This Week’s 5 Reflections For a Better You

Brad Stulberg
Aug 26, 2017 · 2 min read

Keep the principles below in mind and try applying them in your life. They might just make it a bit better.

In lots of worthwhile endeavors it’s the first few steps and the last few steps — starting and finishing — that are the hardest.

Know this ahead of time. It will help you get on the path and stay on the path so you can finish what you started.

Confidence is born out of practice. Train hard and smart, and then trust your training.

Confidence is as much about a body of work as a state of mind. That’s because the state of mind comes from knowing that you put in the effort to create a body of work. Confidence is earned.

The stories we tell ourselves about ourselves have an enormous impact on our lives. Don’t be delusional. Do be kind.

Give yourself the benefit of the doubt in your personal narrative. There’s no reason not to.

“Balance” is an illusion. It’s better to go all-in on the things you care about — so long as you do so with keen self-awareness.

Think about the times in your life during which you felt most alive. Odds are, you weren’t very balanced during those moments. And that’s OK. Living with passion and “balance” are antithetical. My advice: Go all-in on the things that make you tick, just be sure you maintain enough self-awareness to evaluate the tradeoffs — what you’re sacrificing — along the way. (For more on this meaty and important topic, see my recent essay in the New York Times.)

Make life a little harder today so it will be a lot easier in far off tomorrows: Park far away; put your shoes on standing up; take the stairs

There are so many opportunities to insert small acts of physicality into our daily lives. Though they may seem trivial — and perhaps even annoying — these minor acts of effort, of discomfort, go a long way to ensuring we are healthy and comfortable as we age into the future.

The above thoughts are a sampling of those that came to me during the past week, based on my research, reporting, and writing in health and human performance. I also try to share them regularly when they arise. If you’d like these nuggets on a daily basis, just follow me on Twitter @Bstulberg.

If you found this post valuable, please recommend it (the little hand-clap) so it can reach others.

If you really want to go deep on this stuff…

Check out my book: Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success and subscribe to my weekly newsletter.

Personal Growth

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Brad Stulberg

Written by

Write and coach on health and human performance. Author of the new book THE PASSION PARADOX (https://t.co/mjijQQ3kvx) and bestselling PEAK PERFORMANCE

Personal Growth

Sharing our ideas and experiences.

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