Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
The beloved performance expert, journalist, and author of The Practice of Groundedness and co-author of Peak Performance teaches you how to develop a flexible mindset--to embrace and even leverage life's constant flux to improve all aspects of your life.
We are constantly experiencing change. From social disruptions like economic recessions, new technologies, and pandemics, to individual disruptions like starting a new job, moving, getting married, becoming a parent, or dealing with illness, we undergo transformation--both good and bad--regularly. Research shows that, on average, people experience thirty-six disorder events over the course of their adult lives--about one every eighteen months. Yet we instinctively fight change, viewing it as a negative disruption and a threat to our sense of self.
Performance expert Brad Stulberg argues that this homeostasis view of life isn't realistic. In Master of Change, he flips the script, shattering the notion that we should strive for stability. Change is a constant. We need to recognize this and see it for what it is: an opportunity for growth. We shouldn't fear change, we should embrace it, leverage it, and understand how it is connected to our sense of self.
Stulberg introduces a new model that views change as an ongoing cycle of order, disorder, and reorder. We eventually return to stability, but that stability is somewhere new--and temporary. He calls this model of successfully navigating, growing, and maintaining a strong sense of self in our everchanging world rugged flexibility: a mindset that is both durable and able to adapt and bend easily without breaking. When we learn to thrive with change--to go with the flow--we will be calmer, achieve sustained performance at work and beyond, and be happier and more fulfilled in all aspects of life.
Stulberg offers 6 principles for developing a change-adaptive mindset, rooted in Buddhist and Taoist philosophies of impermanence, and supported by new science from neuroscience, psychology, and mindfulness:
Open up to the flow of life
Build a strong and adaptable identity
Expect it to be hard
Become diverse and robust
Respond not react
Make meaning on the other side
Throughout, he offers mindset shifts and everyday practices for acclimating to life's inevitably changing circumstances that allow us to move forward, such as learning to define yourself by your values instead of your work or relationships, and replacing toxic positivity with realistic expectations. At once a performance manual and a wisdom guide, Master of Change helps you manage change and make it work for you--while becoming more fulfilled along the way.
Synopsis
From expert on sustainable excellence, coach, and bestselling author of The Practice of Groundedness comes a revelatory book on rethinking change and creating a rugged and flexible mindset amidst life's intensifying flux.
We undergo change and transformation--both good and bad--regularly. From social disruptions like economic recessions, pandemics, and new technologies to individual disruptions like getting married, career transitions, and becoming a parent, change is not the exception, it's the rule. Yet we endlessly fight it, often viewing it as a threat to our stability and sense of self.
Master of Change flips this script on its head and offers a path for embracing and even growing from change, which is accelerating seemingly every day.
Stulberg introduces a new model that describes change as an ongoing cycle of order, disorder, and reorder--yes, we return to stability, but that stability is somewhere new. Rather than resist change we benefit from being in conversation with it. Drawing on convergence between modern science, ancient wisdom, and daily practice, he offers concrete principles for developing a mindset called rugged flexibility, along with the habits and practices to implement it.
Readers will learn:
How to open to the flow of life.The importance of expectations.How to cultivate a fluid yet firm sense of self.How to create the space to respond not react to life's challenges.The paradox of making meaning and moving forward.
And so much more.
The result is a timely and transformative book that reshapes change and shows you how to grow in its midst, moving forward better, stronger, and wiser than you were before.
Synopsis
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
A revelatory book on rethinking change and creating a rugged and flexible mindset amidst life's intensifying flux.
From social disruptions like economic recessions, pandemics, and new technologies to individual disruptions like getting married, career transitions, and becoming a parent, we undergo change and transformation--both good and bad--regularly. Change is not the exception, it's the rule. Yet we endlessly fight it, often viewing it as a threat to our stability and sense of self.
Master of Change flips this script on its head and offers a path for embracing and even growing from life's constant instability.
Brad Stulberg, sustainable excellence expert, coach, and bestselling author of The Practice of Groundedness, offers a new model that describes change as an ongoing cycle of order, disorder, and reorder--yes, we return to stability, but that stability is somewhere new. Drawing on modern science, ancient wisdom, and daily practice, Stulberg offers concrete principles for developing a mindset called rugged flexibility, along with habits and practices to implement it. Along the way, Stulberg reveals:
How to be in conversation with change instead of it happening to you.The importance of expectationsWhy cultivating a rugged yet flexible sense of self is key to a strong identity.How to take productive action during a challenge.The paradox of both making meaning and moving forward.
In the end, Stulberg reshapes our entire perception of change and shows us how to grow in its midst--ultimately helping us move forward better, stronger, and wiser than we were before.