Recognize that mental health is inextricably linked to and a critical component of physical health, and should be prioritized accordingly.
Always strive for balance in life, as even beneficial habits, when pursued to an extreme, can negatively impact mental and physical health.
Do not apply an extreme cost-benefit analysis to all aspects of life, as it can devalue intangible but crucial elements like relationships, physical health, and sleep, leading to negative outcomes.
Do not sacrifice exercise, social connections, and sufficient sleep in pursuit of other goals, as these are fundamental to overall health and can lead to severe physical and mental decline if neglected.
Avoid trying to subsist on minimal sleep (e.g., three hours) or relying on micro-naps, as this practice is not recommended and can lead to severe health deterioration.
When facing health issues, look beyond symptom management to identify and address the root causes of disease, rather than solely relying on Western medicine’s symptom-focused approach.
Do not blindly accept common dogma about medicine, lifestyle, and nutrition; instead, be open to alternative approaches, especially when personal experience demonstrates their effectiveness.
Use human evolution as a ‘scientific North star’ for lifestyle choices, recognizing that modern living often conflicts with our evolutionary design and contributes to disease.
Formulate and test hypotheses about how dramatically improving sleep, cleaning up diet, and resuming exercise can reverse health issues, even when conventional wisdom suggests otherwise.
To regain health, consider eliminating alcohol, caffeine, and processed foods, and actively re-learn how to sleep if previous habits have disrupted your natural sleep patterns.
Adopt strict food standards: go grain-free, gluten-free, use only grass-fed dairy, ensure organic for necessary items, avoid refined sugar, and make food from scratch.
Aim for an 85% clean diet, allowing for 15% indulgence, to maintain balance and avoid the mental health toll of overly strict eating.
Do not become excessively fanatical about clean eating (e.g., ‘100-0’ approach) to the point where it negatively impacts your mental health and social life, which can, in turn, affect physical health.
Ensure healthy food options are delicious, as people are unlikely to sustain new eating habits if they feel they are compromising on taste and enjoyment.
Understand that healthy eating is a long-term investment in your well-being, and delaying this choice often leads to irreversible health issues and costs borne by others.
Recognize that for most people above the poverty line, choosing healthier food is a financial choice, and it’s possible to afford it by reallocating funds from non-essential items like streaming services or daily coffee.
Always choose organic versions of large, popular crops like soy, wheat, corn, cocoa, and coffee, as non-organic versions are often heavily treated with chemicals.
Always buy organic for concentrated food products like juices, chocolate, coffee, and flour, because pesticides and chemicals become concentrated in these forms.
Filter your drinking water, ideally using reverse osmosis, to remove microplastics and other contaminants that permeate the modern water supply.
Consider eliminating gluten entirely, especially due to concerns about the U.S. wheat industry and potential personal intolerance.
Purchase organic flour to avoid exposure to glyphosate (Roundup), which is commonly found in non-organic U.S. wheat crops and is banned in many countries.
If consuming wheat, look for ancient grain versions, as modern wheat has been crossbred to contain significantly higher and potentially more inflammatory gluten levels.
Eliminate laboratory-produced ingredients, fake colors, chemicals, and chemical preservatives from your diet to improve health.
Opt for animal products from animals raised in an evolutionarily consistent way (e.g., grass-fed, pastured cows) to ensure better quality and health benefits.
Prioritize consuming wild animals when available, as they are likely to be raised in a more natural and healthy manner.
Maintain strict adherence to organic vegetables and fruits to avoid exposure to pesticides and other harmful chemicals.
Choose products from farming practices that treat the earth and animals better, as this results in healthier food for you and is beneficial for the planet.
Explore a paleo or ancestral diet, aligning your eating habits with how humans evolved as hunter-gatherers, as this approach has been linked to better health outcomes.
Seek ways to integrate principles of ancestral living (e.g., diet, movement) into a modern environment like a city, finding practical applications for evolutionary health.
Decide to dominate in everything you do, as this mindset can set a path for future achievements.
Maintain a belief that more is possible than others think, using skepticism as motivation to prove people wrong and achieve ambitious goals.
Adopt the mindset that ‘battles are won before they begin,’ emphasizing thorough preparation as a key to success.
Work diligently to position yourself to see and seize more opportunities, understanding that ’luck’ often stems from preparation and effort.
Apply ‘positional chess’ to life by arranging your circumstances to handle unexpected events, allowing you to attack opportunities or defend against challenges effectively.
Focus on positioning yourself to capitalize on future situations rather than maximizing the current moment or attempting to predict the future precisely.
Open multiple ‘windows’ or avenues in life to create optionality, allowing you to wait for and act on the most advantageous opportunities (‘fat pitches’).
Understand that maintaining good relationships and not alienating others is a form of ‘positional chess,’ ensuring you have options and support in the future.
Find mentors or teachers who can help you understand and channel your unique strengths, especially if you face challenges like ADHD.
Develop strategies to make uninteresting subjects engaging, allowing you to apply hyper-focus and improve learning and productivity.
Read and reflect on methods for learning and acquiring knowledge from others to improve your own learning process.
Recognize that everyone, from a custodian to a grandmaster, has something valuable to teach you, broadening your perspective on learning.
Read quotations and stories from individuals who experienced significant failure to gain perspective on perseverance and getting through tough times.
Write down favorite quotes, especially those that deeply affect your thinking, to serve as reminders and guides for self-reflection.
Recognize that even noble pursuits like self-improvement, when taken to an extreme, can lead to neglecting essential aspects of health and well-being.
Be cautious of continuously pushing for self-improvement and performance (e.g., speed reading, less sleep) to an extreme, as it can lead to burnout and severe health issues.
Actively seek out and support companies that prioritize trust, mission, and values over pure profit, as this encourages a more ethical and beneficial market.
Favor health and wellness approaches that are accessible and inclusive to people of all diets and belief systems, rather than those that are exclusionary or alienating.
When providing food or lifestyle advice, ensure it includes diverse options (e.g., vegan, vegetarian, carnivore, keto) to make healthy living accessible to a broader audience.