Finding Mastery with Dr. Michael Gervais How To Sustain High Performance As You Age | Steven Kotler
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May 3, 2023 
At 53, Steven Kotler set out to become an expert skier, putting flow science to the test on the mountain. He explores learning challenging skills later in life, the thrill of incremental progress, and the roles of motivation, support, and creative play in staying adventurous as we age.
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Teaching Himself Park Skiing As A Science Experiment
- Kotler ran an N-of-1 experiment: at 53 he taught himself park skiing (jumps, rails, tricks) to test whether hard motor skills can be learned later in life.
- He chose a highly motivating, painful, and risky domain so progress would be forced and measurable over months.
Success On The Edge Can Produce PTSD Symptoms
- Repeatedly confronting high-consequence challenges produced PTSD-like symptoms for Kotler, even though he usually succeeded.
- He experienced hyperarousal, replaying events at night and elevated epinephrine, demonstrating high-performance stress costs.
Middle Age Unlocks New Cognitive Superpowers
- Adults in their 40s and 50s gain cognitive 'superpowers' via epigenetic and network changes: better creativity, empathy, wisdom and interhemispheric cooperation.
- These changes require moderators (identity, purpose, forgiveness) to unlock their benefits.