Life lessons
I did plenty of things in the last 24 months in an effort to address my health and wellness situation. In addition to making notable progress towards the goals I had, I picked up several side benefits along the way.
1. We have plenty of time — We constantly tell ourselves we just don’t have time. We would like to learn a new skill, spend more time with kids, travel to more places, update our resume, clean our house but we just don’t have time. Right? Wrong. I have been gymming for the last 24 months and never have I missed a gym day. Not only that. I never have missed or delayed a single day of prepping my kids to school. I am reading more books and I have a brand new hobby. There is mental clarity, not brain fog. A clearer sense of priorities and purpose. Instead of trying to find reasons not to do something, I am now just doing it. Clear your head. The time is all there.
2. Alcohol is over-rated — I never had a problem with alcohol, but I also didn’t see the point of it. I originally paused my alcohol to restore my health. Now I am just as comfortable with the idea that I may never sip glass, as I am to the the possibility that the right occasion might open up. Of course, my bar for “right occasion” goes up a little every single day I don’t touch that thing. There is social utility attributed to alcohol, but how much are you going to push your body for that? I wrote an entire post on this topic — here.
3. Game theory is real — Anything is more fun when you gamify it. Whether it is health metrics or life metrics, set a goal, achieve it, move the goalpost higher, keep going, repeat. It is easy to over-do this and I am possibly over-doing this right now. But over-doing is better than never-doing.
4. We really don’t need to consume so much — In 2025, I told myself I will never buy anything for myself, with some notable exceptions. So, no new shoes, clothes, gadgets and the million things we buy on Amazon for no apparent reason. At the end of the year, I asked myself what did I lose out on? Nothing!! So, the next time you are itching to spend on something, just delay the decision by 4 weeks. I am not suggesting you should buy or not buy. Just delay the decision by 4 weeks. If you still want it at the end of 4 weeks, get it. Thank me later.
5. Wellness is a marathon — Most people who get into wellness (weight loss, dieting, gymming etc) fail because they get into it with an idea of a sprint. They say to themselves — if I can stay away from <fill in the blanks> for X weeks, I can have <fill in the blanks> on the 1st day after that. Most people reward themselves for staying away from a thing, with the very thing. In reality, health, wellness, engagement in life are all lifestyle phenomenons. Once you move your center of gravity to another point, there’s no going back.
6. Earned things make you happy — If you think a BMW will make you happy, you just have to sign & drive. Except a BMW won’t make you happy — you will then be looking for whatever it is the next ‘level’ of that game is. What is much more likely to make you feel happy is a thing you earn. Skills are earned. Knowledge is earned. Health and wellness are earned. Expertise is earned. Community is earned. Focus on something that can only be earned — it will keep you engaged, motivated, satiated, and happy.
More to come…