Curveballs Coming Your Way - Part # 1
Curveballs Coming Your Way - Part # 1
Getting prepared for adversities. For they will certainly come.
“You just have to be prepared to be wrong and understand that your ego had better not depend on being proven right. Being wrong is part of the process. Survival is the only road to riches.” - Peter Bernstein
On Nov 26, I wrote a post on the futility of planning the future and emphasized the importance of making the most of today and the resources at hand. And I was happy with leaving it there until I heard about Harry Houdini in Morgan Housel’s new book which got me thinking about the future in terms of preparing for it, instead of hoping it takes care of itself. There are chances, it may not.
Disclaimer: None of the material below is of use if the future turns out great and you get to live long. We shall celebrate the same and share the goodies with our dear ones. You don’t need any wisdom for that, you might just need more than 24 hours to rejoice till the cows come home. But everything in this piece will be handy in case the future throws curveballs at us, which it certainly will.
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini was one of the most renowned illusionists, escape artists, and stunt performers of the early 20th century. He would invite people on the stage to punch him and he would withstand it with barely a flinch. What the audience didn’t know was that he was flexing his solar plexus, steadying his stance, and holding his breath like he normally would before the trick, creating an illusion that his body defied the laws of physics.
In 1926, one of the students met him backstage and started punching him hard, since he was under the impression that Houdini would be able to pull off the same trick as he always does on stage. But Houdini, the world’s best stunt performer, wasn’t prepared for the attack and hence was caught off guard. 9 days later, he died, very likely from a ruptured appendix.
A man who had fended 1000s of punches on stage, died from a punch from a student, only because he wasn’t prepared for it.
Stories like these should be taken as an alarm bell that nudges you into preparing for the disappointments, shocks, and surprises that could be heading your way. It may be due to no fault of yours, just like COVID lockdowns, but they are almost certain to knock on your door.
Let’s explore a few possibilities -
Mental Decline
The greatest risk factor for cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cardiovascular or neurodegenerative diseases is AGE. As we get old, our mental faculties will start slowing down and we will not be able to read text, grasp topics, make intuitive sense, respond quickly, or learn as easily as we once did. And once this happens, many will lose their sense of motivation to strive for progress, leading to early deaths or lifeless existence in many cases.
You might be taking pride in your intelligence and smarts today, but with every passing year, that very intelligence is getting dented by the forces of nature, unless you build defenses to slow down the decline. You don’t want to see yourself struggling to do things that you take for granted today.
How do you go about it -
Exposure to sunlight early in the day (without sunscreen and as much skin exposure)
Eat nutritious food, preferably sourced organically (proteins & greens)
Increase quality fat intake which is scientifically proven to nourish your brain (eg. egg yolk, olive oil, dark chocolate, ghee, butter)
Exercise regularly (the most potent defense against age-related declines)
Sleep (sleeping and waking up at standard times and keeping duration between 6-8 hrs on all days)
Learn new things (it’s equivalent to a mental workout where your gray cells are being challenged)
Experience new things (travel, explore, participate, volunteer)
Avoid smoking/drinking to a great extent (I don’t need to stress on these since you already know)
Fast regularly (it increases BDNF levels which may improve cognitive function, learning, and memory)
Expose yourself to heat (Sauna) or cold (ice-cold water plunges)
Podcast recommendation - Andrew Huberman Podcast
Book recommendation - Outlive by Peter Attia
Physical Decline
Your muscles are like French lessons in your school, you use them or you lose them. There was a time when your ancestors lived in forests, farms, or factory floors - each being labor intensive, which invariably exercised their muscles due to body movements needed to get work done. You don’t live in that environment anymore and hence there isn’t any stress on your bodies for physical labor. It may sound good at first glance, but it’s disastrous for your well-being. No wonder sitting is referred to as the new smoking for a desk-bound professional or a Netflix-loving citizenry that counts in billions today.
Let’s explore some facts about the body -
Low muscle mass people have a 3X hazard ratio and a 200% increase in all-cause mortality i.e. the death rate from all causes of death for a population in a given period.
When we sit, we burn about 1/2 calorie per minute but when we work out, that could go 20-30X higher.
When we work out, food gets turned into muscle but without workouts, food gets stored in our body as fat due to the genetic makeup of our biology which is worried about food not being readily available later.
Age-related muscle wasting is termed ‘sarcopenia’, meaning poverty of flesh. We lose muscle mass first, and then we lose strength. After the age of 30, we lose 3-8% of our muscle every decade. Once you lose muscle and subsequent strength, you start losing balance, making you predisposed to falls and fractures. These eventually lead to frailty, loss of independence, and general ill health as we age. I am sure you all have seen your beloved elders / senior family members going through this fragile period.
Any immobilization or bed rest could lead to a 5% loss of muscle mass i.e. a decadal loss of muscle could be triggered in just 14 days of no activity.
Sitting constantly changes the shape of your spine from J-shaped to S-shaped, making it almost impossible for you to squat like you once did.
Major reasons for back pain cases worldwide are attributed to sitting for long hours, but kids don’t have this problem because they are running, squatting, dancing, or rolling but not sitting all day long.
Professor Wolfe, a Professor of Geriatrics, has stated “Musculoskeletal disorders is like Ferrari without wheels. Without mobility and dexterity, doesn’t matter how your body is”.
An old Chinese saying on this is ‘You are as old as your spine’.
How do you go about reversing this S-shaped spine and getting your child-like physical vitality back -
Sit less, stand more (get yourself a standing desk, it doesn’t cost more than USD 200)
Walk 10,000 steps a day (Aspire for this target. You will reach a respectable steps score)
Wall hanging for a minute (I have a hanging bar in my bedroom purely for hanging many times a day. It ain’t easy but it’s an aspirational goal to work towards. I have touched 45s max and am a work in progress myself)
Air squat at 90 degrees for 2 mins (This will give you a sense of the strength of the most important muscles in your body i.e. legs & glutes)
Target Farmer carry exercise with your body weight for 2 mins if you are male, and 75% of body weight for females
Do activities that take your heart rate above 130 (short sprints are my preferred option)
Lift Weights (Preferably get yourself a personal trainer for 6 months to get a grip on the workout protocols)
Play a sport that exerts you physically, but doesn’t exhaust you totally (I play Padel and I love it)
Podcast Recommendation - Andrew Huberman’s Fitness Toolkit
TED Talk recommendation - Charles Eugster at Tedx Zurich
Gautam Baid writes in his masterpiece ‘Joys of Compounding’ - “Getting exactly what we planned for is a nonevent for our brain activity. So, if we are mentally prepared for the worst-case scenario and have a contingency plan ready to cope with it, we will be far less susceptible to overreacting and making costly mistakes under sudden stressful conditions.”
You will be fighting these battles just around the corner. How about you start building your arsenal with the best weaponry to take on the army heading your way?
You don’t have much time, so get started today. For starters, switch off your gadgets, and head out for a plain simple walk under the sun today. That’ll be a good commitment in the right direction.
All the best 👍🏻
I have only covered 2 of the 5 adversities mentioned in the image earlier. I will be covering the remaining ones in the next few pieces. Didn’t want you to get overwhelmed with so many data points, and hence I kept the remainder for later.
Wishing you all a fantastic day ahead 🤝
Sending you loads of love and luck🧿
Manish