"Imagine this scenario: Nicola is an athlete who wants to go to the Olympics in 2028. She couldn't be more motivated and is optimizing her whole life around it. In all aspects of training, sleep, diet, and mindset, she's aiming to make every marginal improvement she can. But already, three years out, she's beginning to unravel. When she doesn't set a personal best each race, underperforming her expectations results in crushing depression, anxiety, and second-guessing her every move."
"We can't maintain intensity all the time. Attempting to do so doesn't help us bring intensity when it's needed. Learning to relax, for optimal recovery, is part of elite performance. By learning to "chill," I mean "blob," chat about unimportant topics, be interested in topics unrelated to what you want to excel at, and putter. Just as gold medalist cyclists grab candy bars from gas stations to fuel their training rides, the activity you use to chill doesn't always need to be high quality,"
An athlete optimizing every marginal gain can unravel under relentless pressure, experiencing depression, anxiety, and constant self-doubt when performances fall short. The same dynamic applies to entrepreneurs, students, professionals, parents, and anyone pursuing excellence or intentional living. Sustained intensity is impossible; recovery and deliberate low-effort downtime are integral to elite performance. Relaxation can include unstructured activities, casual conversation, or hobbies unrelated to goals. Prioritizing adequate rest and simple leisure over perfection in relaxation supports better consistency, self-discipline, and improved results over the long term.
Read at Psychology Today
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]