Edition #1

Hi All!

Here is your weekly serving of practical guidance and inspiration to ensure you live your life with purpose. Feel free to forward this along to friends and family. Enjoy!

Read Time: 3 Minutes

Master Your Mindset

Chase Progress Not Perfection

I used to be a perfectionist. Hell, who am I kidding? I still am. I am now just intentional about recognizing it and fighting back.

Why have I chosen to put energy into this fight? Because nothing is perfect. When you aim for perfection it guarantees you will fall short. And when that feeling of underachieving begins to set in, you start to feel anxious, scared, and paranoid about the judgment others will cast on you.

That fear can be paralyzing. When it crops up, it often prevents you from ever taking action or certainly not seeing things through to the end.

This proves a very important point. Perfectionism is just a form of procrastination.

The next time you catch yourself focusing on the details, take a moment and zoom out. Ask yourself: “What am I trying to accomplish? How can I get there faster?”

Often times the two simple answers are: “I’m trying to make progress on X” and “By taking action NOW” - meaning pressing publish, going to the gym, journaling (actually writing), whatever your goal is.

Guess what? You might fail along the way. That’s great news. You learn much more from failure than from success. Failure allows you to adapt and improve.

So embrace this failure. Be brave enough to take the next step in the direction you want to go, even if you are unsure of where exactly it will lead you. This is progress!

Those who focus on the journey and make progress, stand a chance to succeed. Those that sit on the sidelines waiting for perfection, will surely never reach their goals.

Hone Your Habits

The 24hr Re-Ups

Dr. Andrew Huberman notes 5 foundational things that need to be replenished every 24hrs to function at a high level:

• Sleep

• Nutrients (both macro and micro)

• Movement

• Light exposure (both natural and artificial)

• Social connections/relationships (with self and with others)

I won’t discuss the relationship piece today but I do want to quickly show why the other 4 are so important to solve through the power of habit-building.

• Sleep: Proper rest provides you with the energy you need to perform at your best. It is also vital to your health. Prioritize sleep each night by sticking to a consistent bedtime routine. This simple habit will generate a huge return unlike any other.

• Nutrients: The appropriate management of the nutrients you consume have a profound effect on cognition, nervous system health, and gut health among other things. Don’t get caught up in trying to maintain the perfect diet. But do be mindful of high-level, easily made changes you can make such as proper protein intake and consuming more whole foods and less processed foods. Start with small changes in diet and build on them as you become accustomed to the changes. A phased approach such as this will help you stick with it.

• Movement: Dr. Peter Attia notes that perhaps nothing has a more profound effect on longevity than strength training. Whether you are already regularly going to the gym or have been sedentary for months you can take value from Dr. Attia’s research. Incorporate movement such as walking, bodyweight exercises, lifting, cycling, playing sports, etc into your daily routine for a longer and healthier life.

• Light Exposure: Just 2-10mins of natural sunlight in the morning causes about a 50% increase in circulating cortisol, epinephrine, and dopamine. Basically, early sunlight improves mood, increases energy, and aids in immune system function.

  Just as important is eliminating artificial light in the evening hours to improve your sleep quality — the importance of which was mentioned earlier. Aim for these quick 2-10mins of sunlight in the morning and limiting or fully eliminating blue light 1hr before bed for massive benefits.

I will go into more depth on each of these in future editions and why they are so important to build habits around but take this away for now — Re-upping these every 24hrs is essential for you to function at your best and live a long and healthy life. So if you prioritize any habits, start with getting these right.

Words of Wisdom

You can complement this weekly newsletter with short reminders, ideas, and thoughts about personal development by following me on Twitter.

Thanks for reading! And always remember…

Slow and steady. Never Idle.

Until next week,

Austin Sargent