86. love without consequence
Love can be dangerous, sinful, and untimely, yet it would be a mistake to make love contingent on consequences. The choice is never whether we fall in love, but what we do when it happens. It’s rare to find a person, or a passion, that captivates so completely that we dare throw caution to the wind. Fear will always be a factor, holding us back from loves embrace. However, if we can’t escape it’s calling, and continuously revisit the idea, we need to surrender our reservations and explore freely. It’s going to be frightening, but love requires vulnerability.
Bukowski said it best; ”find what you love and let it kill you. Let it drain from you your all. Let it cling onto your back and weigh you down into eventual nothingness. Let it kill you, and let it devour your remains.”
In less malevolent terms, our time on this earth is finite and we’re all going to be consumed by something. If anything, it should be in pursuit of something we love because the very act of loving nourishes us. It destroys and rebuilds. It slays the version of ourselves that longs for the change we seek. It exhausts the excuses that have kept us anxious. And nothing kills anxiety quicker than action. So always choose love without the fear of consequence.
85. questions over answers
The problem we face is that the majority of people simply rearrange what they already know in an effort to understand what they don’t, instead of coming to terms with what is unknown and being open to exploring the subject. Anyone can find a study that confirms their belief, but if you only look at it from the same side, does that really allow you to understand something fully? You can look head on at a cube and get the impression that it’s just a square, but when you change your perspective, you realize that there are multiple dimensions. You can look up a word in a dictionary and learn the definition, but without working it into a sentence, you can’t fully grasp what it means or how it should be used.
The true problem solvers are the ones who dive head first down rabbit holes in an effort to challenge the status quo, not find answers. Their inquisitiveness is indefatigable. Their aspiration to grow their knowledge know no bounds, and provides them with a continued input of ideas which stimulate their imagination to continually search not for answers, but come up with better questions. Belief that any of us have anything figured out stifles our personal growth by creating boundaries. It gives us the false impression that we have answers, when we really need to be continuously searching for the next best question.
84. physical power of thought
What you think about is important, not only in life, but training as well, because it literally has the power to manifest physical change. As I’ve said before, bodybuilders are the original “biohackers” as they are always looking for ways to push the boundaries of what is possible and consistently improve their performance. It is from their tireless effort that we get the mind/muscle connection, or thinking about the muscle helps it grow exponentially more than just placing it under tension alone.
Why?
It comes down to the fact that the mind is the sum total of the central nervous system functioning, whereby its endocrine secretion is called a thought. That secretion can directly affect cellular activity and protein formation, which, very simply, means a thought has a tangible action. It may sound woo but there is research to back it up.
A study reported in the New Scientist entitled Mental Gymnastics Increase Bicep Strength took ten volunteers and asked them to imagine flexing one of their biceps as hard as they could for five times a week. The researchers recorded electrical brain activity during the participants sessions and assessed their muscular strength every two weeks. Those who only imagined flexing, increased their biceps strength by 13.5% in just a few weeks, compared to the control group.1
The power of thought can go a long way. Take a look at another study published in the Journal of Neurophysiology that had subjects divided into three groups. The first was asked to exercise by contracting and relaxing one finger on their hand for five sixty-minute training sessions a week for four weeks. A second group, following the same training schedule, was instructed to only mentally rehearse the same exercises, without physically activating any muscle in their finger. The control group neither thought about, nor exercised their finger outside of their daily routines. At the end of the study, researchers found that the group who actually did the the physical exercises exhibited a 30% gain in strength over the control group. No shit, right?! Well, the crazy part is that the second group, who only mentally rehearsed the exercises, demonstrated a 22% increase in muscle strength over the control group!2 The mind produced a quantifiable affect on the body.
None of this is meant to say that simply thinking about an outcome is going to be a substitute for doing the work, but that if you combine both intent and physical effort you can create the best outcome.
83. rigidity
We’re tribal. We gravitate toward people, ideas, or things that resonate with us and captivate our sensibilities. It’s a safety mechanism to want to be part of a group, as there is safety in numbers, just as our inclusion makes us feel a sense of acceptance were we are more comfortable to take on tasks that further promote the group identity as a whole. Tribalism is a self-fulfilling prophecy, that provided us the security to culturally evolve over millennia. Yet, where there is one tribe, there is another with competing ideas or beliefs. And, while the world is probably the safest its ever been, we are more at war — not physically, but ideologically — with one another than ever before.
The tribal mentality that paved the way for modernity to take hold seems to be the same thing that is keeping us from taking the next great leap forward to creating a better world. We are all beholden to the tribes we belong to and the beliefs they’re based upon. It’s become our identity. Any thing that challenges those believes is a strike against our identity, so we lash out and double-down. No longer can I share my opinion on one thing, while you hold an opposing opinion, and accept it without a judgement or prejudice on me as a person or my level of intellect. What happened to free thought, openness, aggregation? Isn’t that how we creatively solve novel problems?
Your ideas equal you, but they shouldn’t define you. You should be a thing that thinks, collects new ideas, through new experiences, by seeking to understand new viewpoints, so that you can develop new strategies. Bruce Lee said it best; “absorb what is useful, discard what is useless and add what is specifically your own.” We’re all too fucking busy defending our beliefs to actually listen to a different viewpoint that may give way to a better course of action. When differing opinions are presented, you should be able to entertain the idea without accepting it, not take offense because it’s contradictory. Yes, there are a lot of stupid people, but denouncing them straight away not only does a disservice to you, but also the other person. You’re both going to want to prove each other wrong, search for studies that confirm your ideological bias and go down the rabbit hole of separateness.
When you look at anything through the lens of ideology, you have strict boundaries that limit your capacity to be open and accepting of alternative thoughts and a chance to connect the dots in a different way. Maybe it’s a defense mechanism brought upon by the challenge a conflicting idea has on our identity. We’re fearful that all that we have identified with may be wrong. We’d rather be safer in our thoughts, thinking we’re right by defending all opposing ideas, than to entertain something new. But this rigid mentality is only going to keep us from being able to come up with the best path forward.
82. sky's the limit
No matter your opinion of Hip-Hop, specifically from the 90’s, there are some masterful lyricists out there that have the ability to deliver a powerful message rapped in an analogy that invites you to see things differently. Strip away the stigma, the personification, the flash, and you come down to the realization that at the fundamental level, it’s simply poetry in motion. Artistry in any form is a gift, whether it’s painting a picture through brush strokes or a succession of words. It’s definitely a lost art in today’s soulless mumble rapping style, where artists rely exclusively on the beat because they have little substance to add otherwise.
One of my favor songs of all time is Sky’s the Limit, by the Notorious B.I.G. It’s a testament to a culture that embodies hustle and determination. It’s an ethic I believe in. If you want to be successful, you have to show up everyday to do the work, because can only get you so far.
The song starts off in a situation that the majority of us can identify with at some level — being born on the wrong side of wealth and opportunity. It transitions into how we are all initially embarrassed by our station in life, but this is what sparks the initial drive to better our life. Sometimes, we must fake it to make it, fitting in where we can. The most successful among us learn from those encounters and use them as teachable moments. Mistakes will always be made along the way in an effort to figure out the best path forward, to elevate ourselves out of the position we originally found ourselves in. As we transform, so does our environment and the people around us. And, because we are the sum of that environment and those people we are surrounded by, it is responsible for changing us, just as much as we change it. In other words, surround yourself with elements that define where you want to go, not where you came from. We always need to be looking forward, even if it scares us because everything we want is on the other side of fear. Therefore, thinking about what needs to be done to fulfill that process is both the toughest and best decision we can make, as it will allow you to get to the next stage in your life.
Without the foresight of a growth mindset, we’ll never be more than what we started with. Call it hustle, hard-work, determination, grit, or persistence. It’s simply a choice that we must make to be the person we want to be. You have to know that the sky is the limit, as the hook repeatedly says. You have to keep pressing on, to get what you want and be how you want. Anything else is settling. Once you figure out how to master the mindset that will lead you to success in whatever you choose, there’s really no stopping you because you are only limited by the restrictions you place upon yourself. There will be setbacks, speed bumps, obstacles, failures, and apparently even a pandemic, but all these are ways to not only strengthen your resolve to what you ultimately want to become, but can help you readjust your direction and narrow your focus. And, as Biggie recites the Hustler’s Prayer — “if the game shakes me or breaks me, I hope it makes me a better man, [to] take a better stand” — it’s important to understand that everything we encounter on our journey is simply meant to serve us along the way because the sky is the limit.
81. you only get out what you put in
No matter what we do, we always want the best results. The greater the level of effort we place into our chosen activity — whether, in business, writing, weight-loss, or really anything — the better results you will achieve. You can’t expect to become a successful entrepreneur if its just a part-time interest. You can’t expect to master the craft of writing, if you aren’t consistent. You can’t expect to optimally lose weight, if you are half-assing on your diet. How can we expect the best possible outcome with mediocre practices? Very simple, you can’t. It’s important to understand that you don’t rise to the level of your expectations, you always fall to your level of practice. You don’t transition to becoming business owner, a published author, or a vision of health just because you have a certain expectation. If your standard of practice is inferior to the results you want, then you can’t expect more. No one is perfect, but we can choose the level of effort we put into our desired activities. And as the saying goes, you only get out what you put in.
80. create awareness
Most people don’t actually want to learn how to get in shape, even though that’s what they say. What they want is to become that person who is in shape. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s important to understand that these are two differing mentalities. Where more information will do wonders for the person who wants to learn, it will do fuckall for the person who just wants to be in shape.
If you want to learn, it’s largely an academic process of acquiring knowledge through school, books, seminars, mentors, etc. Most people don’t have the time, nor the inclination to put in that type of effort. They simply want to look better naked. If this is you, it’s a very experiential process. It’s not really about knowing exactly how many calories you need to consume or calculating your calorie burn for any given effort. It’s about what governs your emotions, routines, behaviors, and habits that really count. Change isn’t stimulated by acquiring more knowledge, but from transforming what you do day to day. Therefore, it comes down to creating new behaviors, which lead to new habits, which lead toward a path of who you want to become.
To really change, it comes down to bringing awareness to your current situation. You can do this by incorporating daily practices that set you up to become the person you ultimately want to be. As an example, none of my weight-loss clients are conscious of how much they eat, nor how little they move. Not until I invite them to start a food log and track the amount of steps they get each day do they understand that the decisions they make are having an impact on their life. This awareness is the very foundation for change. More information about how nutrition or exercise never helped, but bringing attention to simple habits of what they’re eating and how much they’re moving starts the cascade for change. So to change your life, you need to bring awareness to all that you do.
79. motivation is bullshit
Motivation is bullshit. Seeking daily motivation to push that boulder up the hill, isn’t the best way to achieve what you want because as we all know, our enthusiasm runs out. If you’re relying on motivational youtube videos, inspirational quotes, pep talks, or special incentives to get you to move in the direction of something you say you want, then you’re doing yourself a disservice because you aren’t giving yourself what is necessary to succeed.
What you need is a better “why.” A reason deeper than, “I want to look good naked,” or “I want to be rich.” Statements like these are largely ambiguous, and can constantly be redefined to match your level of enthusiasm at any given time. Most often when you say things like this, what you truly want is to be attractive enough to find the love you desire, or to have enough money to live a life you deem comfortable. If you can uncover this deeper “why,” you’ll be able to be in the necessary effort, without a constant supply of motivation.
Unfortunately, finding that “why” won’t make the boulder go away, but it will replace your struggle with meaning. And, the more meaning we can bring to the process, the more successful we will be regardless of our endeavors.
78. who are you
Who are you? There is no definitive answer to that question because you are ultimately a process, not a product. With every new challenge, you grow. With every new avenue taken, you advance. With every new insight, you improve. Your journey through life is dynamic. If you define yourself at any given point along the way, it only limits your capacity to change. Instead, focus on the stories, methodologies, ideas, and practices that allowed you to reach your current state and let them serve as a guide to becoming the next best version of yourself.
You say you’re smart, when you should really be saying you’re in the continual process of gaining knowledge.
You say you’re fat, when you should really be saying that you’re in the continual process of redefining your health.
You say you’re successful, when you should really be saying that you’re in the continual process of mastering your craft.
The first part of the above statements are finite, serving as an end in themselves. The second part serves as not only a fulfillment of the first statement, but a way to continuously improve upon your current situation. Your ability for progress is only limited by the restraints you place upon yourself. Always look to become the next best version of yourself, anything else is settling.
77. pillars of health
With all the noise coming from the media’s glorification of the impending mythical antidote, we seem to be losing touch with what was necessary for humanity to achieve a level of health that allowed us to arrive at this pivotal moment in history. Contented with the fact that Big Pharma will have an answer to the consequences a lifetime of indulging in desires will ultimately bring, most people no longer value the fundamental principles of health. The main message being delivered is that your health no longer needs to be your responsibility. It’s tragic. Unfortunately, I can’t save everyone, yet, for those that choose to take responsibility for their health, I want to share my fundamental pillars of health.
Wholesome Nutrition - What you need to eat will largely come down to your individual goals. It is important to understand that there is no perfect diet for all people. We all need to find what works best for us. A good place to start is to look at how your ancestors ate. Try to recreate it with the freshest, least processed, locally sourced, and most nutrient dense products you can find. Eat both veggies and vegetarians for the best health.
Functional Movement - Movement is more than exercise. It is the acquisition of strength to do what you need to do on a daily basis, and the mobility that grants you the ease to get in and out of necessary positions. The easiest way to improve your functional movement, without a gym, is to sit on the floor while you watch TV instead of the couch. You’ll constantly need to move and shift positions which will stretch different muscles, and then you will need to use those to get up, which over time, can improve strength.
Sleep Optimization - Sleep is underrated. Prioritizing rest and recovery is key to optimizing health. Without it we are unlikely to think, act, move, perform, or make decisions to the best of our abilities. The body thrives on consistency so follow a schedule. As the sun starts to set and bedtime gets closer, turn off unnecessary entertainment and dim the lights to mirror the outside environment.
Stress Management - While stress is necessary for adaptation and growth, if it becomes chronic, as in today’s society, there can be negative consequences, like a suppressed immune system. Knowing that you control how you react in any situation — that you choose, how anything affects you — will allow you to approach life differently. If you choose to take responsibility for your actions in all situations, you will have less stress and more time to appreciate the things you enjoy.
Digestive Health - You are not what you eat, but what you can absorb. The bacteria in our gut outnumber the cells in our body by a factor of 10. Their health can impact not only our nutritional input, but also our mood and immune health as well. The only way to improve your digestive health is to find a diet that works for you. If you’re not consistently shitting a 4 on the Bristol Stool Scale, you’ll need to change some aspect of your diet or lifestyle.
Efficient Detoxification - There is no such thing as a “pure” lifestyle in the 21st century. We have to be vigilant with what food and products we put in, on, or around our bodies because a majority of them have chemicals that aren’t tested by the FDA, as they trust companies to “self regulate.” Start with looking at the ingredients of everything you use and compare them to the EWG.org database, replace the most toxin ones. Oh and juice cleanses are bullshit. You need a certain amount of amino acids to efficiently detoxify, which are woefully deficient in fruit.
Resilient Mindset - Mindset is the most powerful thing we have. It is able to have a positive influence on our world and manifest change in ways we never thought possible. Stop focusing on the negative messages you hear all day and instead practice gratitude. Start a grateful journal today to change where your focus lies. Get a pen and paper, and write down 3 things you’re grateful for today. Repeat this everyday.
Community of Support - We are tribal animals. We were never meant to exist in solitude. To thrive, we need to find an environment with like-minded people in pursuance of similar goals, where we can connect with those who challenge us, as well as support our decisions to grow. I invite you to be a part of my tribe.
Maybe I missed the memo, but I don’t think these are being talked about by any mainstream source as a way to achieve a better quality of life. I’m assuming because they require taking responsibility for your own health and that’s not a money-maker for pharmaceutical companies. Regardless, they are what I have used to transform my own life as well as those I have worked with. It may take a little bit of effort, but they are the foundational principles of health that can save you from a reliance on the “sick care” system.
76. salutogenesis
What are the origins of health? Aaron Antonovsky sought to answer that question in his 1979 book entitled Health, Stress and Coping. In it, he introduced the term salutogenesis, which places emphasis on the elements that promote health, rather than the factors that strip it away and cause disease (a.k.a. pathogenesis). It’s a radical departure from the “pill for every ill” ideology we’ve all become accustomed to in the traditional healthcare model. Much like myself, Antonovsky rejected the theories of the “traditional medical-model dichotomy separating health and illness” and instead figured that one can only exist in the absence of another.
Today, more than ever, the majority of people seem to only be worried about not getting sick, rather than taking actions to optimize health. Unfortunately, if you continue to think this way, it’s important to understand the fundamental truth that you’re never going to be able to get healthy by doing the same things that made you susceptible to poor health to begin with. Perhaps, it’s the hypnotic narrative of fear perpetuated by daily body counts on the “News” that keeps you holding on to the current medical model. Yet, it is not your savior and it was never designed to make you well to being with. It’s time to start to think differently. The origins of health aren’t rooted in medications or vaccinations, they come from making the right decisions that work for you and your biology.
To illustrate the fundamental difference between the current pathogenetic medical model and the idea of salutogenetic model, let me ask you this. Say, your friend entrusts you to take care of their plant while away on vacation. While they’re gone, you see the leaves starting to turn brown. What do you do? You can paint those leaves green, or you can give the plant what it needs? (Here’s a hint, it’s not electrolytes!) I’m assuming, that since it’s not 2505, your first thought is to give the plant water. The browning of the leaves is a symptom of something not right with the plants biology. Painting the leaves green is akin to taking medication to “solve” the problem, yet only serves to mask the symptom.
Taking the analogy further, think of yourself as the plant. Are you giving yourself the proper things you need to thrive? Do you know what they are? Or do you wait until things start to breakdown, and then search for medications to suppress they symptoms of your faulty lifestyle? This isn’t meant to be harsh so much as eye-opening. Remember, I can’t make you change unless you want to.
You came into this world with only one responsibility, and that was to take care of yourself. Somewhere along the line, most of us surrender our power to a system that seeks profit over health, that manipulates our understanding of what health is, how it’s achieved, and maintained. Staying within this mindset keeps us looking in the wrong direction. We are continuously looking forward in time for the latest medication or vaccination to save us. It’s a faulty and dangerous premise. Instead, we need to look backward to the past, to see what made us strong enough to prevail thousands of years to get to this point where our health is crumbling. I’m a firm believer in the salutogentic model of health as it seeks to define the origins of health. Those origins fall directly in line with the ancestral approach I have successfully applied with my clients in the past, and will continue to use it with anyone who wishes to break free from the tragic paradigm that is the modern “healthcare” system. It’s time to change the way we think. Sometimes a step backwards can be a step in the right direction.
75. dialogue over dictates
To initiate change, dictates need to be replaced with dialogue. Over the past few days, I have tried to illustrate the issues we’ve been confronted with over the past few months without telling anyone specifically what I think needs to be done do to improve anyone’s health and safety. I firmly believe that no one can be forced to change if they aren’t ready to, no matter how much information is thrown at them. However, I want to be part of the discussion that changes your life, that allows you to create a greater sense of awareness about the world we are living in, and ultimately helps you achieve a healthier life.
The best way to help people find greater personal motivation in their journey is to avoid demotivating their interest by simply telling them what needs to be done, and instead invite them to look at the world from a different perspective, with the hope that it can pique their interest. I have shared many things that have been contradictory to the prevailing “wisdom,” not because I have a political agenda, but because I truly love what I do and want everyone to gain from my passion. As I encourage others to look at things differently, I understand that it can be tough to take the first steps outside of what you’re comfortable with. I get it change is hard. People tend to resist taking on new ideas or behaviors more so because they’re crystal clear about what they’ll lose by changing, but uncertain about what they’ll gain in the process. It’s tough, albeit necessary in these times.
When it comes to creating change, we all tend to overvalue what we’re losing, while undervaluing what we’ll gain. It’s understandable that we don’t eagerly embrace alternatives, yet I think it’s time we start a dialogue about how to move in the direction that seeks to optimize our health instead of cowering in a corner waiting for the status quo to be saved.
74. xyz
On a scale from 1 to 10, how well do you understand how zippers work? …. Okay, next question. How does a zipper work? Describe in as much detail as you can, all the steps involved in a zipper’s operation. If you’re like most people, you don’t work in a zipper factory and have little to say in response to the second question. You don’t really know how zippers work. So, here’s another question, on the same 1 to 10 scale, please rate your knowledge on how a zipper works again. I’m assuming it’s less than your first answer.
Why do we assume a higher level of knowledge? Well, the simplest answer to that question is it’s the easiest and most energy efficient way to go about our day. If we had to know all the inner-workings of everything we encountered to get through our day, we would never make it past cooking breakfast without wanting to go back to bed. It’s not a bad thing to have so little detailed knowledge about how things work. For the most part, it’s necessary. We learn from previous experiences we’ve had an apply that going forward without having to apply additional thought. This allows us to focus on only what we need, while filtering everything else out.
The problem comes when people start speaking or spreading information as though they they worked in our proverbial zipper factory, without actually ever stepping foot in one. Unfortunately, just because someone reads a post about YKK, doesn’t make them an expert on the subject. Just because someone can regurgitate facts, doesn’t make them capable of putting concepts together across genres, in an effort to deliver a broader picture. Just because someone prefers a zipper, doesn’t mean it’s better than a button It may just be that prefer the zipper because they can’t figure out how to use a button.
The world we live in is driven by emotion and fueled by abstract bits of information woven into a narrative to justify that feeling. In an effort to simplify the message, the complexity of details gets lost as conflicting narratives emerge. If you don’t work in the “factory,” it’s very easy to become susceptible to people who seem like they do, and say things you like hearing. We all want the best advice possible, but with no real understanding about how the “factory” is working, how can you really discern whether it’s information or misinformation used to further a narrative.
It should seem alarming that everyone is now an expert in the health field and has “facts” to back it up, yet, these people have no real concept of health or how to achieve it. It’s fucking dangerous in more ways than one because these are the people whose voice is often the loudest. We all have our areas of expertise, but on most subjects (specifically health), the majority of people only dive deep enough to string together shallow bits of information, while in reality what we know is little more than a feeling of understanding that we really can’t unpack. Attaining real knowledge is hard work, that is why most people just rearrange their prejudices and call it learning.
book summary: The Carnivore Code
TL:DR — Meat isn’t bad for you and doesn’t have to be for the planet either. Veggies may be the underlying cause of your health or digestive issues.
What is the Carnivore diet?
The Carnivore diet is what “healthy woke” people think the #Paleo diet is. To clear up any confusion, Carnivore is a way of eating in which you only consume animals (steak, fish, bone broth, steak, organ meats, steak), NO PLANTS. You can stretch that into animal products (eggs, cheese, or honey) but you’d really be blurring the lines. Paleo consists of both meat and plants.
Why would anyone only eat animals?
Because steak is delicious?! Regardless of what the “game changers” told you, animals (and everything in them) are the best concentrated source of nutrients you can find (assuming they’re humanely raised, wild caught, grass fed, free range, etc). Animals are able to extract nutrients from the plant material they eat better than humans can because of the length and structure of their digestive system. In this case, size matters! Additionally, animals have an innate intelligence that allows them to know how much of any particular plant they can eat without it making them sick, as they navigate the landscape, selecting up to 170 different grasses and twigs for daily consumption. This becomes important because all plants contain toxins, and too much of one can cause problems.
Why are plants making toxins? Can they be harmful?
Plants make toxins as a defense mechanism against being eaten because they can’t run away. In small doses they’re probably fine. There is an argument that plants are only beneficial due to the hormetic response that comes from these toxins. The problem arrises when we eat too much and get overloaded, as in consuming that same fucking kale smoothie you’ve had for the last 6 years. It's possibly doing more harm than good. If you are suffering from inflammation, digestive issues, skin problems, or autoimmune conditions, using #Carnivore as a tool for an elimination diet to see if symptoms improve might be a good idea.
73. wtfru waiting for
Most peoples health is so poor that they don’t have the energy to take care of themselves in order to meet the very basics of what it takes to achieve a foundational level of health. This is why the medical system is so profitable. They prey on the weak — both in mind and body. But, it’s more important than ever to understand that it’s not a medical system. It’s a disease maintenance system designed to make money through the suppression of symptoms, not the elimination of disease by an accumulation of health. It’s a system that doesn’t make money when people are getting better.
Why don’t you hear about the value of sleeping well, mitigating stress, improving digestion and detoxification pathways, optimizing nutrition, and finding activities you enjoy that influence you to move on a daily basis? Because their bottom line is more important. There is no cohesive message because if there were, people would start to develop a baseline level of health and profits would decline. It’s a fucking racket. Everyone needs to take responsibility for their health. Unfortunately, it takes energy for people to invest the time to change, as well as forcing them to acknowledge that most of the “information” they’ve been trained to see as truth is not serving them, but those they seek for service.
In the current climate, a strong foundation of health is more powerful than any intervention or government mandate — whether it be masks, closures, or social distancing. The latest CDC data — as of August 26, 2020 — shows that only 6% of people died FROM Covid-19, whereas 94% died WITH Covid-19. What that basically means, is that if you treat your body well and are a healthy individual, then you really don’t have much to worry about. That is an important distinction, and really illustrates the crux of what I am getting at with all my bluster. On the other hand, if you treat your body like a used condom like the majority of this country, then YES you are at risk, but hopefully you’re coming to the understanding that your risk isn’t due to me wearing a mask or not. It’s because you CHOSE to live a lifestyle that isn’t conducive to optimal health.
Fortunately, all hope is not lost. If anything this situation should serve as an awakening for people to take responsibility for their health, and not rely on the disease management system. If done right, it can take as little as 3 months to completely change the direction in someones life for the better. But it’s up to you to make that move. So, if you want more life, vibrancy, health, safety, strength and energy, then what the fuck are you waiting for?
72. just a thought
Yesterday, through the introduction of a friend, I met someone for the first time. As she approached, I saw she was wearing a mask, so to be polite, I asked if she would like me to put my mask on so we could sit down and talk. “No, I don’t think it’s necessary.” I agreed, I didn’t think she needed her’s either, so she took her mask off and we proceeded to have a great conversation.
In the small community of people I interact with, I’ve found that none of them really care about the “safety procedures” of social distancing or the need to wear a mask. And to be honest, I’m fine with that because I don’t find the merit in doing so either. Before the Karen’s and Kevin’s jump down my throat because my mouth is exposed, let me explain myself.
Everyone I surround myself with is deeply entrenched in the health, fitness, research, nutrition, functional medicine, and the strength and conditioning world. They are not IG influencers searching for likes or part of the Dr. Oz tribe that likes to lead you down the yellow brick road of bullshit. These people are not average in anyway. They are the people you look for when you want to improve your health or get in shape because the government guidelines on health you’ve been following haven’t worked. They are people I respect, because they place their health as a top priority in their life. I’m assuming this is strange to hear as it sounds like some type of cognitive dissonance. They want to be healthy, yet they don’t follow the guidelines or wear a mask?!? GASP! They must be crazy, right?
No, they are not crazy. Nor do I think they are dangerous or careless. How could they be? They are the best at what they do and it shows. They, much like myself, stopped listening to the “wisdom” the government was shoveling in our direction many years ago, and it’s subsequently the reason why they have acquired the health they have. If these people aren’t worried about the biggest health crisis of our lifetime, maybe we should start to ask why, and take on some of their practices so that we can get on with life. Perhaps the “information” you’ve been hearing on the News isn’t the best advice to lockdown your health in these uncertain times. Just a thought.
71. what if
We’re wired to stay alive, so we’re constantly aware of things that tend to pose a threat to our sense of well-being. But with the advent of modern technology, and knowledge of the past, there are very few things that actually place anything, including our lives in real danger (this may seem absurd in our current climate, but it’s true nonetheless). Still when confronted with a decision in our daily lives, we cannot overcome thoughts of, what if? What if this goes wrong? What if that doesn’t work out? What if I fail at my attempt? What if I decide on the wrong thing? We’re continually worried about a loss to our current self, or our current way of life.
The simplest solution to the “what if” question is to actually find out. If you are wondering what life will be life on the other side of a decision, you are most likely unhappy with your current position, so you may as well find out — as long as it’s not illegal, immoral, or dangerous of course. You’ll be better off failing and knowing because you’ll have gained insight toward making better decisions in the future, and you will no longer need to worry about the “what if” of your current situation. You come to see that the stories you’ve conjured up, form playing years of the “what if” game are just that, stories. They’re not real. Eventually, you will come to see that you suffer more from imagination than reality. In the end, what hurts us more is the fear that “what if” presents in our mind, than the actual failure itself, because as I’ve spoke about before failure is just learning how to do it better the next time.
70. covibesity
The News is full of information about how to not get sick, yet rarely provides any information regarding what you need to do to actually improve your health. Whether it’s due to sheer ignorance, or scare tactics meant to keep you tuned in, neither is helpful for creating a healthier and safer you. There needs to be more emphasis on the foundational things we can do to bolster our health.
A study entitled Individuals with obesity and COVID‐19: A global perspective on the epidemiology and biological relationships was recently published in the Journal of Obesity Reviews. It goes in to the affects of COVID-19 on those who are obese, stating that obesity increases the risk of death by nearly 50%! You would think with news like this, we would hear more about what can be done while we all sit at home and wait for a vaccine besides order take out and shelter in place.
Anyone who has been into a Wal-Mart lately will know that obesity problem may be just as large as the actual pandemic itself. The US has some of the highest obesity rates in the world, with the US government data showing more than 40% of Americans as obese with the trend rising. According to the World Health Organization, “obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, with at least 2.8 million people dying each year as a result of being overweight or obese.”
Assuming there is a correlation, why isn’t this being talked about? Probably because it’s easier to sell you a vaccine than it is to ask you to change your lifestyle. Unfortunately, the study also mentioned the vaccines being developed to address the COVID-19 “will be less effective for individuals with obesity due to a weaker immune response.” And, don’t think that because you don’t consider yourself obese, you’re safe. Metabolic derangement can happen at any size and is the leading cause of obesity! The need to talk about the small things to improve health is becoming more and more important as time goes on. However, the we wait to gather this rather obvious information, the more at risk we become.
With poor health being endemic during this pandemic, what more do you need to hear to put your health first? There is no easy button for achieving better health. Not a vaccine. Not a mask. Not social distancing. Health is cumulative. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to reverse any damages done to your body, and with that will come an increase in your susceptibility to COVID19, as well as whatever else 2020 decides to throw at us. For better or worse, a lot of us were given months to get our priorities in line, to lose weight, improve our sleep habits, focus on a little bit of exercise, and reassess our lives. With the information that you can’t simply wait the virus out until a vaccine comes along, hopefully you can use the remainder of this gift of information and time to work on improving your lifestyle.
69. get specific
Sit down and make a list of the things you want the most. Make sure they’re specific. You want to lose weight; how many pounds? You want to get stronger; pick an exercise? You want to be a small business owner; how much capital do you need to start? You want to be in a relationship; what do you need to get someone to swipe right? It’s your world, so there is no wrong answer. It’s just that if we don’t have what we want, it’s probably for lack of focus.
Now take that list, and look at those specifics. What systems do you need to put in place or what variables do you need to change in your life to get you to the second part of those questions? That is where your attention needs to be. Most people get tripped up because they’re blinded by what they want, instead of focusing one what it takes to get there. If you take the time to put the necessary things in place that will deliver the result you’re after, you will be able to achieve it.
By focusing solely on the outcome, you lose sight of the small things that need to be done day-after-day. Pretty soon, you have little to no results, lose steam and quit. To get closer to what you desire, you need to get specific on what it takes to reach the larger outcome. If you show up everyday and consistently check off the necessary boxes you will be able to lose the weight, get stronger, start your business, have a relationship, or whatever it is that you’re after.
Get specific and have faith in the process.
68. default programming
If you’re consistently getting frustrated from getting the same results, perhaps you need to look at the story you’re telling yourself. If you take the same way to work, eat the same foods, watch the same shows, complete the same workout, or listen to the same advice as you always have, you’re running on default. Our lives consist of a few simple stories we’ve gotten comfortable with repeating over and over again. They’ve become our programming, and are the reason you’re experiencing the same results in your life, health, relationships, and business that you always have. The most interesting part is that because you’re telling yourself the same stories, the results are predictable.
This fact shouldn’t be discouraging, but liberating in the fact that you can change your life by telling a new story. By adding a new variable into your story, you can change the outcome and produce a different result. In fact, it’s really the only way to change. In terms of health, you can’t get well by telling the same story that made you sick, or unhealthy. You have to change your approach, and it starts by leaving your default narrative. If you want to lose weight or optimize your health, you’re going to have to revise what you’ve been telling yourself, whether it’s improving your nutrition, sleep habits, activity levels or better yet all three. Once you do, you’ll be distancing yourself from your old story by creating a new one in the process, and surprise, you’ll be on your way to a new healthier lifestyle.
Diving a little deeper, it’s an unfortunate truth that most people just want the outcome without having to create a new story for themselves. In doing so, they never rewrite their default narrative, but simply put it on hold to get a temporary result, then eventually put the weight back on. To affect long lasting change, you have to rewrite the whole story, both inside and out. You cannot simply change the external variables — nutrition, sleep, exercise — without also changing the internal variables — mindset, systems we have in place, stories we tell ourselves. This can be more difficult to address in the short term, but far more impactful to achieving the best quality of life you can. For example; if you’re trying to make healthy changes in your life, maybe as a child your parents rewarded you with cookies and cakes every time you did something good, or maybe every time you messed up, you were told to do something physical like mow the grass or chop some wood. It’s possible that you’re subconsciously equating sweets with reward, and physical effort (exercise) with punishment. So you will always derail your progress if you cannot address both internal and external variables when rewriting your story, and getting out of your default programming.
If you’re living your life through the story you’ve always told yourself, expecting things to change, hopefully you can now see why it’s not going to happen. To change, you need to get out of your default programming by rewriting the story you’ve been telling yourself.