No matter how old I get, I hope I never stop trying to “get better”. But the other day, while checking out some complex new discovery claiming to improve brain function, I thought to myself, “What’s the use of complicated approaches to getting marginally better at something if you’re not getting the basics right first? Am I doing enough to establish a good foundation for future growth?”.
As Thoreau wrote in Walden, his masterpiece on simple, thoughtful living:
“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”
Here are three things to think about, check out, or do to get your basics right this week:
1). To answer my own question about getting the basics right, I decided to start with “first principles”, a term often used in the sciences meaning “the fundamental concepts or assumptions on which a theory, system, or method is based”.
If we think of humans as (undoubtedly complex) systems then first principles might start with understanding the bare essentials that we need to survive and considering whether we’re optimizing along those few dimensions.
Here’s a great overview of our basic survival needs; without these five, we’re dead — oxygen, water, food, body temperature within a certain range, and sleep: http://www.brighthub.com/environment/science-environmental/articles/123273.aspx
So what can you do right now that improves your access to just one of these five essentials (e.g., What did you eat for breakfast this morning? Could any of it qualify as “clean fuel”?)?
2). Here are two great articles that build on survival basics to have a longer healthspan and become a better athlete:
https://www.outsideonline.com/2173721/outside-guide-life-extension
https://www.outsideonline.com/2198586/become-better-athlete-go-back-basics
3). So much of “improvement porn” focuses on finding shortcuts to success. While I’m all in favor of the Pareto Principle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle), it’s important to remember that not only does improvement at anything (including aging) require practice, but just the repetition required to get better at anything can be a source of joy in its own right.
Here’s a thoughtful piece on aging and practice (Better Aging Through Practice, Practice, Practice, NY Times):
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/opinion/better-aging-through-practice-practice-practice.html
Bonus!: Earlier this week, I released Episode #6 of my podcast show, In Search of Lost Mojo. My guest was the 95-year-old father of the rechargeable lithium ion battery, Dr. John Goodenough who, with collaborators more than half his age, continues to work in his lab at the University of Texas, Austin on the next big battery breakthrough.
This episode made me consider the essence of genius and at what age are geniuses most productive (Dr. Goodenough made his battery discovery in his late 50's). Here’s an article from National Geographic Magazine (What Makes a Genius?) addressing that very question:
And here’s a link to the episode: https://timzak.com/islm-6-dr-john-goodenough-in-the-presence-of-genius/
For more inspiration and information, check out the In Search of Lost Mojo podcast show where I interview world-class athletes, adrenaline-addicted adventurers, and audacious achievers from ages 50 to 150, as well as globally-renowned experts in human performance and longevity, to figure out how to put an end to “old” → www.timzak.com/podcast
[Originally Posted: October 6, 2017]
