The Long Game 141: Optimization & Fragility, Maintaining Close Friendships, Population Collapse, Energy & People
The Long Game 141: Optimization & Fragility, Maintaining Close Friendships, Population Collapse, Energy & People👥 The Social Recession, HRV & Strength Training, Represent, Assault Bikes, People Are Not Stupid, and Much More!Hi there, it’s Mehdi Yacoubi, co-founder at Vital, and this is The Long Game Newsletter. To receive it in your inbox each week, subscribe here: In this episode, we explore:
Let’s dive in! 🥑 Health💔 Optimization & FragilityOver the last few months, I kept having the same thought about extreme optimization & fragility: when your diet is extremely specific, your routine very rigid, you take dozens of supplements, etc., the slightest change in your preferred "perfect optimized life" will ruin how you feel As more and more of us are entering the world of taking care of our health and optimizing it, I think this question will be central to the space. On a personal level: the moment I feel the best, and the healthiest are not moments of obsession; quite the opposite. I’ve tried many diets and found that strict and restrictive diets can work for some time but tend to exacerbate the cravings for what’s excluded. A similar idea goes for sleep schedules: being very strict about it will potentially provide you with great sleep, but you feel horrible at the slightest change of plan. So what are we getting at here? My thoughts aren’t fully formed on this yet, but it’s clear that over-optimization comes with its share of issues, which are often not discussed and shared by the proponents of these lifestyle interventions (myself included.) Goggins explores a similar idea in his latest book. He explains that he doesn’t care about “optimal” training because he’s training for life, and life is not always optimal. If you have some thoughts or resources on the topic, please share them with me! I’m trying to write something long-form on this as I can’t stop thinking about it, and writing about it is the only way to actually think things through! 🌱 Wellness🍕 You Can Only Maintain So Many Close FriendshipsThis is an interesting piece on friendships as an adult, a topic that’s not often discussed.
A simple reason explaining that is how long it takes to move someone from an acquaintance to a close friend: about 200 hours in a few months.
Pair with: The science of happiness
🧠 Better Thinking📉 Is Population Collapse a Real Risk?I found this conversation fascinating. It gives a lot of statistics and facts about birth rates, family planning, etc., that many people could benefit from.
The most striking stat given in the episode is this one:
Pair with: Birthgap - Childless World PART 1 (English Version) ⚡️ Startup Stuff🔋 Energy & PeopleThis week, something simple: surround yourself with people who cheer you on and energize you. Building something ambitious is a very long and lonely road. It’s essential to remove all sources of negativity and energy drain from your life. Surround yourself with people who will cheer you on and energize you. The harder the challenge the more hyping up you’ll need and deserve to achieve the goal. Avoid people who just suck your energy away — not everyone can go on every journey with you. 📚 What I Read🔨 It's Not Supposed to Be Easy.The problem with efficiency over everything.
🧠 The radical idea that people aren't stupid
📱 All the Single LadiesMen floundering, women most affected.
🫀 Heart rate variability (HRV) and strength trainingSome thoughts:
🍭 Brain Food👥 The Social RecessionFirst, this very good video by Ava: I think people are dropping out of social life bc they’re not interested in participating in zero-sum games Then, the article she mentions:
The piece then covers a few possible reasons:
All of these add up to create “The New Individual.”
Pair with: Gen Z, Creators, and Our Mental Health Tipping Point 🎥 What I’m Watching🎙 Let's Have An Honest Conversation About Only FansPair with: Children of the Counter-Revolution ™️ Behind The Brand Season 2 - Ep 1 - MIAMI/247 X WITI like the work George Heaton is putting behind his brand Represent. Pair with: George Heaton on the Danny Miranda Podcast 🔧 The Tool of the Week🔨 The Assault BikeI didn’t buy one, but I recently signed up for a new gym with one of these, and I’m greatly enjoying warming up on it before lifting. Many people are concerned about doing some cardio before lifting, but if it’s a short duration (<15min), I’m not worried about it. Recently signed up to a new gym that's also a crossfit gym. I'll be honest, still really not a fan of crossfit to build muscle/strength, but one thing I got inspired by is the emphasis on intense & short-duration cardio. A time-efficient way to get in great cardiovascular shape. If you’re interested, I share all my workouts and more on Vital. 🪐 Quote I’m Pondering
— James Dyson 👋 EndNoteThanks for reading! If you like The Long Game, please share it on social media or forward this email to someone who might enjoy it. You can also “like” this newsletter by clicking the ❤️ just below, which helps me get visibility on Substack. Until next week, The Long Game by Mehdi Yacoubi is free today. But if you enjoyed this post, you can tell The Long Game by Mehdi Yacoubi that their writing is valuable by pledging a future subscription. You won't be charged unless they enable payments. |
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