Hello and welcome to 4-Minute Friday where I share, in four minutes or less, the latest things I’m doing to enhance my health, develop a better mindset, make day-to-day life easier, and other shenanigans.
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About Last Weekend:
First marathon is officially in the book, folks.
Last Saturday I joined the ~0.01% of individuals in the world who have completed this endurance feat.
And thankfully, I’m still upright walking on two legs… although at a sluggish pace with a couple abnormalities I must admit.
After taking a hefty 5ish-week break from running because of a lower leg flare-up, my goal time ambitions were put to the wayside, so I just went out there and ran based on feel.
Somehow this led to me beating my original goal time of 3 hours & 15 minutes.
As ironic as it sounds, those 200 minutes or so were the most fun I’ve had in an athletic competition in my young life thus far.
26.2 miles is quite long I found out, but it also taught me some valuable lessons along the way.
I’m still debriefing but will have an extended post coming soon with more details on training, mind games I was playing during the race, what’s next, and much more.
Podcast I Recently Finished:
For no rhyme or reason, I’ve been off the grind of listening to the Huberman Lab podcast.
But last week I tuned into an episode with Michael Easter — best-selling author, journalist, and world traveler.
After the first 20 minutes, I knew this one was going to secure itself into one of my top 5 favorites and in fact it may have slid into the #1 spot when it was all said and done.
In this 3-hour conversation, more topics than I can recall were unpacked between these highly intellectual individuals.
Two stood out.
One. Easter is well-known for his interest in the current landscape of our modernized world with all the “comforts” we’ve been afforded due to advancements in technology. And while it’s terrific to have an antibiotic in hours or jump on a face-to-face call with a long-distance relative, there are a laundry list of negatives this has resulted in as unintended side effects.
For instance, these modern luxuries have led us — on average — to be less physically active, less engaged with others in-person, and more easily distracted than ever before.
Shaping your environment in a way that has more friction rather than less seems counterintuitive, but it may be a requirement to live a meaningful life.
Parking further from the entrance, taking the stairs, making a home cooked meal rather than ordering takeout all seem inconsequential but stack up to make us more resilient and less likely to fall into the traps of modern society.
Two. Easter introduced a word I’ve never heard before — Misogi.
Defined by ChatGPT as…
In modern times, Misogi has evolved into a broader concept of personal challenge and self-transformation. It involves undertaking a demanding task with a significant chance of failure (around 50%). This can be a physical challenge like climbing a difficult mountain or running an ultramarathon, or a mental one like starting a new business or completing a challenging project.
The purpose of a modern Misogi is to push your limits, confront your fears and weaknesses, and discover a reservoir of strength and resilience. It's about personal growth, self-discovery, and stepping outside of your comfort zone.
Circling back to the modern comforts point, I think most would agree that it’s never been easier to go through life without doing anything of real difficulty.
Of course, we all go through challenging times whether that be loss of a loved one or a hard breakup but in this context, I mean willingly choosing to suffer because you know it’s going to promote growth and make you better for it.
Fill in the blank with what that is for you.
Mindset I’m Embracing:
All the kids nowadays are talking about charisma — or “rizz” as they say.
It is typically used in the context of attracting someone romantically but of course charisma is much broader than that.
We all can probably think of someone right now that just has that natural charm to attract the entirety of whatever room they walk into.
But a concept I learned about recently that I think may be just as important, if not more, than having that rizz is the inverse.
Reverse charisma.
And if you were born in the debt side of charisma as I was, this is quite monumental.
Reverse charisma is simple — bring out the best in others.
Rather than constantly seeking to impress and make yourself center attention, allow others to shine brighter.
Ask questions and bring genuine interest to the other person and you’ll find they enjoy spending time with you.
Who woulda’ thought?
What else?
My goodness, what a heat wave. Make it a priority to start your day with a big glass of water (20+ fluid ounces) — bonus points if you add an electrolyte powder.
Have an epic story to tell when it’s all said and done.
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DISCLAIMER
This is NOT Medical advice. Consult your medical professional before starting any supplement, diet regimen, or workout program.