Strive Embracing the gift of struggle

Stop chasing happiness and seek fulfillment instead

Strive shakes up everything you know about happiness, turns you around, and sets you on the track to true fulfillment. It's not what you think—happiness is not found in achievement and luxury and having all the free time in the world. Humans are most fulfilled and feel best about themselves when they are striving towards a difficult goal that involves struggle and discomfort.

 Dr. Adam Fraser is a peak performance researcher who helps people strive for ’better’ in everything that they do; in this book, he shares his insights into the human condition and why happiness always feels just out of reach. Whether you're looking to boost workplace productivity, or just need the motivation to go about your daily life, this book will show you the little-known truths about happiness, purpose, and fulfillment.

In working with groups from all around the world, Dr. Fraser has observed that the unhappiest and most unfulfilled people have low levels of struggle and challenge. Too much comfort robs them of a sense of purpose; they have nothing to strive for, because everything is fine the way it is. This book takes you inside the root of human motivation to show you how to live and work toward fulfillment.

• Grow and evolve through embracing discomfort
• Reframe struggle as an opportunity for development
• Learn the three behaviours of striving effectively
• Discover your motivation—and use it
• Learn why you are most proud of overcoming the hard things in life

When you're working toward a goal, you are engaged, motivated, and ready to take on the world. Once you achieve your goal, your happiness plummets—because nothing is left to strive for—unless you set your next goal right away. Strive provides the roadmap, and shows you how the joy is in the striving—not the destination.

DR ADAM FRASER is a peak performance researcher who helps people strive to achieve better fulfilment in everything they do. He has worked with people from all walks of life, including elite athletes, the military and business leaders.

About the author ix

Acknowledgements xi

Foreword xiii

Introduction xvii

1 Could everyone please shut up about happiness? 1

2 The completion myth 13

3 Easy sucks 29

4 What allows us to strive 55

5 The dangers of avoiding the struggle 75

6 The gift of struggle 91

7 Making struggle your friend 111

8 Striving effectively: foreground behaviours 127

9 Striving effectively: background behaviours 167

10 The future of work 193

11 Helping others strive 201

Conclusion 215

Index 219

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