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Proof That There is No ‘Right’ Way:
Any casual sports fan has heard of the three-headed tennis stardom of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.
And modern-day tennis enthusiasts will boast that they had the chance to see (not-so-arguably) the greatest three tennis players of all time compete – at the same time.
Something that’s incredibly rare in professional athletics.
I recently stumbled upon a story where journalist and author Matthew Syed recollected his opportunity to see the three of them warmup at the biggest tennis outing of the year, Wimbledon.
While you’d think that the GOAT’s probably all have similar routines, this couldn’t be further from reality.
Syed recalls a stark contrast.
Djokvoic was like the terminator – emotionless, completely dialed in, and very precise with his routine.
Nadal was high energy – running around like a mad man and seemingly trying to intimidate his opponent.
Federer was neither of these, rather, he was laid back and having a good time trying out new shots and chopping it up with fans.
You might be thinking, “How can all three of these routines work? Isn’t there a right way?”
It seems there absolutely is not a single quote-unquote right way – each did what felt right to them.
There’s a bigger message here that can be taken far off the perennial ryegrass infield of Wimbledon.
The point being that the most successful person at being you is you. If you stray from this, your performance suffers and those around you are robbed of the full you.
So, for all those intricacies that you tuck away for fear of being seen as different from the crowd, well, those might be the exact things that set you up for a life of success and meaning.
Lean into them.
Benefits of Donating Blood:
Of course, there’s the most significant and incredibly beneficial aspect of giving itself. The American Red Cross reports that someone receives a blood transfusion every two (!) seconds, in fact.
If you donate, it ain’t going to waste.
But there may also be some selfish reasons to jump in that air-conditioned van and risk passing out.
First, the process of giving blood regularly may decrease blood pressure and one’s risk for a heart attack.
A fun side note is that giving blood also comes along with a ~500 calorie burn as the body must ramp up blood cell production to make up for those donated – this takes energy.
More importantly, recent research coming out of The Francis Crick Institute discovered that regular blood donation may result in some anti-cancer benefits as well.
As we age, our DNA continues to be replicated but mutations are more likely to occur. This happens throughout our body and thus includes the stem cells that create blood cells in our bone marrow. When mutations occur, there’s an increased likelihood for mistakes to occur and the cells to become cancerous. In this case, it would present as a type of blood cancer such as leukemia. Not ideal.
But again, after donation, blood cell production spikes as we must make-up for what’s been lost… or given away more accurately.
Which is where the magic comes into play.
According to some early evidence, researchers concluded that putting the requirement on stem cells to make a hefty volume of blood regularly (i.e., donating blood) may make the newly formed cells less likely to be cancerous.
This is because there was a clearly observable genetic change that made these stem cells more resilient and thus more accurate in the replication process.
Consider hitting up Red Cross as part of your weekend plans.
If nothing else, that free snack afterwards is enticing.
Setting Anti-Goals:
SMART goals.
We’ve all heard the acronym and advice to set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals.
For instance, I aimed to read one journal article related to physical therapy every day this week.
Apparently, the attainable aspect of that goal must not have been sufficient, but that’s a story for a different time.
Anyway, while we often spin our wheels brainstorming an assortment of weekly, monthly, yearly, and even life ambitions – we often neglect to cross-check these.
Setting anti-goals to the goals, that is.
An anti-goal is simply what you are NOT willing to sacrifice in route to your goals.
Maybe you set out for a promotion and pay raise this year.
Terrific. But are you willing to work ten more hours each week and miss your child’s sporting events?
If not, your anti-goal may be an unwillingness to sacrifice seeing your kid compete in their athletic endeavors.
Or you chalk up a goal of getting eight hours of sleep every night this week, which we sure as heck all know we could benefit from. I love it – however, what if your family is invested in a board game and having a great time? Are you going to cut it short just to get 30 extra minutes of shut-eye?
If not, your anti-goal is not to sacrifice family activities and meaningful connections for more sleep.
Perhaps you’re a high school basketball player looking to earn a starting spot on the team this year as an underclassmen. Great - are you willing to stay in when all your friends are going out and about on those Friday nights to get rested for practice the next morning?
There’s no right answer to either of the scenarios above.
It just comes down to what you’re willing (or not) to sacrifice along the way to make your dreams become a reality.
As Thomas Sowell puts it, “There are no solutions in life, only trade-offs.”
What else?
Just another hat tip to dedicating Sundays to meal prep and laundry. If you struggle finding time, dedicate a block as you close out your weekend to knock it all out at once!
No one can beat you at being you.
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DISCLAIMER
This is NOT Medical advice. Consult your medical professional before starting any supplement, diet regimen, or workout program.