51. On Becoming Superhuman & Avoiding Reckless Ambition with Dr. Sahar Yousef

Overview

Today I’m joined by Dr. Sahar Yousef, a cognitive neuroscientist and faculty member at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. Sahar researches and teaches busy leaders and their teams how to be more productive and effective at work, runs the Becoming Superhuman Lab, and teaches one of the most popular MBA classes, called “Becoming Superhuman: The Science of Productivity and Performance.”

In this conversation we discuss how our future self can help us make decisions today and for our future, cadencing career possibilities across our lives, how to avoid “reckless ambition!,” and tips to becoming superhuman to get work done in less time and with less stress so you can get back to your life. There are so many smart, practical tips in this conversation that you can implement today, right now!

Thank you for being on, Sahar, and for the work you are doing to uncover new insights to help us care for and sharpen this powerful tool we all carry with us (our brain) to support us in achieving Sustainable Ambition!

More about Our Guest

Dr. Sahar Yousef is a cognitive neuroscientist and faculty at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. After spending over a decade doing Department of Defense research on neuroplasticity and how to improve memory, attention, and overall human performance in as little as 7 weeks, Sahar now researches and teaches busy leaders and their teams how to be more productive and effective at work.

At Berkeley, Sahar runs the Becoming Superhuman Lab (featured in Forbes and Business Insider) and teaches one of the most popular MBA classes, called “Becoming Superhuman: The Science of Productivity and Performance.” Sahar has become one of the world’s leading experts on cognitive training and is featured as a top scientist in the Headspace wellbeing app (used by over 2 million people every day). In 2021, Sahar produced a multi-part video series with John Legend on the science of music and its impact on our focus and emotions.

Since COVID began, Dr. Yousef has given over 300 talks and keynotes to knowledge workers in 50+ countries, has advised executive teams at Google, Coinbase, and Visa, and has even been invited to speak for the US Congress.

Topics Covered

  • Sahar has an aha at the start of the conversation about how her career decisions really align to the daily mindset she applies to her life. She asks herself, “What do I really need to get done today? What will my future self want me to do today?” She notes that she doesn’t want to have regrets around her actions and rather wants to be proud of what she did that day. There is research that shows the power of tapping into this future self dialogue.

  • This idea of “What must I do today” or “What do I need to do now” also applies to how Sahar made early career decisions. She talked about how it was more important to get her Phd when she was younger when she had the energy and patience to do that kind of work. She knew she could start a business at a later stage and likely be better at it with more training under her belt.

  • She reminds us that we can’t have it all at once. So, she thinks about what she desires and the timeliness associated with that. Does it need to be done now? Can it be cadenced out later?

  • She also emphasizes, which I love, that we can’t be asleep at the wheel of our own life. It comes back to what we preach—pay attention!

  • She notes how important it is to know that you can’t do everything each day. She counsels—focus on your top 3 (and only 3) most important tasks (MIT’s) and be clear on your least important tasks (LIT’s).

  • What drew Sahar to this work was her love of the brain and the idea of neuroplasticity and how we can change our mindsets to improve the quality of life. How do we maintain this powerful tool in our heads?

  • We talk about how “becoming superhuman” isn’t just about productivity. It’s not about just getting more work done. It’s getting the work we have done the most efficiently so you can get back to your life. To get the work done in less time and with less stress. I love how Sahar coined the term “reckless ambition” as opposed to Sustainable Ambition. Yes!

  • Sahar breaks down her general thesis and what they talk about, sustainable peak performance. Performance is the productivity piece and about what gets done (e.g., running really fast). Peak is about the correct action (e.g., running in the right direction, working on the right things). And then sustainable peak performance is about being able to sustain it over time without burning out.

  • What gets in the way of our getting our best work done? One is lack of sleep. Another is getting distracted, especially by modern technology.

  • I asked her one thing that surprised her in her research. She shared that it is how impactful something as simple as meditating 10 minutes a day can be, that attention regulation is powerful in its impacts.

  • A summary of Sahar’s tips in this conversation for becoming superhuman:

    • Focus on MIT’s—most important tasks—and only 3 each day

    • Get your sleep - 7-9 hours a night

    • Change your default settings (Sahar’s motto) - turn off your notifications, close your email, don’t multitask

    • Start meditating for at least 10 minutes each day

    • Shift the narrative—connect your daily actions to your long term goals and tell yourself the process is important and that “the grind feels good” (!) - Sahar admits that this tip is a bit harder to pull off than the others, but it’s a way for us to shift our mindset around enjoying the process and reducing our need for dopamine hits from “cheap” (my language) activities

  • Many of these are easily within our control to put into practice. I know I’m making note and starting some new habits immediately! I hope you’ll join me. Learn more at the resources below!

Resources Mentioned

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51. On Becoming Superhuman & Avoiding Reckless Ambition with Dr. Sahar Yousef

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2022Kathy OnetoRight Success, Right Effort, Right Aspiration