I just finished listening to "The Art of Impossible" by Steven Kotler, and it really resonated with me.

4 Takeaways from “The Art of Impossible: A Peak Performance Primer” by Steven Kotler

Here's a quick smattering of gold nuggets I found and how they’ve blended (or maybe will blend) into my own daily grind.

1. The Importance of Grit

Kotler presents grid as one of the essential components for achieving high levels of performance and tackling seemingly impossible tasks.

According to Kotler, grit isn't just about persistence; it's about passionate persistence. It's a blend of courage, conscientiousness, perseverance, and resilience, channeled towards a singular purpose or goal.

Kotler believes that grit is often the differentiator between those who give up when faced with challenges and those who keep pushing through.

Grit isn't just a personality trait but also a skill that can be developed. Just like creativity!

Align activities with interests and values. The work you do will become more meaningful.

This meaningful work fuels your grit.

Now you can face setbacks and continue making progress towards your impossible goals.

It's not just about working hard; it's about working hard in a focused and directed way. Working towards something that matters deeply to you.

Practicing grit is integral for achieving peak performance, entering flow states, achieving the impossible.

My quick thoughts on it

The entire notion of cultivating grit reminded me of my health journey years ago. I was nearing 300lbs and struggling to stay consistent with diet and exercise. My goal in those times was just to lose weight. I was getting too fat. I needed to run, eat less.

Fast forward a number of years and I was still struggling to stay healthy and then my daughter was born…

It was no longer about losing weight. It was about staying alive to see as much of her life as possible. It was about being able to pick her up and throw her in the air. It was about something bigger than me.

This made it stick. I finally had a purpose that felt strong enough to focus me and help have the grit, and practice the grit it would take for me to reach my goal.

2. Finding Your True North

The concept of finding your purpose or "True North" is highlighted as a critical factor in achieving peak performance and tackling seemingly impossible challenges.

According to Kotler, having a clear sense of purpose serves as a motivating force that gives direction and meaning to your efforts.

Having a True North acts as a compass that guides your decisions, helping you prioritize your goals, and fuel your persistence.

Your purpose is more than just a goal; it's a deeply held belief or value that drives you.

It's what gets you out of bed in the morning, excited to face the day's challenges.

When your activities are aligned with this purpose, you are more likely to enter into a flow state, which is optimal for performance and creativity.

Kotler emphasizes that finding your purpose is not a one-time event but a continuous process.

It involves understanding yourself, reflecting, and focusing your behavior towards what truly vibes with you.

If you do this, you can create a stockpile of motivation and grit that you can pull from when facing obstacles, making it more likely for you to achieve "impossible" feats.

My quick thoughts on it

Outside of maintaining a healthy lifestyle so that I could stay alive and strong for my family as long as possible, I’m an artist.

My True North for art right now is doing it full time. You could say that I do work as an artist full time already because my day job is UX design. But I’m doing that for someone else.

All of the art-related activities I’m doing outside of my day job are focused on building an audience and generating an income. If I can’t figure out how to make enough to replace my day job salary then I’ll never take the leap.

3. Mastering the Skills

Mastering necessary skills is presented as a crucial step in achieving high performance and tackling ambitious goals.

Kotler advocates for a deliberate and focused approach to skill acquisition, often pointing to the concept of "deep practice."

This involves breaking down complex skills into smaller, more manageable components and then practicing these elements intently.

There is an emphasis on the importance of achieving mastery in what Kotler calls "high-hard" skills, which are both challenging and critical for achieving your goals.

The idea is that honing these skills can serve as a force multiplier, aiding in the achievement of various objectives and opening doors that would otherwise be closed.

Mastering skills isn’t just about repetition. It involves targeted practice, feedback, and constant adjustment to improve.

This skill mastery is vital for entering flow states, which in turn are critical for achieving peak performance and making the "impossible" possible.

My quick thoughts on it

This reminds me of another book I read a long time ago, called “Brain Rules” by John Medina. He talks about the concept of "deliberate practice" and describes why it works.

I didn’t see it at first but all the hobbies and skills I’ve acquired over the years all add up to being able to do what I do today. While I didn’t practice them all for the specific goals I have today, I did deliberately practice each of them.

4. Flow State: The Secret Sauce

According to Steven Kotler, a flow state is an optimal state of consciousness where a person is fully immersed and engaged in the task at hand.

In this state, self-awareness fades away, time seems to either speed up or slow down, and performance levels peak.

Flow states allow individuals to access their full cognitive and creative capacities, often enabling them to achieve tasks or solve problems that would otherwise seem extremely challenging or even "impossible."

Kotler argues that entering flow is crucial for achieving high levels of performance and fulfilling one's potential.

He outlines several strategies to help individuals enter a flow state. Some of these include

• Setting Clear Goals: Having a specific objective for your task helps guide attention and focus.
• Immediate Feedback: Quick feedback helps you adjust your performance in real-time, making it easier to stay in the flow.
• Skill-Challenge Balance: The task should be neither too easy nor too hard, aligning well with your current skill level to push you but not overwhelm you.
• Eliminating Distractions: Creating a focused environment can make it easier to enter flow.
• Deep Practice: Engaging deeply in the task, breaking it down into smaller parts if needed, and applying focused effort.
• Pre-Flow Rituals: Some people use routines or rituals to signal to their brain that it’s time to focus and enter a flow state.

My quick thoughts on it

I’ve used these strategies in different ways over the years. But a few of these were new ways for me to think about triggering flow. I never really gave any thought to skill-challenge balance and I can remember times when I wanted to be in flow but felt frustrated because I got blocked or wasn’t sure how to proceed.

The way I normally enter flow state is with some background music on, a clear idea of what I want to accomplish in the time I have, and trying to eliminate distractions.

Eliminating distractions can be the most difficult part of this, especially in the world we live in.

Turn your phone off, lock a door if you can, tell your family or housemates not to bother you. You do what you need to do in order to force that distraction-free time.

A real-world example of flow

While I was working on a new mural for T-Mobile, I finished this book. Before I even realized it, I’d spent another hour painting with my earbud still in my ear… playing nothing.

I was stuck in the flow and didn’t realize I was hungry and had to pee really bad.

Isn’t it amazing what flow can do?

This book made me feel like I'm on the right track, doing a lot of the right things. I just need to keep going!

If you end up reading this book or have already read it, I’d love to hear what you took away from it. Hit reply and let me know.

Cheers,
Crawdad
​

Let’s Connect 🤝
Have more questions or want to dive deeper into any of these topics? Book a 20-minute chat with me. I’m an open book, literally.

Learn more