Put your problems into perspective - We’re tiny!
Sam’s bi-weekly newsletter - Edition 05 - January 30th, 2024
One learning/discovery
A newborn has 100 billion neurons, 250 trillion synapses, 11 cooperating organs, and the list goes on.
If you’re anything like me, you might read through such stats and big numbers without taking enough time to contemplate the magnitude of it all.
Pause for a minute.
100 billion neurons at birth.
We focus so much on the negative that we forget to admire the beauty and magic of life.
My fiancee Kim gave birth to our beautiful daughter a month ago. It’s hard for me to comprehend that she created life. She created a human.
Life’s wild!
One question
What problems am I giving too much attention too?
Most of us will spend hours, weeks and even months stressing over a problem we’re facing, but we’ll spend maybe a few minutes admiring the beauty around us. Maybe.
When’s the last time you looked up at the stars? Really looked up at the stars and admired their beauty?
When I find myself stressed out because I’m in traffic for instance, I like to remind myself how tiny my problem is in the grand scheme of things. How tiny I am on earth. How tiny earth is in the galaxy. How tiny our galaxy is in the universe.
If you stress over traffic like I do, watch this 60-second video where Brian Cox speaks about the vastness of our universe.
One workout
With a newborn, I’m not looking for perfect workouts. I set two rules for myself:
Each workout needs to be short.
Each workout needs to be fun.
When you're tired, you most likely won’t feel like doing a 60-minute workout that you don’t enjoy. It goes back to the old saying:
The good program you follow is much better than the perfect program you don’t follow.
Sometimes it’s good to set the bar low to ensure you at least get a workout in, no matter how small or imperfect.
With that in mind, I started playing around with German Volume Training. It’s a great way to get volume in while keeping things simple and fun. Try this:
10 sets of:
A1: 10 reps of bench press
A2: 10 reps of pull ups (weighted if 10 reps is easy)
Rest 60 to 90 seconds between sets
Enjoy the beauty around you this week. Lookup at the sky. Look at nature around you. Our problems usually aren’t as big as we make them to be.
PS. Want more frequent advice on health, mindset, and personal growth? Follow me on Instagram.
