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- Do resilient people flex with stress, or try to push through it?
Do resilient people flex with stress, or try to push through it?
Use positive emotions to thrive under pressure.
Welcome to The Smarter Brain, a curation of thought-provoking ideas and actionable reads to help you build better habits and become more productive.
Happy reading - See you on Sunday!
Cheers,
The Smarter Brain Team
Estimated Reading Time: 2 mins
3 Ideas for Better Habits
Bend, Don’t Break
Clinical psychologist and author, Melanie Greenberg, on harnessing the power of the mind to manage stress and thrive.
“Positive emotions and mental states may make people more resilient to stress, like sturdy tree branches that bend but don’t break when battered.”
Keep Seeking, Keep Growing
Psychologist and grit expert, Angela Duckworth, on the transformative power of perseverance and passion.
“When you keep searching for ways to change your situation for the better, you stand a chance of finding them. When you stop searching, assuming they can’t be found, you guarantee they won.”
Push, Pause, Progress
Human performance coach, Brad Stulberg, on grounded growth and enduring excellence.
“Stress + rest = growth. This equation holds true regardless of what it is that you are trying to grow.”
Source: Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success
AI-Fuelled Messaging System for Time-Crunched Entrepreneurs
Bad messaging KILLS good products! People pay to solve painful problems - the bigger and more painful the problem, the more someone will pay to solve it. If your solution solves a real problem and people aren’t buying yet… then you haven’t communicated WHY they should WANT it.
Fix your messaging (*without* overhauling your product).
Productivity Tools and Resources
The Good News About Anxiety
Reframes moderate anxiety as a motivational tool that enhances focus, problem-solving, and resilience - helping you channel nervous energy into performance.
How the Lesser Known , ”Good Stress” Improves Brain Function
Explores how eustress-positive stress-boosts cognitive performance and neural resilience, much like a vaccine prepares the immune system.
5 Weird Ways Stress Can Actually Be Good for You
Outlines surprising benefits of short-term stress: from boosting brainpower and immunity to accelerating development in early life.
Why Some Experts Believe Stress Can Aid Performance
Examines the Yerkes-Dodson Law and how optimal stress levels can improve focus, neurogenesis, and overall mental toughness.
What We're Reading
Deep Questions Newsletter - Discover how focused work, intentional habits, and disciplined thinking can transform your professional and personal life. Each issue blends thoughtful reflection with practical strategies to help you navigate modern distractions, cultivate clarity, and pursue meaningful, sustainable success with purpose and depth.
5-Bullet Friday Newsletter - A short, inspiring dose of curiosity, discovery, and personal growth from Tim Ferriss. Each Friday, you'll receive five hand-picked recommendations - from favorite books and tools to thought-provoking quotes and life hacks - designed to spark creativity, optimize performance, and help you live a more interesting, intentional life.
Brain Food
Today I Learned: Sloths can slow their heart rate and hold their breath for up to 40 minutes. Dolphins, by comparison, usually dive for only 8-10 minutes. (Source)
Science: Japanese researchers have created a biodegradable plastic that fully dissolves in water within hours - an exciting advance toward eliminating microplastic pollution. (Source)
Have a productive rest of your week,
The Smarter Brain Team
Resource Spotlight
Stress Windows, Focus Switches, Resilience Levers
Monthly insights explore how short bursts of stress - when properly timed and managed - can sharpen attention, fuel long-term resilience, and elevate performance across mental and physical domains. You'll uncover visual protocols rooted in neuroscience, like breath-driven state shifts and effort-related dopamine spikes, all designed to help you work with your biology, not against it.
Stress, Focus & Resilience in a Distracted World
This episode unpacks how thoughtfully applied stress can sharpen focus, strengthen mental resilience, and elevate performance - without leading to burnout. Through real-life examples and research-backed insights, Cal Newport explores the surprising upside of pressure when paired with rest, structure, and deep work habits.
Mental Toughness, Stoic Wisdom, Lasting Resilience
Focused insights blend ancient Stoic principles, practical mindset shifts, and actionable habits - equipping you to embrace stress, strengthen focus, and transform adversity into growth. Designed for anyone seeking to cultivate calm under pressure, sustain performance, and build unshakable inner strength without jargon or fluff.
(Everything in the section above is an ad, book yours here)
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