Michael, this one was a 490 foot home run… and something i’ve talked privately about for a few years. running parallel to this is the wealth of information now available to everyone (which is parts good, decent, or horseshit), and more importantly is the inability of most of our species to discern what is good, decent, or horseshit (me included. i’m not above it). if somebody’s screaming their “truths” on one end, somebody else is almost guaranteed to be screaming the contrary.
a society of paralyzed neurotics isn’t likely to end well; BUT if a robot can do our dishes, i guess we’ll have more time for… new and exciting neuroses.
I think more people are catching onto this (me, you, and others included). And, to your point, no one is above it! It's actually quite a hard dance to do. It's far easier, cognitively, to just follow some hyper-specific advice built around clear metrics. We actually have a Two Percent podcast episode about the latter coming up soon (it applies to many areas).
For me, all the health directives and advice trigger some sort of “good girl syndrome”. If I follow all the rules and advice, if eat the right things and put enough muscle on and keep running 10K every Sunday then I’ll be “good” in some nebulous way. That keeps me feeling calm and centered. It’s just a ritual for me. But I don’t wear trackers for sleep or anything else. I don’t buy expensive labs or esoteric medical tests. So I think I have a pretty good balance. I’m way into fitness unlike my immediate family, but it’s easy to get up in the early morning and workout while they are still asleep.
Sounds like you had an interesting Waffle House experience! I am all about “ass out the door”, but I don’t track protein intake or exercise hours per week. I just do it cause I want to eat at WH occasionally and not limp out the door!
Yep. It's an addiction like any other. I remember years ago an addiction psychiatrist used to be on the radio and he said "Everyone has an endless loop tape playing in their minds telling them things they don't want to hear. Addiction is way to stop the tape from playing." My rationale was always "Well, it's better than drinking or gambling". I have almost 20 years of every workout recorded with HR, mileage, time, etc. and at least 5-6 years of sleep tracked. I counted calories for many years (including estimates for every tic-tac and pinch of salt) but it got tiring so I prep every meal and have standardized everything I eat so I don't have to track. All this and yet I'm pretty sure I'll get hit by a bus or die in my sleep. But at least it stops my tape from playing!
I am totally guilty of what you cover in this post. I think what triggers me to do all these things in terms of optimization are the articles/books that talk about how if we don’t do a certain habit/routine we will be doomed to suffer a consequence and a lot of us are scared about getting sick or incapacited and that is all the motivation one needs to start going down that rabbit hole.
This one hits close to home. Not being able to stick to my workout schedule and nutrition goals is stressful and the negative effects cascade into family and work relationships and responsibilities. This is often due to travel. I’m not at my best if I’m off my self-care routine for more than a day or two (the guilt and need for physical exertion is distracting). I need the “me time” to be the best version of myself and other areas of my life are definitely negatively impacted.
Grew up as a teenager in 1980s era alcohol, cigarettes and sunbathing. I wonder about anxieties our desire to feel calm and pleasure. Our need for purpose and connection. Our knowledge has advanced in health. Extreme fixation on health ie Bryan Johnson is interesting but as long as he is happy and not hurting anyone let him live his life. While Sir David Attenborough is 100 helping the conversation & wildlife. Again in different ways they are connecting people. Who is truly happy? Both.
If people can be healthier and not burden the health system, as the population increases than the basics of good nutrition (not too much), exercise (not too much) , sleep (not too much), no addiction and happiness may help our planet. As Buddha quotes the middle path. No I am not religious but does seem safer in some instances. Or the Goldilocks principle.
This was a great piece. In my experience, and in observing others, one thing that has been a behind-the-curtains driver of excessive health optimization is a need for control. In an uncertain world where there are so many things you can’t control (your stressors, your job, your relationships, your mortality, etc), healthy behaviors are something that you seemingly can control. The irony of this being that actually nothing can be controlled, because nothing is guaranteed in life. You can do all the “right” things and die of cancer when you’re 40. Life is full of uncertainty, and we don’t like that as a species. So, we increase our grasp on anything that we can hold on to.
Michael, this one was a 490 foot home run… and something i’ve talked privately about for a few years. running parallel to this is the wealth of information now available to everyone (which is parts good, decent, or horseshit), and more importantly is the inability of most of our species to discern what is good, decent, or horseshit (me included. i’m not above it). if somebody’s screaming their “truths” on one end, somebody else is almost guaranteed to be screaming the contrary.
a society of paralyzed neurotics isn’t likely to end well; BUT if a robot can do our dishes, i guess we’ll have more time for… new and exciting neuroses.
Your last line made me LOL.
I think more people are catching onto this (me, you, and others included). And, to your point, no one is above it! It's actually quite a hard dance to do. It's far easier, cognitively, to just follow some hyper-specific advice built around clear metrics. We actually have a Two Percent podcast episode about the latter coming up soon (it applies to many areas).
For me, all the health directives and advice trigger some sort of “good girl syndrome”. If I follow all the rules and advice, if eat the right things and put enough muscle on and keep running 10K every Sunday then I’ll be “good” in some nebulous way. That keeps me feeling calm and centered. It’s just a ritual for me. But I don’t wear trackers for sleep or anything else. I don’t buy expensive labs or esoteric medical tests. So I think I have a pretty good balance. I’m way into fitness unlike my immediate family, but it’s easy to get up in the early morning and workout while they are still asleep.
Sounds like you had an interesting Waffle House experience! I am all about “ass out the door”, but I don’t track protein intake or exercise hours per week. I just do it cause I want to eat at WH occasionally and not limp out the door!
Yep. It's an addiction like any other. I remember years ago an addiction psychiatrist used to be on the radio and he said "Everyone has an endless loop tape playing in their minds telling them things they don't want to hear. Addiction is way to stop the tape from playing." My rationale was always "Well, it's better than drinking or gambling". I have almost 20 years of every workout recorded with HR, mileage, time, etc. and at least 5-6 years of sleep tracked. I counted calories for many years (including estimates for every tic-tac and pinch of salt) but it got tiring so I prep every meal and have standardized everything I eat so I don't have to track. All this and yet I'm pretty sure I'll get hit by a bus or die in my sleep. But at least it stops my tape from playing!
I am totally guilty of what you cover in this post. I think what triggers me to do all these things in terms of optimization are the articles/books that talk about how if we don’t do a certain habit/routine we will be doomed to suffer a consequence and a lot of us are scared about getting sick or incapacited and that is all the motivation one needs to start going down that rabbit hole.
This one hits close to home. Not being able to stick to my workout schedule and nutrition goals is stressful and the negative effects cascade into family and work relationships and responsibilities. This is often due to travel. I’m not at my best if I’m off my self-care routine for more than a day or two (the guilt and need for physical exertion is distracting). I need the “me time” to be the best version of myself and other areas of my life are definitely negatively impacted.
Grew up as a teenager in 1980s era alcohol, cigarettes and sunbathing. I wonder about anxieties our desire to feel calm and pleasure. Our need for purpose and connection. Our knowledge has advanced in health. Extreme fixation on health ie Bryan Johnson is interesting but as long as he is happy and not hurting anyone let him live his life. While Sir David Attenborough is 100 helping the conversation & wildlife. Again in different ways they are connecting people. Who is truly happy? Both.
If people can be healthier and not burden the health system, as the population increases than the basics of good nutrition (not too much), exercise (not too much) , sleep (not too much), no addiction and happiness may help our planet. As Buddha quotes the middle path. No I am not religious but does seem safer in some instances. Or the Goldilocks principle.
This was a great piece. In my experience, and in observing others, one thing that has been a behind-the-curtains driver of excessive health optimization is a need for control. In an uncertain world where there are so many things you can’t control (your stressors, your job, your relationships, your mortality, etc), healthy behaviors are something that you seemingly can control. The irony of this being that actually nothing can be controlled, because nothing is guaranteed in life. You can do all the “right” things and die of cancer when you’re 40. Life is full of uncertainty, and we don’t like that as a species. So, we increase our grasp on anything that we can hold on to.
Oh man, new to the store can't believe I missed the Burn the Ships Ruck Patch. Will they be restocking?
We've ordered them. They just haven't arrived. Let me see if we can just open up to buy now, with an asterisk that they'll ship when they get to us.