9 Lessons from 2025
What I learned about mindset, health, adventure, and survival this year
Happy New Year! We’ve had a hell of a year on Two Percent:
156 posts.
Thousands of studies.
Excellent comments from all of you.
Countless ways to feel, think, and live better.
Yesterday, I was walking my dogs and thinking about what I’d learned in 2025. I got home, sat down, and wrote out the nine biggest lessons—ideas that changed how I think, train, work, and live.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Why NAVY Seals and other Special Forces soldiers often struggle in wilderness survival courses—and what that can teach us about mental toughness.
When and when not to take supplements (and what studies get wrong about supplementation)—plus the specific biomarkers that crashed during my hike.
A no-fail training strategy for big physical challenges.
How losing my dog taught me that “thinking” about our problems is often the worst way to solve them (and what to do instead).
What hitchhiking with strangers taught me about American polarization.
The best way to deal with the hellscape that is your phone.
New thoughts on the exercise everyone needs to be doing.
Why change requires that we sit in the storm.
The number one thing that will make you feel alive in 2026.
Quick housekeeping
This post is for Members of Two Percent. For full access, become a Member.
The Two Percent Challenge starts on January 1. If you want 2026 to feel different—better, clearer, more capable—this is your on-ramp. Here are more details about how it works and the science of why it’ll help you change. Become a Member to join us.
Walk with Weight, my new guidebook to rucking, is 25% off at Barnes and Noble through the end of the year. Pre-order it now and use code PREORDER25. If you’d like a signed copy instead, you can get 15% off through this link.
Let’s roll …