The Habits of Sustainable Excellence

How to feel — and do — good over the long haul

Anyone who is serious about excellence comes to learn that it is based on perennial principles, which extend beyond any one person or pursuit. Excellence takes time, is non-linear, and there are a variety of paths to get where you want to go.

Here are nineteen interrelated habits for the journey, all of which are based on my experience working with elite performers over the past decade and my research and reporting for The Practice of Groundedness: A Transformative Path to Success That Feeds — Not Crushes — Your Soul.

1. Focus on Process over Outcomes

Once you pick a goal, outline the steps it will take to attain it, and then do what you can to largely forget about the goal and focus on nailing those steps instead. Many people waste a lot of time and energy worrying about success or failure down the road, instead of focusing on where they are and what they can be doing (or not doing) right now.

2. Build Deep Community

Motivation is contagious. We are all mirrors reflecting onto one another. The people around you provide gravity when you soar and they provide a safety net when you fall. Nobody reaches the top alone.

3. Balance Appropriate Stress and Appropriate Rest

Stress + rest = growth. Too much of the former, not enough of the latter, and the result is illness, injury, burnout. Too much of the latter, not enough of the former, and the result is complacency and stagnation.

4. Prioritize Consistency over Intensity

If you go big or go home, you often end up home. But small steps taken regularly over time lead to big gains. Resist the urge to exert the heroic, Instagram-worthy effort that will leave you completely exhausted, or worse, later on. Instead, think about applying a sustainable level of effort that will build and compound over the long haul.

5. Learn to Have Fun While Working Hard

If you aren’t having fun along the way, then you probably won’t last very long. Not every day has…