Issue #217: Embrace Discomfort
Good morning.
Today’s Quick Win
From the Lab: Finding Bliss in Discomfort
Speed Read: Messi - 10 Days to Golazo
Tuesday QR: Energy Boost Green Smoothie
“That which does not kill us, makes us stronger. ”
The length of time our modern “comforts” like cars, computers, television, phones, air conditioning have been used since Homo Sapiens first walked the earth. (The Comfort Crisis)
From the Lab
“C’mon kids - let’s go!”
The morning was hectic - my wife had an early flight to Chicago for work so I was on my own getting the kids off to their respective summer camps.
I just finished blending my AM smoothie and was wrangling the kids to get into the car. Crap - I forgot to plug in the Tesla last night. Now I’d need to spend 15 min at the charging station after dropping them off and might be late for my first meeting.
Whew - the humidity just hits you when you get outside. This summer has been nuts. How have we even survived this past month? Oh, right - the air conditioning inside the house and the pool in the backyard.
Such are our problems in 2023.
It’s true that far too many of us struggle to pay for three meals a day and our homeless population and those without permanent shelter is a national travesty.
But for the vast majority of those reading this newsletter - we’ve become soft in the comforts of our own homes and live with manufactured problems that wouldn’t be problems for 99.999% of humanity.
Evolution
When every ounce of energy mattered, when everyday was a life and death struggle, it made sense for humans to default to safety and to using minimal effort.
But most of us don’t have survival stress anymore - our cortisol tells us to go into fight or flight mode when we’re in an unplanned traffic jam.
This isn’t really a problem - except that now it is. We’ve reset our expectations so that these seemingly trivial problems that we overestimate in importance now significantly impact our mindset. David Levari (Harvard) calls it “problem creep” - we’re never satisfied.
We don’t remember what it was like to have real problems - real challenges.
Science confirms that our biological evolution is based on survival for lean times - whether that meant significant time without food or shelter. And, it was a daily struggle - a challenge - to get what we needed.
But these challenges made us strong and kept us focused.
Without these challenges - when food means ordering DoorDash from our extra comfy couch - then we get atrophy.
If you don’t use it - you lose it.
Many of the latest health hacks - fasting, ice baths - are to create artificial stress that mimics the stress of our early humans.
Modern Health
There are multiple reasons that we are now more prone to obesity, chronic disease and mental health problems - ultra processed food, lack of movement, living 93% of our lives indoors, daily stress, etc.
But Michael Easter argues there’s another factor - we need to ”embrace discomfort to reclaim our wild, happy, healthy selves.”
For him, this meant a 30-day expedition on the frozen tundra in Alaska.
This doesn’t mean we all need to turn into Bear Grylls (even he now has corporate team building events).
But it does mean that there’s value in turning to nature - getting out of our comfort zone and finding out what we’re capable of.
It means pushing our limits and reconnecting with the things that make us happy and alive.
One of my greatest memories was a white water rafting trip going down Class V rapids.
I remember shivering at sunrise. I remember the pulse of adrenaline as we paddled and most of us fell out of the raft. I remember feeling so small in this world as we sat in the vast canyon. I remember feeling like nothing else mattered in the world - my thoughts were right there with me on that trip.
Maybe a sample of one - but I couldn’t agree more about the concept that a real challenge - especially one that brings us into nature - makes us appreciate life and become better humans
Whatever your challenge - don’t be afraid to seek out discomfort. Find out what you’ve still got.
Arnold ven Genner coined the term “Rite of Passage”. It’s about going out on your own, taking on a challenge and coming back stronger. There’s never an age too old for any of us to do that.
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Speed Read
Health & Longevity in the News
Aspartame = Cancer?: The W.H.O. is in conflict - one group says yes, another says no. But don’t worry the FDA and Big Cola says it’s still all good. Word to the wise - the science isn’t proven, but I wouldn’t drink 3 diet cokes a day. (NYTimes)
Green is the Old Blue: The color of our oceans is changing, and it’s because of us. More than 56% of our oceans have changed color enough that it isn’t due to natural variability. The change is due to increased phytoplankton, which thrive in warmer conditions. (CNN)
10 Days to Golazo: Lionel Messi and his family arrived in Fort Lauderdale on July 11th, ten days later the Argentine made his arrival known with a beautiful stoppage-time goal. (The Athletic)
Tuesday QR | Energy Boost Green Smoothie
This anytime smoothie has it all - matcha gives a little bit of caffeine for energy; nutrient-dense avocado and sunflower seeds give you energy when you need it; and the tanginess of the lemon and turmeric balance the richness of the avocado - it all makes for a delicious pick-me-up.
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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.
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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.