95. complex systems
Systems are complex. Just look at the body. How much do you really know about what goes on in there? Probably, very little. Within complex systems, such as the body, or larger systems like the “Healthcare” system, processes can be so tightly coupled together that they’re often hidden from us. Yet, given enough time, certain things will express themselves and therefore be seen as normal (e.g., disease processes and rising Healthcare costs). In other words, what looks like a sudden traumatic event like a heart attack, or a freak accident like the complete failure of the “Healthcare” system to bolster people’s health, is just a normal expression of a flawed system over time.
The acceleration of stressful inputs we’ve seen placed onto an already broken system has sped up the eventual outcome — we’re all dying by subscribing to the “Healthcare” system. For those who choose to see it, these events are allowing us to see where the cracks are, both in how we individually have the power to capture health, as well as the failures of the “Healthcare” system at large. The disproportionate amount of stress placed on our flawed system is quickly bringing to light the faulty processes that many were previously unaware of, and may have taken another decade or so before they would have arisen organically. Tragic, but true.
If we can look at these freak events — i.e., the failure of the “Healthcare” system to create healthy people, instead of the walking dead who scour the earth surviving on meds — not as outliers, but completely normal outcomes of a flawed system, then we can understand it’s just part of the process. Think… it’s not a bug, it’s a feature! What we do with our newfound awareness will dictate the system we use to capture health in the future. We can learn from this because after all hindsight is 2020.
Where once we thought freak accidents happen, we can now understand how small things over time can have a large impact on system small and large. So, looking at all the things you know you need to do to get healthy, yet are able only to complete a fraction, don’t think you’re a failure because you only checked off 2 of the 10 things that have been recommended to you. Instead, appreciate the fact that those 2 positive things you’ve completed today impact 10 different things positively, just in subtly different ways that are hidden away within the larger system. In time, you’ll find greater health and find value in checking off more boxes so you can steer clear of any freak events in the future.
94. behavior change
How do you come to believe the things you believe about yourself? You popped into this world with no preconceived notions, so where did the idea of You come from? We can argue the concepts behind Nurture versus Nature, but both are instrumental in constructing the identity you have about yourself.
So how does our identity get shaped? Mostly, through repetition of whatever story you’ve constructed over the years and repeatedly told yourself. Your story is your identity. The habits you formed shaped that narrative, and reinforced your particular identity. Sometimes it can be positive; “I’m a caring and loving person.” Other times it can be negative; “I’m fat and everyone hates me.” But these are just the stories you tell yourself. The unfortunate thing is, whether good or bad, if you’re looking for something to validate your feelings, you’re going to find it. So, if you go into situations with a certain framework, you’ll come away with experiences that match the story you’re telling yourself and solidify it within your mind.
Every thought and action you take is a vote for the person you want to become. If you can master the right mindset, that allows you to establish the right habits, you will continuously cast a vote for the person you wish to become. Those small efforts, day-after-day serve to create major changes over time. You’re not going to transform your body by doing one push-up a day, just as you’re not going to become a published author by writing once a day, but each time you do, you cast a vote for the type of person that doesn’t miss workouts, or the daily practice of writing. And over time, you’ll become the person who is healthy and can write well enough to tell you about it.
It’s important to understand that the goal isn’t to lose weight, or to publish a book because once you do, you’re not pursuing behavior change anymore, you’re acting in alignment as to the type of person you already see yourself to be. True behavior change is really identity change. Once you change the internal story, it’s easier to show up as the person you want to be. And, at that point it’s no longer motivation that drives you; it’s actualization of “this is who I am now.”
93. oh, you’ve changed
Don’t get caught in the trap of worrying too much about what other people think. It’s a mistake because you’ll never really know what they think, only what they are willing to tell you. Often when people offer their opinion, they think they’re saying it on our behalf. They encourage you not to stretch or strive for something greater because they don’t want to be responsible for you if you fall. Who knows, maybe they see something you don’t. But, if the encouragement consistently falls on complacency, they are not helping you grow, and maybe you’ve outgrown certain people. It’s not a bad thing. People will say, “oh, you’ve changed,”… but, isn’t that the point?
92. what’s missing is empathy
We all exist at the center of our own universe, so it’s hard not to view everything from the lens of your own perspective because that’s all you’ve ever known. In an effort to create the world we want, we must not lose sight of how the actions from our singular perspective can affect others. We are effectively blind to the consequences of our actions, sometimes because we choose not to see, and other times because we can’t. In either situation, if the world we wish to create includes another person, we need to have a little more empathy for how others may see our actions. Most of the time, we all go into situations thinking only about what we want rather than what is important to that other person. It isn’t necessarily wrong, but if that person is someone who you want to place your focus on, then it is important to include how your actions may affect them. Changing your perspective in this way is a powerful way to deepen your relationships.
91. the game has changed
People used to admonish children for looking up to athletes because they just play a game, instead of thought-leaders, doctors, or policymakers who are seen as the ones working to create a better version of the world. However, the game has changed. It is now the athletes who seem to be more instrumental in having a voice that elicits change than the talking heads we are supposed to look up to.
The game is no longer played on a field, but played out in every facet of our lives. Politics has become a sport, and the unfortunate part is that because it’s a game, someone has to lose. It isn’t about improving the lives of people so they can enjoy the game, it’s only about the game. Everyone is too worried about being right to actually make a difference. The idea of either team being locked into winning at all costs is killing the hope for the greater good. It works in the context of sport, where two teams are battling to win, but it’s dangerous for real life.
People will inevitably say that it’s a dog-eat-dog world, and whoever has the best ideas will come out on top. Well, the last time I checked dogs were pack animals, and thrive only by WORKING TOGETHER.
90. certain people
Certain people come into our lives who are only meant to be there for a moment. They arrive to teach us something; sometimes it may be painful, other times it may be pleasurable, but in either instance it’s the experience that’s truly important because it serves to teach us a lesson. Unfortunately, in the process, we may attach ourselves to these people because of the idea they represent or the feelings they allow us to feel, but holding on can be detrimental. It can go against the very reason they came into our lives to begin with. What they were meant to show us can be blinded by our effort to hold on. Sometimes we need to let go to complete the experience and gain the wisdom. It’s not easy — believe me — although it is worth trading the charming torture of their presence for discovering the next best part of you. The moments we share with these people are invaluable, until they’re not. Don’t lose sight of what is really important, and that is continuous growth.
health tip: stop running away from your gainz
If you’re choosing cardio over weights, you’re literally running away from your gainz…
There are 4 metabolic ward studies — the gold standard of research — showing statistically significant reductions in resting metabolic rate when overweight subjects performed endurance exercise equivalent to a 300-600 caloric burn per day, for multiple weeks. In other words, when overweight humans do more than an hour of endurance exercise — otherwise known as steady-state cardio — daily, their resting metabolism declines an average of 5-15%.
This isn’t to say that exercise isn’t beneficial but their are better ways if you are trying to lose weight, such as sprinting or resistance training. Both of which will help to build muscle and INCREASE resting metabolic rates.
89. we have it backwards
In our system, the symbol has become more valuable than what it represents. We’ve come to value the map more than the territory it allows us to explore. Money, over the wealth it can provide. Information, over how it can educate. And, appearance, over how to capture health. We have unknowingly become more enamored with the secondary symbol, rather than the fulfillment it offers. It’s like when you go to the grocery store, gather a cart full of goodies, and roll up to the cashier. “That’ll be $86, please,” and then you get depressed because you have to give up $86 worth of symbolic paper for an actual cart full of goodies. We just think we lost $86, when the real value is what’s in the cart. We are depressed because we place more value on the symbol than what it is gained in reality. Where something like money represents potentiality, the actual wealth it allows us — i.e., the cart full of goodies — seems ordinary and necessary because we all have to eat. We have it backwards.
88. responsibility
We all fuck up sometimes. Whether through misjudgment, absent-mindedness, or sheer stupidity, these only serve as excuses, if you rely on them to be part of the story you tell. In an effort to resolve a conflict, after a mistake or failure of your doing ask yourself, “Am I distorting this situation in a way that makes myself feel like a misunderstood hero? Am I spinning the story to make myself feel better? Am I trying to play the victim to protect my ego? What were my actions that contributed to the issues at hand?”
Instead of believing that people don’t understand you, and are to blame for your failure, take responsibility for your actions. You made a mistake, fine. Say, “I fucked up.” That’s it. Simple, factual, and to the point. Own it and move on to rectifying the situation if possible. Don’t sit and try to explain it away with excuses for an hour. The truth lies in that one sentence, anything more will just produce excuses, not solutions. As soon as you start giving reasons and rationalizations, you’re trying to cover your misdeeds and protect your ego, and you’re not ready for responsibility.
87. authentic
Our culture plays the convincing game that nothing really ever happens unless it gets attention (e.g., likes or views). If you shout, and don’t year an echo, it seems like the shout didn’t happen. Doing anything today, without getting a response, is almost like it never happened. This is a real hang-up we have. We like to hear echoes — like singing in the shower, where there is more resonance — so we manufacture a persona out of what we think the world will like so that we can absorb the reverberations and know that we are somebody.
However, that somebody isn’t you. It’s not authentic. The last time anyone was truly authentic was when they were a baby. When the only thing we knew was to be uniquely ourselves, existing on desire and impulse. The process of “growing up” dissolves that authenticity because we eventually figure out that our actions play a part in the attention we receive, so we start acting differently in search of attention. But in acting a certain way to gain attention, we lose the truly authentic part of ourselves.
So we wander through life acting a certain way, not because it is who we are, but who we’ve become. No one really knows us because we haven’t been ourselves as long as we can remember. The behaviors we learned, to get the attention we were seeking have become us — the inauthentic self. Ask yourself if anyone truly knows who you are? If the answer is no, it’s because you haven’t allowed yourself to be vulnerable enough to show the world your true self.
book war: Fiber Fueled vs Fiber Menace
Fiber Fueled is written by a plant-based gastroenterologist, Fiber Menace, by a forensic nutritionist. Both hold diametrically opposed views on fiber recommendations. While Fiber Fueled praises including ever greater quantities of fiber in the diet, Fiber Menace pull no punches as to why fiver is overrated and potentially detrimental to overall health. Despite their differences, they both agree on one thing… “it is easier for our body to digest and process meat.” This is a quote from Fiber Fueled, which doesn’t give much credence to his plant-based argument, but that is a discussion for another day.
The thing everyone wants to know… how will I shit without fiber in my diet? Well, if we understand that nutrition is based on our ability to breakdown and assimilate nutrients, the simple fact that human don’t posses the digestive enzymes necessary to breakdown fiber should counter the idea that we need large amounts of fiber for regularity.
Gut motility is influenced by the content and composition of a meal, not its volume. Dense meals with high-fat content increase motility — carbs and protein have no effect. How much FIBROUS BULK you eat makes no difference because fat initiates the release of bile from the gallbladder, which then stimulates peristalsis. Pounding more fiber in hopes that it will make you shit is akin to there being traffic on the highway and thinking sending more cars down the onramp will help get things going.
That said, it is necessary for us to feed the microbes in our gut. And that is a good thing. More fiber = more diversity, but does more diversity mean better health? Fiber Fueled says yes, while Fiber Menace makes no mention (and as a fan of ancestral health, all signs point to more being better, however, I am not convinced). To get greater diversity, we need more fiber but an excess of fiber can cause greater acidity in your colon due to fermentation, which has the ability to kill off microbes.
Both books make compelling arguments fo their side, but it would be foolish to blinding accept what is being said in either, just because you want it to be true. A bit of self-experimentation is necessary to figure out where on the spectrum of fiber intake you need to be. A very simply place to start to see if you dietary plan is working or not is by utilizing the Bristol Stool Scale. If you aren’t shitting a “4” consistently, try adding or taking away some fiber for 2 weeks, depending on where you fall on the scale. Adjust accordingly.
Personally, Fiber Fueled was a waste of time because it just parrots everything you’ve already heard. “More plants, less meat.” This is dogma, and it WILL NOT work for everyone. Over the years I have ramped down my vegetable intake and have seen a rise in the quality of my digestion. When I was juicing everyday and eating grains, my body was falling apart. Fiber Fueled gets a 1 out of 5. On the other hand, Fiber Menace swings the complete opposite direction and is very refreshing to read something counterintuitive the common advice, and somehow have it vindicate my approach to a lowered fiber intake. Fiber Menace gets a 4 out of 5, and is a must read for anyone who thinks fiber is the only way to solve their digestive issues.
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.