NEWSLETTER & ARTICLES
ARTICLES Archive
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…
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…
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…
“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…
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…
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.,…
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…
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…
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…
On today’s episode, Brad and Steve discuss the symptoms, causes, and prevention of Internet Brain. You can find the episode on: iTunes and Apple Podcasts Spotify Android Stitcher Check out our exclusive community offers on Patreon here. Get Do Hard Things and The Practice of…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Essential Reading
What is The Growth Equation—and Why You Should Pay Attention.
Redefining Success So It Doesn’t Crush Your Soul.
We've Reached Peak Wellness—Most of it is Nonsense; Here's What Actually Works.
When a Stress Expert Battles Mental Illness.
The Best Routine, According to Science.
Performance, Health, and Well-being are Contagious.
Practicing the Mastery Mindset, a Path to Long-Term Progress.
Consistently Good Enough Beats Occasionally Great.
We Make Fitness Way Too Complex and That is Dumb.
Languishing and the Art of Showing Up.
Quit Being So Hard On Yourself: Self-Compassion and Peak Performance.
The Key to Sticking to An Exercise Program? It’s Supposed to Feel Easy!
How To Build High-Performance Habits.