stress response. During tournaments—which can last 5 to 10 days—it is not uncommon for competitors to experience elevated heart-rates, high-blood pressure, obsessive thinking, emotional and physiological anxiety, loss of appetite, crippling doubt, and insomnia.
- [The Best Natural Performance Enhancing Drug](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-best-natural-performance-enhancing-drug/): Mention Testosterone and Human Growth Hormone (HGH) to a group of sports-minded folks and their mind jumps to the illegal use of performance-enhancing drugs. In fact, according to the book Game of Shadows, these two drugs were prominent in the cocktail that Barry Bonds was taking when he smashed baseball's single-season home run record. While these
- [Why is Everyone so Tired (And What to do About It)](https://thegrowtheq.com/why-is-everyone-so-tired-and-what-to-do-about-it/): “I am sleeping and eating well and not commuting to work or worrying about getting dressed up in the morning and yet I still always feel so beat,” bemoaned Linda, a 40-year-old woman who lives down the street. “I am so tired always,” said Mark, a close friend. “For the first time in my life,
- [The Right Way to Strive](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-right-way-to-strive/): The great irony is that those who are focused least on conventional success and most on being present in the process of their lives are the most likely to achieve conventional success anyway.
- [Burnout Runs Deeper Than "Too Much Work"](https://thegrowtheq.com/burnout-runs-deeper-than-too-much-work/): Burnout — a state of physical and emotional exhaustion often followed by apathy and illness — is ubiquitous across industries. Physicians, businesspeople, artists, teachers, and athletes all have high rates of burnout. As a matter of fact, most studies show that between 40 and 50 percent of people are experiencing burnout at any given time.
- [Choosing Lazy over Busy](https://thegrowtheq.com/choosing-lazy-over-busy/): I’m very lazy. We all are. Evolutionary biologist Dr. Dan Lieberman made the case that we evolved to be lazy. As he concluded in a journal article, “while humans are adapted to be physically active endurance athletes, we are just as adapted to be inactive whenever possible. It is natural and normal to be physically
- [An Updated Toolkit to Address Burnout](https://thegrowtheq.com/an-updated-toolkit-to-address-burnout/): The World Health Organization recently named burnout as an international health concern, complete with and ICD-11 code, which is one of the predominant ways medical providers diagnose, chart, and bill for care. Whether or not burnout should be a medical diagnosis is beyond my scope. However, the vast majority of fixes for burnout are not medical
- [From Nothing to Something: An Ode to Agency in the Time of COVID](https://thegrowtheq.com/nothing-was-there-now-something-is-there-an-ode-to-agency/): Why baking, gardening, creating arts and crafts, and exercising have been so popular and fulfilling.
- [The Key to Unwavering Strength](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-key-to-unwavering-strength/): Something I didn't know about Redwoods until reading up a bit more is that their roots only run six to twelve feet deep. Instead of growing downward, the roots of redwoods grow out. They extend hundreds of feet laterally, wrapping themselves around the roots of other trees. When rough weather comes, it's the network of
- [Adopt the Mindset of a Craftsperson](https://thegrowtheq.com/adopt-the-mindset-of-a-craftsperson/): I'm not at all handy, so the satisfaction of fixing a broken sink or blown electrical circuit is one that I don't know. But it's got to be a good one. The thing isn't working. I do something to the thing. Now it's working. What joy! A tangible result, traced directly back to one's actions.
- [The Point of Meditation is Not to Relax](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-point-of-meditation-is-not-to-relax/): A common misconception is that meditation is used as a gateway to relaxation. This is only halfway true. In the long-run, yes, a regular meditation practice is likely to yield relaxation. In the short-run, however, meditation is anything but relaxing. The problem is when people expect meditation to bring them immediate nirvana. They
- [Be a Gracious Learner](https://thegrowtheq.com/be-a-gracious-learner/): I was sent to Tom’s office for a strength-training plan. I walked in knowing little about Tom besides the fact that he was dating Alyssa, an athlete on the post-collegiate team I was on.I was 23-years-old and thought I knew everything. He was 26 and full of passion. He launched into how we were going
- [Three Layers of Identity](https://thegrowtheq.com/three-layers-of-identity/): Identity has been a large theme in our work over the past few months. One of the many paradoxes of passion and performance is when your identity becomes connected to a certain endeavor—be it running, writing, leading a team, pursuing some other vocation, or parenting. It's a paradox because identity/endeavor fusion tends to be a beautiful, energizing force—until it's not. When it's time
- [Do The Work. Do The Work. Do The Work.](https://thegrowtheq.com/do-the-work-do-the-work-do-the-work/): I recently watched the HBO documentary The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley. It chronicled the downfall of Theranos, a biotechnology company that promised to change the world with a cheap and noninvasive blood test, and it's founder, Elizabeth Holmes. The only problem is that the entire company was built on lies. For years, Elizabeth Holmes
- [Inner Strength](https://thegrowtheq.com/inner-strength/): Fake toughness, or the facade of having it all together and being a badass, is rampant. Over the past five years, we've spent a lot of time thinking about the proliferation of the fake variety, and what the real variety entails. So much so, we wrote a book about it (Do Hard Things). Toughness isn’t
- [Really Caring About Something Can Be a Gift or a Curse](https://thegrowtheq.com/really-caring-about-something-can-be-a-gift-or-a-curse/): Really Caring About Something is Hard The single most important thing when it comes to performance and fulfillment is care. If you care about what you are doing you'll be present for it. You'll put your all into it. You'll get the most out of it. And yet really caring about something is hard. Some
- [Ongoing Practice > Goals](https://thegrowtheq.com/ongoing-practice-goal/): Perhaps what life satisfaction is really about is transitioning from being a seeker, or someone who wants a certain lifestyle, to a practitioner, or someone who actually lives that lifestyle day in and day out. “Practice,” writes the philosopher Terry Patten, “is about waking up again and again, and choosing to show up in life in alignment
- [Time Off: A Short Story](https://thegrowtheq.com/time-off-a-short-story/): (This guest post -- a short fictional story -- is by our good friend Michael Joyner, who he does his share of fact based thinking and speculation about all things human performance.) The writer had been busy. His short stories, novels, nonfiction long-reads, and scripts all seemed to turn into hits. The interviews that came
- [A Three-Step Framework for Mastery](https://thegrowtheq.com/a-three-step-framework-for-mastery/): Earlier this week, my friend Mike shared a blog post from a strength coach named Ross Enamait illustrating how it doesn't take much in the form of equipment to get strong. Ross demonstrates how you can progressively stress your entire body to the level of an elite athlete with nothing more than a handful of furniture sliders. Freaking elegant. This
- [The Paradox of Control and Letting Go](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-paradox-of-control-and-letting-go/): Control is often an illusion. Yet most people, myself included (times a million), have a hard time releasing from it. We like to think we have more of a handle on things than we actually do. This kind of habitual thinking provides a necessary comfort. If we had no control, everything would be chaos always.
- [Overriding Fear](https://thegrowtheq.com/overriding-fear/): Overriding Fear on the Playing Field and During Election Season Illegal immigrants. Walls. Abortion. Nuclear disaster. Taking away your guns, your rights, your healthcare. Republican or Democrat, moderate or radical, these messages come screaming across our televisions, computers, and phones. They dilute a complicated subject into a bit size message meant to sell you on
- [Success That Doesn't Crush Your Soul](https://thegrowtheq.com/success-that-doesnt-crush-your-soul/): In the summer of 2019, I began to notice a concerning trend among my coaching clients—high-ranking executives, successful entrepreneurs, physician leaders, and elite athletes. Whereas I used to spend most of my time with them discussing high-performance habits and routines, over the past few years I’d been hearing something else. “I’m dying for a break,”
- [The Secret to Innovation is Knowing Where to Look](https://thegrowtheq.com/the-secret-to-innovation-is-knowing-where-to-look/): Innovation is one of those buzz words that conference speakers and charismatic CEO types shout from the rooftop. “Innovate! Be on the cutting edge!” These are well-worn refrains, meant to somehow nudge workers or clients into doing something different or creating something new. Declaring that we need to innovate is akin to telling a runner
- [3 Life Lessons from an Extraordinary World Series](https://thegrowtheq.com/3-life-lessons-from-an-extraordinary-world-series/): The 2025 World Series may have been the best playoff series in recent sports history. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays played each other neck-and-neck all the way to the end of a deciding Game 7. (And beyond, the game went extra innings.) There were so many great plot lines, from the underdog

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- [How to Take Bigger Swings](https://thegrowtheq.com/how-to-take-bigger-swings/): One of the best parts of coaching Little League baseball is helping kids learn to strike out. Now, it’s not like I root for them to fail. But at some point, a strikeout is inevitable, even for the most skilled players on the team. Striking out is so powerful for the same reason it’s so
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- [Win The Inside Game](https://thegrowtheq.com/win-the-inside-game/): How to get unstuck and move from surviving to thriving. Come through in the clutch. Find the courage to do the right thing. Rise to the occasion when the pressure is on. STOP under performing, getting in your own way, experiencing fear of failure, and self-sabotaging, Do you default to threat or challenge mode? Get
- [Growth Equation Academy](https://thegrowtheq.com/growth-equation-academy/): The Academy is a place to learn about performance and health through interactive courses and to connect with us and a community of like-minded people. For almost a decade, we have been studying the science, art, and practice of what leads to sustainable performance. The books and newsletters we’ve written have been used by some
- [GEQ Academy](https://thegrowtheq.com/geq-academy-3/): Join us at the Academy: a place to learn about performance and health through interactive courses and to connect with us and a community of like-minded people. The point is to get the best out of yourself on the things that matter to you most—whether you're an athlete or business professional, a doctor or coach
- [GEQ Academy 2](https://thegrowtheq.com/geq-academy-2/): Join us at the Academy: a place to learn about performance and health through interactive courses and to connect with us and a community of like-minded people. The point is to get the best out of yourself on the things that matter to you most—whether you're an athlete or business professional, a doctor or coach
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- [Speaking](https://thegrowtheq.com/speaking/): Speaking, Workshops, and CoachingBrad and Steve specialize In cross-domain thinking, weaving together ideas from athletics, business, and psychology to better understand performance in all aspects of life. They present on topics such as: Change and ‘Rugged Flexibility’ Mental toughness and resilience Health and well-Being practices Effective Leadership Talent Development Work/Life integration Motivation and Drive Send
- [Contact Us](https://thegrowtheq.com/contact-us/): Contact UsLet us know how we can help you out! Send
- [Steve's Science Digest](https://thegrowtheq.com/stevessciencedigest/)
- [Brad's Monthly Reading List](https://thegrowtheq.com/bradsmonthlyreadinglist/)
- [GEQ Newsletter](https://thegrowtheq.com/newsletters/geq/)

## Categories

- [Physical Health](https://thegrowtheq.com/category/physicalhealth/)
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