In his new book, , Ryan Holiday聽takes philosophy out of the ivory towers and translates often-dense concepts into actionable insights鈥攖hings like the 鈥渞ight鈥� way to pursue excellence, and how to cultivate and sustain a high-performance mindset. As its title suggests, the book, out June 14, highlights what Holiday considers the greatest barrier to performance: ego. 鈥淭he ability to evaluate one鈥檚 own ability is the most important skill of all,鈥� he writes. 鈥淲ithout it, improvement is impossible.鈥�
Holiday鈥攚hose previous book, gained a cult following amongst elite athletes for its lessons on mental toughness鈥攊s an avid athlete himself. He swims or runs daily, and boasts a 5:02 mile PR. I recently caught up with the author and entrepreneur from his farm in Austin, Texas, to discuss his latest book, mental fitness, and the connection between movement and creativity.
Ego Is the Enemy:聽Ego whispers things in your ear that are not true. It pulls you away from your craft. It鈥檚 an inflated perception of yourself, a false sense of security. When you start to think 鈥淚鈥檓 the best in the world鈥� is when you start to get beat.
颁辞苍蹿颈诲别苍肠别:听People tend to confuse confidence and ego. Whereas ego is based on delusion, confidence is based on the fact that you鈥檝e done the work, that you鈥檝e put in the time and energy. Confidence is earned鈥攊t is a humble preparedness. I鈥檓 all for confidence.
厂耻肠肠别蝉蝉:听Success is intoxicating, yet to sustain it requires sobriety. Unless you intentionally suppress your ego, it is going to creep in and stop upward progression. Remind yourself that others out there are better than you. Find a new benchmark, a new standard, to hold yourself against. Emphasize the craft and the journey, not the result. You don鈥檛 want to get too hung up over a poor result, and similarly you don鈥檛 want to get too satisfied with a good one. Success is knowing that you left it all on the table. Any external validation is extra.
Managing Performance Anxiety:聽Focus on what you can control, like the effort that you put in, and don鈥檛 waste energy on the things you cannot control, like the outcome of an event. This is especially important in athletic endeavors, where conserving energy is of the utmost importance.
Bulletproofing Yourself:聽I practice a Stoic technique called negative visualization. [ is an ancient Greco-Roman philosophy that emphasizes confronting adversity by focusing on the things you can control, and letting go of everything else.] I imagine the worst case scenario for a particular situation鈥�e.g., my book completely flopping鈥攁nd I ask myself, 鈥淐an I live with that?鈥� This simple practice is so powerful. It readies me for the worst and makes me less fragile.
Overcoming Setbacks:聽While you can鈥檛 always control what happens to you, you can always control how you respond to it. For example, take getting injured before a big event. You determine what this is going to mean. Is it going to be an awful tragedy鈥攖he end of a season, or perhaps even a career? Or, is it going to be a learning experience? A chance to examine root causes, correct them, and pour energy into recovery? Even more important, maybe you鈥檒l realize that you poured too much of your identity into a single pursuit, that you need more balance. That鈥檚 a very important, and individual, reflection.
You define鈥攚ith your mindset and your actions鈥攚hether a 鈥渟et back鈥� is just that, or, if it鈥檚 actually a step forward.
Greatness Comes from Grunt Work:聽Bill Belichick, the wildly successful coach of the New England Patriots, started off as an intern in the film room. Those years of grunt work underlie his seemingly intuitive genius. Great performance always rests upon consistent practice. If you want to be great, you better want to show up and do the work.
Being Content:聽Man, this is so hard for me. I struggle to satiate the drive. It鈥檚 like I have an inability to be still, but I know this is a recipe for burnout. I鈥檝e found that being close to animals really helps me. The goats on my farm aren鈥檛 in a rush to do anything. They are satisfied to just be. I sit and watch my goats and have an easier time turning it off.
Activity Leads to Creativity:聽I run or swim every day. Doing so powers my creative brain. I actually think of exercise as a part of my job. The introduction to Obstacle is the Way came to me during a run. The title Ego is the Enemy came to me while swimming. 聽It鈥檚 crazy, but whenever I am creatively blocked, movement unblocks me.聽