excellence, actually

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 of wise perspective in your own day-to-day life. We'll learn how one of the biggest paradoxes of self-awareness is that it requires getting outside of your usual mode of self.You can find the episodes on:iTunes and Apple PodcastsSpotifyAndroidStitcherPlease write a review on Apple Podcasts and help new listeners discover the show!Find Brad and Steve on Twitter: @Bstulberg and @stevemagnessCheck out our exclusive community offers on Patreon here.The post Growth Academy #9: Self-Awareness (And Self-Distancing) appeared first on The Growth Equation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 you to great heights, without losing a sense of yourself and what is important to you.You can find the episodes on:iTunes and Apple PodcastsSpotifyAndroidStitcherPlease write a review on Apple Podcasts and help new listeners discover the show!Find Brad and Steve on Twitter: @Bstulberg and @stevemagnessCheck out our exclusive community offers on Patreon here.The post Growth Academy #8: Harmonious Passion appeared first on The Growth Equation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. They discuss the wonderful impact of more awareness and less stigma around mental health, but also the dangers of stopping there—versus going on to effective treatment methods, which usually require some level of playing through the pain. An important episode on an important topic that benefits from a bit more nuance than how it has been covered in the mainstream press to date.Resources Mentioned:You are Not a RockThe Coddling of the American MindYou can find the episode on:iTunes and Apple PodcastsSpotifyAndroidStitcherPlease write a review on Apple Podcasts and help new listeners discover the show!Find Brad and Steve on Twitter: @Bstulberg and @stevemagnessCheck out our exclusive community offers on Patreon here.The post Mental Health in Athletes (And Beyond) appeared first on The Growth Equation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 PodcastsSpotifyAndroidStitcherPlease write a review on Apple Podcasts and help new listeners discover the show!Find Brad and Steve on Twitter: @Bstulberg and @stevemagnessCheck out our exclusive community offers on Patreon here.The post Growth Academy #7: Obsessive Passion appeared first on The Growth Equation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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: extremely powerful, but only productive when pointed in the right direction. That's what we'll explore in this episode, drawing from science, history and practice.You can find the episodes on:iTunes and Apple PodcastsSpotifyAndroidStitcherPlease write a review on Apple Podcasts and help new listeners discover the show!Find Brad and Steve on Twitter: @Bstulberg and @stevemagnessCheck out our exclusive community offers on Patreon here.The post Growth Eq Academy #6: Motivation and Drive appeared first on The Growth Equation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 work? Too little work? Our good friend, colleague, and always  critical thinker Cal Newport (author of Deep Work, Digital Minimalism, and A World Without Email) joins  us for a wide-ranging discussion on work. Part philosophical theory,  part cultural critique, and part pragmatic, this episode is for everyone  who “works,” which, as you'll see, is all of us.Brad's blog post on the topic is here.More on Cal Newport, his podcast, and his books is here.You can find the episodes on:iTunes and Apple PodcastsSpotifyAndroidStitcherPlease write a review on Apple Podcasts and help new listeners discover the show! Find Brad and Steve on Twitter: @Bstulberg and @stevemagnessCheck out our exclusive community offers on Patreon here.The post CAL NEWPORT on The Moral Weight of Working, Not Working, and Bragging About Both appeared first on The Growth Equation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 we can be more fulfilled. Listen in to learn more and find out.You can find the episodes on:iTunes and Apple PodcastsSpotifyAndroidStitcherPlease write a review on Apple Podcasts and help new listeners discover the show!Find Brad and Steve on Twitter: @Bstulberg and @stevemagnessCheck out our exclusive community offers on Patreon here.The post Growth EQ Academy #5: Purpose appeared first on The Growth Equation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 on decision versus when to automate them.You can find the episodes on:iTunes and Apple PodcastsSpotifyAndroidStitcherPlease write a review on Apple Podcasts and help new listeners discover the show!Find Brad and Steve on Twitter: @Bstulberg and @stevemagnessCheck out our exclusive community offers on Patreon here.The post Growth EQ Academy #4: Routines appeared first on The Growth Equation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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, sleep, and other ways you can mentally and physically recover in a way that promotes sustainable growth.You can find the episodes on:iTunes and Apple PodcastsSpotifyAndroidStitcherPlease write a review on Apple Podcasts and help new listeners discover the show!Find Brad and Steve on Twitter: @Bstulberg and @stevemagnessCheck out our exclusive community offers on Patreon here.The post Growth EQ Academy #3: Rest and Recovery appeared first on The Growth Equation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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, and how productively stress yourself on micro and macro timescales.You can find the episodes on:iTunes and Apple PodcastsSpotifyAndroidStitcherPlease write a review on Apple Podcasts and help new listeners discover the show!Find Brad and Steve on Twitter: @Bstulberg and @stevemagnessCheck out our exclusive community offers on Patreon here.The post Growth EQ Academy #2: Stress Yourself appeared first on The Growth Equation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.