Issue #77: Go Fast & Slow Down
Good morning. It’s Friday, December 2nd. 21 years ago today Enron filed for bankruptcy. The same guy, John Ray III, who helped wrestle billions for their creditors is back - taking over as CEO of FTX, the failed crypto exchange.
Hope history repeats itself when it comes to the World Cup. It was 20 years ago the last time the U.S. made the Quarterfinals in South Korea. Let's go fellas!!
“Fasting blinds the body in order to open the eyes of your soul.”
Weekly Insights: ABCs of Fasting
Inspiration: Take a Beat
Friday Flex: Ball Slam, March & Superman
Brain Games: "Einstein's Puzzle"
The distance Tyler Adams ran in the U.S. win over Iran. He also hit a top speed of 21 miles per hour (Source). Compare that to Fred VanVleet, who led the NBA last season by running 2.82 miles per game. But he also played in 65 games over the season - so that's 183 miles of sprints. (Yahoo Sports). PS: Tyler Adams is 23 and the captain of the squad - pretty clear to see why.
Weekly Insights
Click HERE to check out previous issues in the Thrive25 archive.
Thrive25 Partner Spotlight
Racing to get out the door with the kids this morning and just didn't have time to make my a smoothie from scratch. Realm is a life-saver when you need a smoothie on the go.
I haven't found anything that is shelf-stable and not full of crap until I came across Realm.
Their smoothies are packed with real fruit, veggies, superfoods, and have this special sacha inchi plant protein. It's all freeze-dried and crushed into a powder for us.
No added sugar. No preservatives. No dairy. No nuts. No, really. Just blend with ice + water for a smoothie that's ready in seconds! Take advantage of this exclusive offer for Thrive25 readers to get 30% off by using THR25 at checkout - Click Here!
Inspiration
I haven’t been an early adopter when it comes to mindset.
Sure I read Carol Dweck’s book (Growth Mindset) in the context of becoming more successful professionally. But I never really got the power of my mind to control my life.
If I had a window of free time I always chose running over meditating. If I had a hectic day I just powered through.
Since starting Thrive25 I’ve become so immersed in all the research we’ve uncovered that I couldn’t ignore the power of SLOWING DOWN. Not our bodies - our thoughts.
Even the toughest of the tough (Navy SEALS, Ironman athletes) have found it’s the key to unlocking our unique power.
Taking a breath and separating our thoughts from our feelings (just that one beat) gives us the time to better take in what’s happening, to make a smart decision, and to reduce our stress. We go from reacting to life (using our reptilian brain - amygdala) to controlling life (using our prefrontal cortex) - see Issue #17.
Here’s just a few examples from just this past week:
My 2-yr old freaked out over the label of his Mush oatmeal being red instead of purple (this is a true story). He was crying all the way to preschool. I could feel my pulse quickening and my anger coming out.
Quick pause - can he comprehend why we don’t have more purple oatmeal? What else can I do to help explain it?
Without realizing it - I wasn’t furious anymore (still frustrated - let’s be real), but it switched from being about me to being about him and how to help him. My pulse started to go down and I went into solution mode instead of freak out mode.
This same thing works when you’re running ragged with back-to-back meetings and think your colleagues are acting like 2-yr olds.
The other example comes from a positive experience. I got the chance to play golf with my dad. 78 and sunny without anyone in front or behind us - just a relaxing round. Of course this can often go sideways with some errant tee shots into ponds full of gators or a vibrating phone with nonstop emails on a Wednesday.
Standing on the tee box of a picturesque par 3 - I just stopped closed my eyes and took a beat. I realized how few times I had to hit the links with my dad and just how perfect the day really was - yet I wasn’t totally taking it all in.
I opened my eyes and I swear - it was like putting on glasses. The grass was greener and the sky was bluer. I could smell the water of the pond that I was going to carry with my tee shot, and I noticed the herons on the side of the water.
It was fleeting, but for that moment I felt so present.
So whether you’re in a stressful situation or even doing something fun. Take a beat and slow down - you’ll be amazed at the power of your mind.
And yes - I did clear the water and make par :).
*Want to dig further? Here are some book recs: Do Hard Things, Why Buddhism is True, Stress Less, Accomplish More
Friday Flex
Get those abs & obliques firing with a little hamstring stretch to head into the weekend.
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!
Brain Games
#1: 2-min Break
How can you make the following equation true by drawing only one straight line: 5+5+5=550?
Why: Expand your logic and reasoning skills
#2: 10+ min of Focus - Einstein's Puzzle*
There are five houses, each painted a different color. In each house lives a person with a different nationality. These five owners drink a certain type of beverage, smoke a certain brand of cigar, and keep a certain pet. No owners have the same pet, smoke the same cigar, or drink the same beverage.
The question: who owns the fish?
The clues are:
The Brit lives in the red house
The Swede keeps dogs as pets
The Dane drinks tea
The green house is on the left of the white house
The green house’s owner drinks coffee
The person who smokes Pall Mall rears birds
The owner of the yellow house smokes Dunhill
The man living in the center house drinks milk
The Norwegian lives in the first house
The man who smokes blends lives next to the one who keeps cats
The man who keeps horses lives next to the man who smokes Dunhill
The owner who smokes BlueMaster drinks beer
The German smokes Prince
The Norwegian lives next to the blue house
The man who smokes blend has a neighbor who drinks water
Why: This puzzle is a benchmark in the evaluation of computer algorithms for solving constraint satisfaction problems. Go on, beat that computer!
Credit: Reader's Digest
*The Einstein Puzzle may or may not have been developed by Albert Einstein. Credit may go to Lewis Carroll, but that may not be accurate either. Regardless, it's complex - get out a piece of paper to solve this one.
**For the answers, scroll to the bottom of the issue
Thanks for another great week! No matter what Michael Caine says (for you Austin Powers fans), we love the Dutch. But this weekend we're rooting on the U.S!
Check out the latest workout videos on our YouTube channel
Got feedback? Tell us what you think at team@thrive25.com
Want this direct to your inbox? Sign up here
** Brain Games Answer **
#1: Draw a line on the first plus sign that turns it into a 4! The equation then becomes true: 545+5=550. You could also change the equal symbol to a crossed out equal symbol which means "not equal to" - but what fun is that?
#2: The German owns the fish.
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!
Sign up for free:
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.