The Breakout Principle: Maximize Creativity, Athletic Performance, Productivity and Personal Well-Being

I thought this book would be more, or read like more, to me.... I ended up scanning some passages because of the telling of individuals' stories that permiate the book. I came away with a couple of things to think about, but on balance, I thought there was just too much "filler" and not enought "there"..there. Good concepts, but not enough for a book..... and not so different than what others have proposed in other books. Just a different take. Would have made a nice pamphlet.

Amazing book. Initially I got a copy from the library but decided to purchase it after reading 2 chapters

Great research, and great writing. So simple for a lay person to understand

Fabulous

excellent

Herbert Benson, author of the wildly popular The Relaxation Response, has co-authored a book that claims to reveal the "trigger" that activates breakthroughs in six areas: self-awareness, creativity, productivity, athleticism, rejuvenation and transcendence. How does this occur? According to Benson, the process mimics the relaxation response which he has taught to many people to reduce stress levels and improve their health. The process involves a stressor or challenge, a letting go or breaking of previous thought patterns, followed by the breakthrough in one of the six areas above, then followed by a higher starting point for future breakouts. Benson claims that a key physiological factor in this process is the release of nitrous oxide, which acts as a feel good agent within the body. In addition, although the person experiencing the breakthrough appears outwardly calm, brain scans indicate increased activity in the regions of the brain for attention and executive decision. This state is what is commonly referred to in sports as "being in the zone" and, according to Benson, is what triggers eureka moments of creativity as well as mystical experience.This is all very convincing and tends to be consistent with both reported experiences and the writing of other experts. For example, the breaking of patterns fits with Edward de Bono's notion of creativity coming from breaking out of fixed patterns. Benson's theory also fits with the notion that good ideas sometimes come after incubation, when a person struggling with a problem temporarily let's go of the struggle and arrives at a solution at seemingly odd moments - in the shower, for example.My concern with Benson's claims is that a lot of the supporting studies he refers to are ones in which he participated. Other studies mentioned seem to be cherry-picked from a few select sources from a short period of time. Another problem is Benson's prescription for harnessing the breakout principle in the business world. In essence he encourages businesses to hire people who do not get along but can act civilly to create what he calls a "Grating Paradox" where conflict leads to productivity. I think this advice is naive and simplistic. I also don't believe that people who experience a breakout necessarily remain at a new higher level whatever peak they achieved. If so then everyone would be on a kind of perpetual improvement cycle, which I think experience contradicts.There is no doubt that people definitely have moments where they suddenly emerge from a struggle in the way Benson describes. It also seems credible that Benson's theory is accurate. I have used the advice of breaking previous thought patterns in an attempt to stop worries and anxieties, though not necessarily to trigger a breakthrough, and it has helped. I just wish that he had provided more diverse sources of support and not extended the reach of his theory into the business world.

TL;DR... Find your meditation process, one that works for you. Then do that repetitively to "Break Out" of your norm.

Some do it in the shower, some do it in the woods, some do it with friends, and some do it in their sleep. If you don't do it; read this book. "It" is `Breakout' of prior mental and emotional patterns and into a state of mind where enhance performance flows. Athletes call it the zone, for others it is when solutions `pop' into the mind or conversations/presentations flow and `connect' with others. In this book, Herbert Benson, M.D. and William Proctor take the reader through the body's biological or anatomical response during the Breakout process, as they define the four-stages:* Stage one begins with a hard mental or physical struggle.* Stage two involves pulling the Breakout trigger, completely severing prior thoughts and emotional patterns - the doing "it" part.* Stage three is the `peak experience', or performance element of the process.* Stage four is a return to a `new-normal' state, meaning one with enhanced mind-body performance patterns.In Part II of the book, the authors devote a chapter each to six types of Breakout resulting `peak experiences' - Self-Awareness, Creativity, Productivity, Athleticism, Rejuvenation, and Transcendence - before discussing how an intrinsic belief system can help trigger a Breakout and offer peak experiences beyond our analytical mind-set's capabilities.Although the book is an easy read and does contain several descriptions of how the Breakout trigger might be pulled, I would not describe this as a self-help book. It more of an informative read than a practical how-to book for finding your `zone'.Dennis DeWilde, author of"The Performance Connection"

Published in 2003 by a harbinger researcher on flow, Dr Benson from Harvard along with Proctor, the book introduces the reader to simple instructions on how to active biological triggers that convert conflict into clarity, and control into surrender. The book is easy to read, and provides easy-to-follow instructions on how to build inner determination to pursue goals that matter. If you are interested in the subject, the recently published book The Art of the Impossible by Kotler, provides recent neuroscience findings applied to the experience of flow and high performance. A good book and yet insufficient to thoses interested in the latests discoveries and research