Issue #167: The Power of Hope
Good morning. It’s Tuesday, April 11th.
Today’s Quick Win
From the Lab: The Power of Hope
Speed Read: Still Want That Glass of Red?
Tuesday QR: Quinoa Salad w/ Veggies
Bucket List: Zion National Park
“Happiness is not out there for us to find. The reason that it’s not out there is that it’s inside us.”
The number of startups that succeed. Notice I didn’t use the “90% that fail” - it’s that optimism coming through. 😁 (Source)
So if you’ve tried and failed - don’t worry, that happens. This isn’t your identity - what’s life if you didn’t try!?!
From the Lab
I just sat there looking at the screen. But I wasn’t really looking at anything in particular - just staring as my mind wandered.
How will Thrive25 actually become the company we envision?
When you start a new business you have to be an eternal optimist. You’re creating something out of nothing - and who knows if it’ll work out. Every founder success story you read about includes a long journey with tons of ups and downs, and more than a little luck.*
*ButcherBox is one of countless examples you can learn about from “How I Built This” - pick your favorite companies
This is true of all big actions we take in life - moving someplace new, settling down with a partner, taking on a different job or promotion, having kids. Innately we believe these things are part of what we want out of life and will make our journey better.
Wait - shouldn’t we be talking about health & longevity?
Well, it’s this optimism that carries us and also makes us healthier.
When we’re optimistic about the future, we make better decisions and don’t buy into the conventional wisdom that age is going to bring us down.
Multiple studies show that those of us with greater optimism are more likely to live longer and achieve “exceptional longevity” - meaning we live to 85 or older.
But there’s something that we need to maintain this optimism - whether in general, or for a specific part of our life (like say starting a new company) - HOPE.
Hope is the state of positive motivation that requires three components:
Stating goals/objectives
Having a plan/system to achieve these goals
Feeling capable and having agency to achieve these goals
In other words - you know what you want and there’s not just a path, but a viable path that YOU can take to get there.
It’s those times when I don’t see the path forward that I lose this hope and recognize that despair can take over.
So to maintain that optimism - focus on what’s in your control and find that viable path.
And hey - sometimes we run into obstacles that are just too tough to navigate. That’s totally ok - just means there’s a different path for us right now.
Here’s 5 min on why hope matters from Lewis Howes:
Thrive25 Partner Spotlight
T-minus 19 days until the big race! Time to load up with all the right fuel for the training and race day. Good thing I’ve got Phat Fudge!
Mary Shenouda (@paleochef) created a proprietary blend of beneficial fats and performance enhancing ingredients - if it’s good enough for Steph Curry, it’s good enough for me.
Eat Clean. Play Often. Crush Life. That’s the Phat Fudge motto. Short and sweet, like the ingredient list - you're too busy crushing life to worry about weird, hidden junk in your food. Check it out HERE.
Speed Read
Health & Longevity in the News
Time to Quit Drinking?: Turns out that glass of red wine doesn’t really help us. I’ll indulge in a good tequila every once in awhile, but you probably know - there isn’t a health benefit to alcohol and too much will seriously hurt our longevity. (NYTimes)
Strength Training 101: We’ve covered strength training in depth a few months ago (Issues #60-64), but it’s always good to look into the exercises with the highest ROI. Go with 15-min weekly of chest press, pull down, leg press, ab flexion, back extension and hip abduction/adduction and you’ll be in great shape. (Washington Post)
What Happens When We Come Up Short: We all have goals and, for the majority of us, we come up short (see Issue #92 on setting goals). How do we handle this “disappointment”? Do we find something or someone to blame, or do we look at the positives - how the journey made/makes us feel? Big goals are important for us to push ourselves, so don’t be afraid to fail, but don’t dwell. (Outside)
Tuesday QR | Quinoa Salad
Keeping it real simple this week - we finally got a couple of local sweetgreen locations here in Tampa. But if you’re not looking to spend $15 every day on lunch, here’s a simple healthy bowl to make at home - great for lunch a few days of the week.
Bucket List | Zion National Park
There’s still a ton of snow out west - but summer is coming so now’s the time to book that trip to a National Park. Can’t recommend Zion National Park enough! Angels Landing is one of the most majestic (and exhilarating) trails in the U.S. and there’s nothing that compares to hiking through The Narrows. Best time to go is late spring/early summer.
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Why Thrive25
We’re 40-something dads that felt our bodies and minds start to slow down and we’re not ready for that. We found too much information on every subject. So we started Thrive25 to transform what we’ve learned into something useful for the rest of us to spend just 3-5 min a day to optimize our health & longevity.
This newsletter is for you and we truly value your feedback. Never hesitate to reach out to us at team@thrive25.com.
To health!
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The information in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and may not be appropriate or applicable based on your individual circumstances. Thrive25 Labs LLC does not provide medical, professional, or licensed advice. Please connect with your healthcare professional for medical advice specific to your health needs.