I curate articles from around the web that present an interesting perspective or helpful information at the intersection of behavior design, technology, and wellbeing. Each of these articles were featured in my January 9th, 2023 newsletter. I send out an update twice a month along with some notes on my latest work. Sign up for my newsletter here.
Hi friends,
Happy New Year!
It’s new year, new you time. The fresh-start effect that gives you a mental opportunity to give yourself a clean slate goes into full gear with New Year’s Resolutions. It’s a magical time.
Research shows people are better at tackling their goals when they start on so-called temporal landmarks. Though you can employ the fresh-start effect any month, week, day, or even moment. New Year's Resolutions are the mother of all temporal landmarks.
So many resolutions can be summed up with goals to continually explore how to live better for longer.
Recently, a show on National Geographic explored just that topic. Limitless with Chris Hemsworth is a six-part series where The Mighty Thor actor puts himself through a series of physical tests, guided by world-class experts to learn how we can all unlock our potential to stay healthier and happier throughout our lives.
While the tests, which include swimming in the Artic and climbing a rope dangling 1,000s of feet above a forest canyon, are interesting and fun to see him do it, what viewers really walk away with are helpful lessons in the basics of longevity and a surprisingly deep look at the inevitability of death.
It’s a new way of looking at living, adaptation, and acceptance. Through his journey, you discover a deeper understanding of the mind/body through a lifetime.
To quote Hemsworth from the show, “It’s a gift to grow old. Love as much as you can.”
On my media list ...
I highlight the best stories I find around the web at the intersection of behavior design, technology, and wellbeing.
The benefits of ‘Dry January’ last longer than a month, studies show
Dry January improves your health long after it has ended, including better sleep and metabolic health. People who do it typically end up drinking less long after the challenge is over.
The break allows your brain to form new associations and different habits that live on past the month. Plus, you feel great which reinforces those new behaviors.
It’s not too late… fresh-start effect means you can start at any time. If you want to get back on the program, start at your next temporal landmark.
The Clarifying Moment Elon Musk Has Given Us
Elon Musk's dedication to the science of energy with Tesla and SpaceX is inspiring, but he's so out of touch with how human energy works.
Humans don't achieve optimal performance working around the clock, as Musk has tried to force on the Twitter team in his "hard core" efforts to revamp the company. There's only so much cognitive energy one person has and how we use it and renew it is how we perform at our best.
From top CEOs, to top athletes, and even the military, following the science of sleep and recovery for peak performance has become a competitive advantage.
“To achieve optimal readiness, soldiers must have sleep and the more sleep obtained the better. Sleep is necessary to sustain not only alertness, but also higher-order cognitive abilities such as judgment, decision making and situational awareness.” - US Army's recently updated field and fitness manual, the first in eight years.
The NATO Supreme Allied Command, Admiral Jim Stavridis, agrees… Sleep Is a Weapon.
"Military leaders must recognize that to make the right decisions—ethical, moral and tactical — they must regard sleep as a weapon that strengthens and enhances their performance as surely as the latest technology"
CEO & Ironman Master Coach Matt Dixon sums it up: “A lack of sleep used to be a badge of toughness amongst high-performing people. Now it’s a badge of stupidity. Every single high-performing CEO that I work with prioritizes sleep. Every single one."
P.S. I’d love to hear about your new year’s resolution. Hit reply and share. How do you think you will accomplish it? What are some of the challenges you anticipate facing?
P.P.S. I finished up my annual review and plan for 2023 this past weekend. It's an incredible process that gives you more focus and motivation... flow follows focus.
To help, I shared the annual review workbook I co-authored in the last edition of this newsletter. I'll also be hosting a free workshop with my co-author this Sunday, January 15 at 1:00 pm Eastern to walk you through our annual review workbook, share our top tips, and help you get started on your annual review. Register here >>
P.P.P.S. Celebrated part of the holidays with the San Francisco Elf Run, my first 10k since college cross-country days. It was one more step in my training for the 3M Half-Marathon in Austin over my birthday weekend this month. Here's the training program I've been following from the great Hal Higdon. His site is full of free training programs for various fitness levels for the 5k all the way to a full marathon.
