Realize that life is finite to motivate yourself to build a great life and pursue your passions, rather than living a smaller life filled with regrets. This mindset helps you prioritize what truly matters and act on it.
Engage in activities you genuinely love and are intrinsically motivated by, as this fuels consistent effort and makes life more energized and fulfilling. Building your life around these passions can lead to greater satisfaction and achievement.
Achieve big goals by consistently setting and pursuing small, daily, and weekly objectives. Major accomplishments often emerge as a natural outgrowth of these continuous, incremental efforts over time.
Systematically build your capacity to exert effort through regimented training and practice. This approach can make seemingly impossible goals achievable by gradually increasing your physical and mental limits.
Engage in extensive practice and repetition to achieve a state of “autopilot” or flow in your activities. This allows you to perform without overthinking, reducing errors and mental friction.
Concentrate primarily on the actual practice and execution of your craft, rather than getting sidetracked by social media, documenting, or external validation. True mastery and significant achievement come from “doing the thing.”
Develop the skill to accurately evaluate and mitigate risks by identifying the actual dangers in a situation, which are often not the visually obvious ones. This allows for more conservative and safer decision-making, especially in high-stakes environments.
Delete social media apps from your phone and consider having someone else manage your accounts to reduce aimless scrolling and distractions. This helps you stay focused on your core activities and avoid constant digital engagement.
For strength training, use a weight you can do 6-8 reps with, but perform only 3-5 reps per set, doing many more sets with longer rest periods. This approach avoids muscular failure, reduces soreness, and improves recovery while still building strength.
Incorporate a varied cardio regimen including one long run (1-1.5 hours with a 10lb weighted vest), one 30-minute faster run, and one sprint training session (12 minutes of near-maximal efforts like 400m, 200m, 100m with walking recovery). This builds endurance, speed, and overall fitness.
Consider rock climbing as a fitness modality to improve mobility, maintain cognitive function, and strengthen distal body parts like fingers and toes. This can contribute to brain longevity and overall physical health.
When climbing, prioritize driving with your legs and using handholds for balance, similar to ascending a steep staircase. Avoid relying solely on upper body strength to prevent quick fatigue and improve technique.
Incorporate regular bodywork, such as weekly sessions with a bodyworker, as a fundamental part of your self-care routine. This helps maintain physical health, ensures smooth bodily function, and can prevent overuse injuries.
Set goals that are appropriate for the time and resources you have available. Avoid attempting projects that require significantly more time than you can realistically commit, to ensure progress and prevent frustration.
Ensure your training regimen includes exercises for both pushing and pulling muscle groups to maintain physical balance and prevent imbalances. This is especially important in sports like climbing that are heavily focused on pulling movements.
Include exercises that promote spinal extension, such as bridge poses, in your routine. This helps counteract the common hunched posture often developed from activities that involve a lot of pulling.
Utilize dumbbells for pushing exercises like bench press to enhance shoulder stability and overall shoulder health. This can be more beneficial than barbells for maintaining balance and preventing injury.
Wear a weighted vest (e.g., 8-10 lbs) during long runs to add extra resistance and strengthen stabilizing muscles. This can make unweighted runs feel easier and improve overall running performance.
Hike Half Dome during the off-season when permits are not required and crowds are minimal. The cables remain in place, offering a more serene and enjoyable experience without the usual logistical challenges.
As a parent, strive to help your children discover activities they are passionate about and can commit to. Encourage them to experience enough things to find what truly excites and drives them.
Adopt a light-handed approach when introducing children to activities, allowing them to explore without pressure. While exposing them to your passions, let them naturally gravitate towards what they enjoy.
Ensure you get sufficient sleep as a fundamental component of recovery and overall well-being. Adequate rest is crucial for physical and mental restoration between demanding activities.
For complex or high-stakes tasks, meticulously memorize every aspect of the most challenging segments. This detailed preparation ensures certainty and reduces the need for improvisation during critical moments.
Be cautious of allowing extrinsic motivations to push you into high-risk situations for which you are not fully prepared. Ensure your decisions are driven by intrinsic readiness, especially when consequences are severe.