The Quiet Secret to Achieving Greatness
Grit is something that we see in people who are at the top of their fields. They are people who are persistent and passionate about their long-term goals. However, this does not imply that they work tirelessly at all hours of the day and night in pursuit of their goals.
Similarly to how great performers plan what they do and how long they practice, exceptional performers plan how long they practice. For those who believe that achieving success involves continuous, relentless, and fundamentally monotonous practice for hour upon hour upon hour, I have some good news: research reveals that this is not the most effective method of achieving achievement.
In our current, fast-paced, and technologically driven culture, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that we are, after all, human beings, not computers. Our ultradian and circadian rhythms, like those of other animals, govern our daily and nightly activities. A common understanding of our circadian rhythms is that we sleep and wake in predictable cycles over the 24-hour period between the times when the sun rises and sets and when the sun goes down. It is common for our circadian rhythms to become out of sync when we travel to other time zones, and as a result, our lives can become disorganized as well.
We also have "ultradian rhythms" in our bodies and brains that cycle throughout the day and night. In biology, an ultradian rhythm is a repeated period or cycle that continues throughout the 24-hour circadian day, such as the pattern of our breathing or heart rate.
Our brain-wave patterns cycle in ultradian cycles as well, and we experience a large "ultradian dip" every hour and a half to two hours, during which our energy levels decrease and sleep becomes conceivable. When we work through these dips, relying on coffee, adrenaline, and stress hormones to keep us attentive, instead of allowing our bodies and brains to rest, we become worried and restless, and our performance suffers as a result of our inability to concentrate.
K. has conducted extensive research on the lives of truly great artists. After conducting numerous landmark research on elite performance, Anders Ericsson, a psychologist and author of multiple landmark studies on elite performance, about whom I spoke last week, discovered that they practiced and rested far more than their good but not elite contemporaries. For example, violinists who aspired to be professional soloists spent an average of 3.5 hours per day practicing, which was normally divided into three sessions of 60-90 minutes each. Performances that were good but not outstanding, on the other hand, were frequently practiced for an average of 1.4 hours every day, with no planned rest breaks in between their sessions.
It is not only true that great performers put in more effort, but they also take more time to recover. It was discovered that the most proficient violinists slept an hour more every night than their less-accomplished counterparts. They were also significantly more likely to take a nap in between practice sessions, averaging roughly three hours of napping per week, compared to the control group.
Super-high achievers sleep an average of three hours more every night than the ordinary American. In the United States, the average person gets only 6.5 hours of sleep per night. (Despite the fact that studies show that 95 percent of the population requires between seven and eight hours of sleep per night.) Elite performers typically get 8.6 hours of sleep per night, and elite athletes require even more sleep. Swimmers at Stanford University reported feeling happier and more energetic after increasing their sleep time to ten hours a night, according to one study, and their performance in the pool improved significantly.
High levels of performance necessitate more sleep since they include higher rates of learning and, in certain cases, physical development. When we are awake, getting enough sleep allows us to concentrate on our practice; when we are sleep deprived, our overworked neurons become uncoordinated, and we begin to have difficulty recalling previously taught material.
When we sleep, our brain consolidates the information we've gained while awake, incorporating it into our working memory so that we can access it later. Slumber permits us to recollect the skills and knowledge gained today, and it lets us to retain what we've acquired today in order to perform those skills and knowledge the next day.
How much sleep we get and how disciplined we are about following our bodies' natural circadian and ultradian cycles have an impact on our health, as well as our ability to be productive and perform well in our jobs and other activities. But, what does sleep have to do with grit, you might wonder.
Grit is the ability to sustain tenacity and passion in the face of adversity in order to achieve our long-term goals; we cannot endure in the face of adversity if we are exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally. If we become sick, exhausted, or burned out during the decade or so it takes to gain full mastery, we will be unable to continue. And if our learning, memory, and reaction times are affected as a result of a lack of sleep and rest, we will be unable to increase our abilities, whether they be intellectual, physical, or creative.
So being tenacious doesn't just mean pushing yourself to achieve your objectives at all times, in all weather conditions. It's about making regular and purposeful progress toward your goals in a way that is compatible with our human biology, allowing for adequate refueling and consolidation of knowledge along the process.