The 5 ‘R’s kind of. These are the words that I’ve circled around as my guiding light to be the best version of myself I can become.
You have to read to learn, there is no better way to enhance your own knowledge than by taking in what has been learned by mankind through the centuries. It’s conveniently all there in books. You can learn by experience at the speed that you encounter things in your life or you can do that plus accelerate what you learn by reading the stories of others.
Writing is the opportunity to give back and share what you have learned and what you have synthesized for the benefit of others. It is also an excellent practice in laying out and examining how you really feel about a particular topic and whether or not that’s the way you would say it and the stance you would take if it was laid out there for the world to read.
Run could be replaced simply by exercise, but I have really taken to running in the past two years and it fits well with my ‘R’s. Running releases dopamine first and endorphins when you push it. Fitness in general is one of the few things we can control in life. Control might sound like an ugly word but in the wild times we live in, it can be comforting to have agency over something in life.
You have to let your body recover. I exercise everyday, but some days I do a lot less. Recovery is even more realized in what food you do and don’t put in your body and the quality of your sleep. I won’t get into nutrition here, but the studies are out and I’m trending toward vegan whenever possible. There is a great 4 part series on Netflix right now called ‘You Are What You Eat’ that involves the Stanford twins study that compares identical twins on an omnivore and vegan diet to see the effects of their diets after 12 weeks. It’s worth a watch.
There have been many happiness and longevity studies conducted that point to the importance of relationships in our overall well-being. We might think of ourselves as loners, rugged individuals, or introverts which is all fine, but you still need to identify your people and be connected with them.
That’s just a brief overview of several big topics. Categories that I use to rally around for my own well-being. What are yours? What would you add?
Make it a great day!
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