The Long Game - Issue #192

The last nine months were a whirlwind from COVID, riots, natural disasters to a continuing wild presidential election in the US. From the 20,000 ft. view, we are on the path to a great reset. While this can be difficult to see while we are in the depths of a downward spiral, these times are setting us up for a greater tomorrow. History is filled with examples of the call for the destruction of the world only for the low point and turn upward to be around the corner. While I do not intend to downplay what is going on in our world, it is up to you to take the steps to change the world around you.

We are all feeling a little worn down, stressed out, and even a little over-served as the year is coming to an end. You can continue to allow external events to control your actions and feelings or, you can take action and come out of this better than you were before.

Are you ready for a change? Are you ready to thrive instead of simply survive? Describing yourself as “fine” is not ok. Fine means you are typically tired, lack quality sleep and have more you can give to your career, family, community, and yourself. Moving from “fine” to “thriving” requires you to make changes in your life. The unknown of change can be intimidating, resulting in people spending years of their life stuck in comfortable misery. Change doesn’t have to be drastic. Making small changes each and every day add up to big results and takes you from “fine” to “thriving” in life.

To help you get started on your path to thriving, the 6 foundational principles to optimal health and human performance are: Mindset, Breathing, Hydration, Nutrition, Movement, and Rest. Beginning next week, I will cover each of these in more detail to set you up to start thriving in 2021. Don’t be afraid to make small changes in your life to get out of the comfortable misery. While it can be scary, the potential is unlimited.It is time you begin thriving!

We all have the same amount of time each day, yet we still claim that we don’t have enough time in the day. The first step in making your days more productive is to track where you are spending your time. How many hours a day are you scrolling through social media, chatting in group texts, or watching Netflix? If you allow these to creep into your entire day, you will lose a massive amount of productive space. Set aside a small time block for each of these and then move on to something else.

Always be wary of the media headlines espousing some piece of research. Rarely do they look at the process involved or the findings of the study. In general, if you see any headline and notice it causes an emotional response, that was their intent. This is how media groups drive you to click on articles, videos, etc. In reality, responding will rarely provide you with any benefit. Notice the emotion, let it pass, and if you’re still interested, check it out with a skeptical mind.

This article discusses the techniques apps use to keep you coming back, such as gamification, the ability to share your results, and community boards. These techniques were meant to draw you in and keep you coming back. The key is to be aware of these techniques and make the conscious choice to participate. Don’t be the passenger in these situations, be the driver.

Before I go, checkout a few more links I found this week.

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In Health,

Taylor