Cultivating Excellence Through Engaged Effort and Process

excellence, actually · January 01, 2026 · Listen to Original Episode →

Original Title: 26 Lessons on Excellence to Jump Start 2026

TL;DR

Excellence is defined as engaged commitment to worthwhile pursuits aligned with personal values and goals, not superficial achievements or perfectionism, emphasizing deep focus and intention.
Antifragility and psychological flexibility are prioritized over rigid control and constant happiness, enabling adaptability to disruptions and effective work despite negative emotions.
Consistency over intensity builds long-term achievement by stacking small, regular efforts, rather than relying on sporadic heroic bursts, fostering sustainable progress.
Discipline is a skill to be cultivated, not an innate trait, requiring consistent practice of showing up and doing what is committed, even without motivation.
Distinguishing between fleeting happiness and deep satisfaction is crucial, as lasting fulfillment stems from the process of meaningful work, not solely from outcomes.
Curiosity acts as a powerful antidote to fear by shifting focus from potential failure to the fascinating exploration of challenges, enabling forward movement.
Strategic laziness involves ruthlessly prioritizing essential tasks and accepting mediocrity in lower-impact areas to maximize energy and effectiveness on critical pursuits.
Building success from the inside out, focusing on intrinsic motivation and process, creates a sustainable foundation, rather than chasing external validation or symbols of achievement.

Deep Dive

Excellence is not about perfectionism or extreme routines, but rather about engaged participation in worthwhile pursuits that align with one's values and goals. This definition emphasizes deep focus and intention, recognizing that the pursuit of great goals also shapes the individual. The lessons presented offer practical strategies for cultivating this kind of excellence, focusing on sustainable practices over fleeting intensity.

The core of achieving excellence lies in adopting an antifragile mindset, prioritizing psychological flexibility over the pursuit of constant happiness, and embracing consistency over sporadic intensity. Discipline is framed not as an innate trait but as a skill to be developed through practice, often involving the strategic sacrifice of immediate gratifications (negative freedoms) for the long-term ability to pursue meaningful goals (positive freedoms). Treating the work itself as the win, rather than solely focusing on outcomes, is crucial for building this consistency, even when results are not immediately apparent. This approach acknowledges that life's endeavors often involve a cyclical process, akin to Sisyphus pushing his boulder, where satisfaction is found in the effort and commitment rather than just the arrival. A critical distinction is made between fleeting happiness and lasting satisfaction, with the former being a temporary state and the latter stemming from meaningful engagement. The "tube experiment" serves as a stark illustration, highlighting the human inclination towards a life of purpose and struggle over artificial, unthinking euphoria.

Further insights reveal that curiosity acts as a powerful antidote to fear, enabling individuals to approach challenges with an exploratory mindset rather than one of apprehension. This shift in perspective, reinforced by the practice of focusing on the task at hand rather than fretting about it, can unlock potential and drive progress. The concept of "strategically lazy" or "strategically mediocre" is introduced, advocating for ruthless prioritization to excel in key areas by accepting less-than-perfect performance in others. Relentless preparation is identified as the pathway to unconscious competence, where mastery allows for effortless execution. Discomfort is reframed not as something to be avoided but as a signal to be understood, with strategies for managing or accepting it to continue moving forward. Embracing one's "hunger" for achievement, while recognizing that fulfillment lies in the process rather than the outcome, is essential for sustained drive. Success should be built from the inside out, focusing on intrinsic motivation and practices, rather than chasing external validation. Taking one's work seriously but oneself lightly helps prevent ego bloat and paranoia. Raising one's "floor" of performance on bad days, rather than solely focusing on a high ceiling, leads to greater long-term consistency. Building a body of work over a career, rather than focusing on individual heroic achievements, allows for resilience against inevitable failures. Understanding the "algorithm" of any pursuit--the system's incentives--is vital to engage strategically without being consumed by it. When returning to work after a break, patience is key; one should not chase past performance but expect a period of re-acclimation and potential discomfort. Embracing the "moat of low status"--the initial awkwardness of being a beginner--is necessary for growth. Stress is mediated by meaning, meaning that challenges perceived as purposeful lead to growth, while meaningless stress leads to breakdown. Routines should be adaptable like a chef's, not rigid like a cook's, and identifying minimum and maximum effective doses for activities helps maintain consistency without burnout. Applying the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) beyond workouts helps manage energy levels across various life domains. Dynamic balance, characterized by constant adjustment and movement, is more effective than static balance in navigating life's complexities. Finally, comparing oneself wisely to admired role models and framing behaviors as "skillful" or "unskillful" rather than "good" or "bad" fosters a more nuanced and growth-oriented approach.

The overarching takeaway is that excellence is a sustained practice of engaged effort, built on a foundation of self-awareness, strategic prioritization, and a commitment to process over immediate outcomes. It requires understanding that challenges are opportunities for growth and that true fulfillment arises from the consistent, meaningful pursuit of worthwhile goals.

Action Items

Audit 26 lessons for actionable insights: Identify 3-5 core principles for personal excellence and create a 2-week sprint plan to implement one.
Measure skill development: For 3-5 key activities, define minimum and maximum effective doses to maintain consistency without burnout.
Track perceived exertion: Apply Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) to 3-5 non-physical daily tasks to manage energy and prevent exhaustion.
Design a "body of work" framework: For 1-2 long-term projects, focus on consistent progress and skill development over individual heroic achievements.
Evaluate 3-5 behaviors: Assess actions for skillfulness and effectiveness in achieving goals, rather than judging them as simply "good" or "bad."

Key Quotes

"Excellence is involved engagement in worthwhile pursuits that align with your values and goals. This definition has two integral parts: the first is involved engagement--you've got to care deeply, you've got to have focus, intimacy, intention toward what you are doing. The second part, worthwhile pursuits that align with your values and goals, meaning is in the eye of the beholder."

The hosts define excellence not as extreme optimization or perfectionism, but as a deep, focused commitment to activities that matter to the individual. This definition emphasizes personal values and goals as the foundation for genuine excellence, suggesting that the pursuit itself is meaningful.

"Performative greatness is obsessed with heroic days. Actual greatness concerns itself with heroic decades. The goal is not for any single outing to be extreme, but for the totality of effort over years to be extreme. Excellence comes from consistency; become known for showing up."

Brad Stalberg highlights the distinction between fleeting, impressive moments and sustained achievement over time. He argues that true excellence is built through consistent effort and dedication over many years, rather than isolated bursts of intense activity.

"Discipline is a skill. You're not born disciplined or undisciplined; it's a muscle that you build over time. You can think of it like training any technique. If you're 'quote unquote' bad in an element of your golf game, you'd go to work on it. The same thing is true with discipline; it is not a character flaw."

Coy Skipper explains that discipline is not an innate trait but a learnable skill that can be developed through practice. He uses the analogy of improving a golf game to illustrate that deficiencies in discipline can be addressed and strengthened like any other skill.

"Instead of being like, 'Did I write the greatest 1,000 words I've ever written today?' can you like, 'Did I just show up for my 80-minute writing block or my 100-minute writing block?' Did I show up and do the 500 words, even if they feel really bad? ... just having that metric be 'Did I show up?' versus 'How did I do?' can be very powerful as a way to build some consistency."

Skipper suggests shifting the focus from outcome-based evaluation to process-based acknowledgment. He proposes that measuring success by simply showing up and completing the intended work, regardless of its perceived quality, is a more effective strategy for building consistent habits.

"Curiosity is a powerful antidote to fear. ... When you are taking on a big new challenge and you are feeling some fear, if you can shift from a mindset of 'Oh no, what's this going to feel like?' or 'Oh my gosh, what if I fail?' ... to 'I don't know if I can do this, but it's sure going to be fascinating to find out,' that completely changes your entire mindset and your physiology."

Stalberg explains that reframing fear as curiosity can fundamentally alter one's response to challenges. He posits that by approaching difficult situations with a desire to learn and explore, rather than with apprehension about failure, individuals can reduce stress and increase their capacity for action.

"Stress is mediated by meaning. ... The meaningless variety leads to breakdown; the meaningful variety leads to growth. So, a good question to ask yourself is, are you suffering for suffering's sake, or are you doing it because it aligns with something that you care about? It aligns with your values and your goals."

Stalberg introduces the concept that the perceived meaning of a stressful experience significantly impacts its outcome. He argues that stress associated with worthwhile pursuits aligned with personal values promotes growth, whereas stress without meaning leads to breakdown.

Resources

External Resources

Books

"Performative Greatness" by Brad Stulberg - Mentioned as a source for the idea that actual greatness concerns itself with heroic decades, not just heroic days.
"The Myth of Sisyphus" by Albert Camus - Referenced as a philosophical concept to illustrate the idea of treating work as the win, viewing life's repetitive challenges as opportunities for engagement rather than punishment.
"The Machine Stops" by E.M. Forster - Mentioned as a short story that explores over-reliance on technology for needs, relating to the concept of choosing a life of satisfaction over superficial happiness.

Articles & Papers

"Useful Fictions" (Substack by Kate Hall) - Mentioned for the concept of the "moat of low status" in learning new skills.

People

Brad Stulberg - Co-host, author of "Performative Greatness," and creator of the "Excellence Actually" definition.
Coy Skipper - Co-host of the podcast "Excellence Actually."
Steve Magnus - Mentioned as a source for the concept of raising one's floor, referencing his athlete Brian Barraza.
Albert Camus - Philosopher referenced for his interpretation of "The Myth of Sisyphus."
E.M. Forster - Author of the short story "The Machine Stops."
Jaak Panksepp - Affective neuroscientist whose work on neural networks is cited regarding curiosity as an antidote to fear.
Nick Thompson - CEO of The Atlantic, quoted on the idea that time spent fretting about a task is better spent doing it.
Seneca - Ancient philosopher whose quote about imagination exaggerating reality is referenced.
Kate Hall - Writer of the Substack "Useful Fictions," credited with the term "moat of low status."
Hans Selye - Pioneer of the modern stress response, whose work on stress and growth is discussed.
Brian Barraza - Athlete mentioned by Steve Magnus in relation to raising one's floor.

Other Resources

"Excellence Actually" (Podcast) - The primary subject of the episode, providing 26 lessons on excellence.
Rage/Fear Pathway (Neural Network) - Described as a neural network in the brain that cannot be activated simultaneously with the seeking/play/curiosity pathway.
Seeking/Play/Curiosity Pathway (Neural Network) - Described as a neural network in the brain that cannot be activated simultaneously with the rage/fear pathway.
Four Levels of Competence (Research Concept) - A framework describing stages of skill acquisition: unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence, and unconscious competence.
Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) - A metric used in physical fitness to gauge effort, suggested for application in other life areas.
Dynamic Balance (Concept) - Described as the ability to constantly rebalance and adjust, similar to riding a bike, to move forward.
Static Balance (Concept) - Described as the unrealistic attempt to maintain perfect equilibrium without movement, leading to tipping over.
Arrival Fallacy (Concept) - The idea that achieving a goal will not bring lasting fulfillment if the pursuit itself is miserable.
Algorithm (Concept) - Used to describe the inherent incentives and rewards within any pursuit or craft that one must understand and navigate.