The Long Game 142: Focusing on Physical Performance, Teen Mental Health Epidemic, Risk & Regret, Consumer Products
The Long Game 142: Focusing on Physical Performance, Teen Mental Health Epidemic, Risk & Regret, Consumer Products🛸 UFOs, My 8 Best Techniques for Evaluating Character, Why aren't smart people happier, Competition, Aeropress, 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🚴♀️ Focusing on Physical PerformanceAs a follow-up to the last two editions on over-optimization and fragility, I really liked this tweet that’s perfectly aligned with what I’ve been focused on lately: physical performance. Physical performance & subjective well-being are among the most potent biomarkers of vitality and longevity & are zero (monetary) cost. BMI, HR, BP, blood-based, urine, sperm, egg, saliva, fecal, and genetic biomarkers are all also incredibly informative but are no replacement. I’m all for optimization and taking care of health in a preventive way, but it quickly gets gimmicky, extreme, and so on. I find that focusing on physical performance provides almost all the benefits of extreme tracking while minimizing the obsession and feeling of having this whole “health burden.” Time and time again, if you listen to health podcasts, you’ll hear that athletes are doing extremely well on most measures of health. It’s also interesting to me that more and more normal people (read people that aren’t making a living being athletes) are getting really serious about their sports and are genuine athletes. Think about all the triathletes, powerlifters, crossfitters, marathon runners, etc. These people devote a lot of time and effort to their passion, and it’s understandable because, on top of making you healthier and fitter, these pursuits are fulfilling and usually the source of a community around you. I’m not saying that focusing solely on your sport will make you the healthiest (there are issues of overuse injuries, imbalance from your sport, etc.). Still, it seems to me that it’s a time that’s better invested rather than spending hours reading dozens of forums, taking 50 supplements, and being obsessed with your diet & other protocols. Add on top of that an early diagnostic approach and a soft but powerful tracking and monitoring of health data in the background, alerting you if needed, and that would be a great recipe: the real optimization of a person, taking into account the mental burden of too radical alternative approaches. Ps: if you’re looking for a health & fitness community to hold you accountable in your journey, join us on Vital! 🌱 Wellness😰 The Teen Mental Illness Epidemic Began Around 2012Jon Haidt has a great piece on the origins of the teen mental health epidemic that began around 2012. The piece first covers common objections to Haidt’s hypothesis. Mainly the idea that it was always like that and that this idea is part of a larger moral panic that arises in response to any new consumer product.
If you read only one section, make it this one:
I asked on Twitter what people thought was causing this, and it got a lot of responses. Mainly: Instagram, Tinder, and social media at large. Pair with: The play deficit and Do Trigger Warnings Help or Hurt Students? 🧠 Better Thinking☠️ Risk and RegretSome thoughts on risk and regret:
⚡️ Startup Stuff🔮 Consumer ProductsI liked this tweet about building a consumer product. It’s very hard to measure things at the earliest stages, and it’s really more about vision, instinct, and taste. The hardest part is that it’s often non-linear, meaning you can’t tell if it’s trending in the right direction before it actually hits. building a consumer product is so much about vision, instinct, and taste — and it's hard to prove you have any of this until something actually hits Pair with: Zenly & BeReal: What Do They Have In Common? and What I Learned at Clubhouse 📚 What I Read🏁 on competing constructivelyRivalry can be healthy, actually:
⚖️ My 8 Best Techniques for Evaluating Character“These methods have helped me enormously—and can save you much heartache and anxiety”
🤔 Why aren't smart people happier?A new way to think about brainpower.
🍭 Brain Food🛸 UFOsOver the last few weeks, there were some interesting/troubling events related to unidentified flying objects shot by the US/Canada and, later, China. 🤔
Chinese state media is now also claiming to have spotted a UFO that they’re shooting down.
No idea what’s real, but one explanation is that both sides are using the “UFO” story as a way to shoot down each other’s spy aircraft without escalating. Global Times @globaltimesnews it's insane that we're going through an alien invasion and people are just not talking about it OSINTdefender @sentdefender Of course, these might not be from an alien civilization. Nevertheless, it’s a good moment to resurface these conversations: Enjoy the listening 🛸 Pair with: Fire in the Sky 🎥 What I’m Watching🤫 Body Transformations ExposedHow good pictures can be “faked.” 🌐 Vitalik on Starting New Countries and Improving Yourself | The Network State Podcast with Balaji #1🔧 The Tool of the Week☕ AeropressI bought an Aeropress years ago and had it sitting in a drawer at home. I restarted using it, and it’s still a fantastic tool for preparing great coffee. 🪐 Quote I’m Pondering
—Charlie Munger 👋 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, Mehdi Yacoubi 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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