excellence, actually 201 - This Book Changed How We Think About Performance and Anxiety
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Dec 13, 2023 
Mark Epstein, author of 'Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart', joins the hosts to discuss his book's impact on mental well-being and peak performance. They explore topics like creating space between thoughts and reactions, letting go of the self, embracing uncertainty and anxiety, and learning to be with discomfort.
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Doing Versus Being Insight
- Western culture often emphasizes doing over being, leading to excessive control and stress.
- True ease and creativity come from embracing being and letting go of constant vigilance.
Losing Self Without Chaos
- Losing oneself in the moment resembles a high tide where self dissolves but order remains.
- Fear of this lose-of-self limits growth, causing rigid defenses that imprison us psychologically.
Flow and Loss of Self
- Peak performance and flow occur when self-consciousness dissolves, similar to orgasmic loss of self.
- Overthinking blocks flow, while total absorption in activity allows excellence to emerge.