Issue #57: Don't Kill Time
Good morning. It's Wednesday, November 2nd. Hoy es Día de los Muertos [Google Translate = Today is the Day of the Dead]. It is believed the souls of the dead return to visit the living...in a positive way. If you didn't make it to Mexico City (photo) to partake in the celebration - put it on the bucket list for next year.
“Comparison is the thief of joy.”
From the Lab: Life is What We Pay Attention To
Take Action: Don't Waste Time
Speed Read: Living, Not Just Staying Alive
Wednesday Weights: Dwight Howard Shoulder Workout
What We're Reading: The Power of Fun
The number of NBA teams averaging over 25 3-point shot attempts per game this season - that's all of them. Ten years ago, no teams averaged even 20 3-point attempts per game. This is what happens when math takes over sports. 🏀
From the Lab
Our lives are just what we pay attention to and how it makes us feel - nothing more.
This has stuck with me. Such a simple truth.
Think about the things that take up most of our attention - sitting in countless meetings, replying to every slack message and email, scrolling through LinkedIn or Twitter, wondering how our friends find the time and money for another trip to Aspen, asking ourselves if we’re actually happy.
Do these things really matter in the end?
Now of course we all want financial security. If we haven’t met our basic needs, well we can’t focus on fun.
But assuming we’ve met this threshold…when is it enough?
If you pay attention to money - you end up with a lot of stuff (Issue #27). If you pay attention to what you don’t have - you end up with resentment.* If you pay attention to the lives of others - you can’t live your own life.
Then we say - “I want to be happy”.
This doesn’t work - we need to reframe it from an emotional state to an active state:
Instead say - “I want to have more fun”.
This is something you can actually do - you can prioritize fun, make time for fun, connect with people that are fun, seek out fun.
Before you know it - you just might be a little happier. 🤣
*Special note on resentment - with two kids, a startup, and crazy daily schedule life can be chaotic. I get such little time to myself that it’s easy to be frustrated when my wife says she’s going for a walk or taking a yoga class. But it’s essential to give others space for their fun too. Clear out any resentment and celebrate them taking care of themselves - everyone wins.
Take Action
*It's right there in the words! Time is our most valuable asset - don't waste it.
**The best leaders say "no" the most - be the leader of your life.
Thrive25 Partner Spotlight
Each morning we can either program our minds for positivity or stress.
Stress: looking at your phone in bed, work emails, social media
Positivity: sunlight, workout, meditate
Habit Stack: finish your workout with a meditation at the end
Reward: Treat yourself to a nice cup of coffee after the workout
Click HERE for 10 free days of 20-minute home workouts from TMAC Fitness that end with a meditation.
Speed Read
Health & Longevity in the News
Can't Live Just By The Numbers: Derek Thompson explores how analytics has optimized baseball, basketball, music and movies, and argues a solved sport, or art, is a worse one. The result is an optimized product to win the finite game (World Series), with a lower quality product for the infinite game (MLB attendance down 15%+ since Moneyball). See more examples in the full article. (The Atlantic) ⚾
AI Cracks the Longevity Code: Hong Qin, Computer Science Professor at UT-Chattanooga, seeks patterns in human genes that can help extend life expectancy. If he can find "driver genes" it might change the course of life. (Article)
Falcon Heavy: We all love the imagination of a good sci-fi - thank you Avenue 5. Yesterday, SpaceX launched another Falcon Heavy rocket - this time on a classified USSF-44 mission for the U.S. Space Force. A few of these ideas didn’t exist 5 years ago - sci-fi is becoming a reality. But is the future in space or on Twitter? (Launch) 🚀
Wednesday Weights
Get those Dwight Howard shoulders with these two exercises. Plus, holding that lunge will strengthen those quads and hamstrings.
Click HERE to view the workout on our YouTube channel.
Workout and video courtesy of Connor J. Obrochta. Check out all of Connor's workouts on Playbook!
What We're Reading
Highlighted already about 20x in our issues this week. Journalist Catherine Price delivers a quasi-spiritual sequel to How to Break Up With Your Phone. After cutting down on screen time, Price found she gained hours in her day, but wasn't sure how to spend them. Price goes on a mission to find the answers to what is..., why..., and how to have...FUN.
Honestly, I've read 50+ books that have been/will be profiled in Thrive25 and I can't recommend this book enough. It's a quick read, but it really makes you think about how to live your best life.
Thanks for joining us today!
Check out the latest workout videos on our YouTube channel
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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.
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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.