Easy Answer:
• Article commenting on the Pill as Answer to every disease paradigm. Fiona Godlee begins with Hypertension, then addresses Type 2 Diabetes. Finally the increasingly prevalent nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). There are 100 drugs in phase II and III trials for NAFLD, with a market of $1.6 billion!
• This concise, firm article is just half a page; I wish it were a 20 page review article. Does this sound like a post on a paleo blog? Nope, it is from the editor in chief of the BMJ.
• Final sentence: “Rather than medicating almost the entire adult population, let’s invest our precious resources in societal and lifestyle change, public health, and prevention.” Awesome!
Habits:
• Another couple of pearls from the book Other People’s Habits:
• Aubrey Daniels says to make your goals small. To set goals with high probability of being reached. This applies at work but also at home. He points out that coaches are often better teachers than parents because they set small, achievable goals.
• Daniels also described habit stacking years ago, something James Clear talks about. He recommends an upside down to do list. Write down items from most desirable activities to least. Then start from the bottom. You will be progressively more willing to do each task. This is positive reinforcement for yourself. If you like to exercise, place that just after cleaning your room. Whatever you dread the most, do that first.
Get it Done:
• From a Twitter post by @thomasjbevan: Japanese word Majime – A reliable person who simply gets things done without causing drama.
• Reminds me of the quote, “If you want to get something done, give it to someone who is busy.”
Deskbound:
• Flyer full of practical tips on how to remain healthy and mobile with prolonged desk work. From gymnastic bodies, a site offering gymnastic based mobility/fitness programs for a cost. But they have tons of free information. Try a few of the stretches right now at your desk. If people look at you funny, challenge them to join in.
Ritual:
• In this post from FEB 2016, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks talks about a concept very important to maintaining one’s wellness: Doing something before necessarily understanding it. I don’t think I can phrase it as artfully as Rabbi Sacks:
On this view na’aseh venishma means, “We will do and we will understand.” From this they derive the conclusion that we can only understand Judaism by doing it, by performing the commands and living a Jewish life. In the beginning is the deed. Only then comes the grasp, the insight, the comprehension. This is a signal and substantive point. The modern Western mind tends to put things in the opposite order. We seek to understand what we are committing ourselves to before making the commitment. That is fine when what is at stake is signing a contract, buying a new mobile phone, or purchasing a subscription, but not when making a deep existential commitment. The only way to understand leadership is to lead. The only way to understand marriage is to get married. The only way to understand whether a certain career path is right for you is to actually try it for an extended period. Those who hover on the edge of a commitment, reluctant to make a decision until all the facts are in, will eventually find that life has passed them by. The only way to understand a way of life is to take the risk of living it. So: na’aseh venishma, “We will do and eventually, through extended practice and long exposure, we will understand.”
Quote:
“You have a Ferrari of a mind, and I am a brake specialist.”
Dr. Edward Hallowell (from Martin Seligman’s book Flourish)
This is reportedly with Hallowell says to children with ADHD when he first sits down to work with them. Occurs during a passage in Flourish that highlights the valuable skill (that all of us should cultivate) of being able to slow down.
