Loved the video, thank you.
Hi Justin, interesting to hear your ideas! Here is a feedback on a couple of points and some hacks that worked for me.
- Give up sugar. I took everything containing sugar out of my eating. So no chocolate, biscuits, cakes, sweets, jams, deserts. Sugar is a really bad one for us and I really feel better for eliminating it and happy itās not in my body. If weāre going to do positive thinks like sport and vitamins I think itās important to eliminate the bad habits too.
- No social media. Iām not on any social media and I feel so free compared to people around me who are like prisoners to their smart phones and all the underlying unhealthy thinking that I feel social media has promoted.
Think about life: I definitely recommend reading āThe Seven Habits of Highly Effective Peopleā by Steven Covey. The title could sound corny but it is like a holistic approach to getting all aspects of your life on track and in sync with what is truly important to you.
Meditation and sport: I love to walk each day in the country and naturally meditate at the same time. Solutions and good ideas come to me at that time.
Stoicism: I got into this during my French studies thanks to a book by Alfred de Vigny called āLes DestinĆ©esā an amazing collection of short stories illustrating the positive application of stoicism. Not sure if it has been translated to English.
Thanks again and have a great festive season!
Greg
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Thanks for sharing these tips. I fully agree that reflecting back over the day is very helpful and probably triggers the subconscious during my sleep. Iām also sure that a dog triggers not just some fitness, but also offers enormous emotional benefit. Finally, I totally feel the huge benefit of making music and learning new skills every day. Please keep up the great work. The App has been tremendous help in learning guitar.
Exactly!!
Great life hacks, amazing how many of them I also do - I even also started BJJ this year.
Maybe the difference is that for many of us life is actually a bit too comfortable and cold showers / cold water immersion is just that little bit of stress that the body needs. I suspect that in the army thereās plenty of stress already. As Justin says in the video, I canāt say that I enjoy cold water showers but I feel they do me good
Great stuff Justin, Merry Xmas 
Cold showers, exercise, dog walking. I do all of them.
Instead of food supplements, Iād recommend a healthy balanced diet and fasting. One day a week or 18/6 which is only eating in a 6 hour period each day. Gives your gut time to recover and leaves you feeling invigorated.
Great video for this time of year. Very motivating, which is what I need. A reminder not to waste my time and live my life well.
BJJ is great. I did it for many years but now havenāt in well over a decade - life stage changes. Itās definitely not for everyone.
Having some physical hardship in life is good. As is not sweating stuff that is outside of your control.
Iād second the earlier comment about cutting out sugar. Iāve also been having milk kefir daily to improve gut health and itās been great. Better to get nutrients and probiotics from consuming the right natural food than taking tablets.
Great list, thanks for sharing Justin!
Its interesting, I had a real low point in my life a couple of years ago (and i mean really LOW, i was an obese alcoholic with a severe burnout/depression and a growing list of health problems), and in order to recover my physical and mental health to some degree I ended with a list very very similar to yours. I had a bit more focus on nutrition/diet, tried different approaches and ended up with some sort of a low-carb/keto/atkins diet, plus OMAD, took me about a year to drop 40kg and get my liver back into working shape. The other point i would add to your list is: guys, look for your sleep, it made a big difference for me, improved mood, energy, and iām convinced my bodies ability to recover improved dramatically.
One thing i would not add to my list is that AG1 stuff, it surely is not bad, but i myself consider it a pretty overpriced multi vitamin/mineral/trace mineral supplement, i think the same (or better) can be achieved with good, high quality food. On the other hand, if you donāt mind the money ā¦ its a nice nutrition insurance.
Anyway, great advice Justin (i think i give these cold showers another try), i wish you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas!
Greetings from Germany, Andy
Just listening to Justinās talk and apart from the cold showers, I found it was like looking in a mirror but I have never looked at these things collectively in the past.
1 - Multivits and various herbal remedies I have been taking for years. I avoid pharmaceuticals but have been taking Arjuna, Ashwaganda and COQ10 for cardiac wellness, Ginger (digestion), Turmeric (anti oxidants) and multivitamins for dietary top ups.
2 - Yeah just brings a lump to your throat, well two actually !
3 - Practice Martial arts for 22 years including teaching and running my own club for 6 yrs.
4- I have been sitting Zazen Shikantaza Soto Zen āmeditationā every day for the last 6 years and periodically before that over the previous 2 decades aligned with MA practice,
5 - Interesting over the last 5 years or so as Mindfullness has been increasingly marketed, ancient practices have been āreinventedā and relabelled. This is Yoga Nidra, something I have been practicing for over 5 years. Its an aid to get off to sleep but also a process to establish deep calm relaxation and being centred.
6 - I can recommend Mitchell Symonds Loo Books as a substitute for poetry.
7 - There are many similarities between Stoicism and Buddhism and I have practiced the latter off and on for decades but formally joined an online Soto Zen Sangha 6 years ago. Hence the daily Zazen practice mentioned above.
8 - Iāll be 67 next year so thinking about life and career improvements are not as important these days. But I will sit down and plan my playing path out as usual. And hey next year I might stick to it.
9 - Physical Activity - this was a bit of a gut punch to me this morning. As we lost our 13+ yo GSD last Friday and this morning the weather allowed me to get down to the riverside where we walked daily for many years. Iāve also been an active runner/jogger since I gave up smoking at 22 and so not only walked the 5 dogs weāve owned over 42 years but run with everyone of them. Due to her health I stopped that with Sophie about 4 years ago and with my wifeās health issues have been confined to the treadmill but try to run 3 times a week.
Hoping that a mild fortnight may allow me to run outside in the next few days, now my responsibilities have been lessened.
10 - Music Therapy ? Gotta be a given else why would we be here. But for sure the process of continued learning and development certainly is beneficial to your mental well being and keeping your brain fit. Listening is the next best thing and can ease the missing mojo when times are a little challenging. Like I say, Never Too Old To Rock And Roll.
Sorry for the long waffle and self indulgence above but I am hoping sharing this may have a positive effect, after what has been a carp 7 days. One aspect of my life has left a gaping hole but this self reflection prompted by Justinās video might just be what I need right now.
All is good.
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I need to steal that.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about living life, Justin. I think you covered the essential dimensions. And even if one does not engage each dimension in exactly the way that you do, thereās merit in finding your own way in each dimension.
One habit I have developed and am reasonably well disciplined in practicing, is a sleep routine. I aim to disconnect from all digital devices, electronic screens and the like around 09h00-09h30pm. Then I indulge in a little light reading in bed, my pleasure is fantasy, and that eases me into being ready for lights off and sleep. Since I began this practice I have found I fall asleep quickly, without tossing and turning, tend to sleep through more consistently, and wake up feeling properly rested.
Iām not connected to my phone, but I think digital minimalism may be something worth pursuing. And based on Hack #6 I canāt think of much that is less appealing than combining Social Media and the toilet (even if being flushed away is where much of that belongs). But I still wonāt be adding poetry or magazines to the bathroom equipment, the NIke slogan applies here.
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Frankly, I could hardly agree more. Right after I got divorced and moved home last year, two friends who assisted the move encouraged me to take up the guitar. (They had both spotted the old, unused guitar my former wife had bought for me).
To my absolute surprise and delight, I found a plethora of great guitar tutors online teaching the fine art of guitar playing.
Learning wise, I have reached the point of no return and will play the guitar till the day I die.
Since a young age I have regularly done the following spiritual exercise/mediation for 20 minutes a day (preferably at bedtime or while falling asleep):
a) Look gently and without straining into the Third Eye. Known alternatively as the Four Petalled Lotus, the Shiva Netra and the Spiritual Eye, this is the seat of soul.
b) Sing the word HU (pronounced like the manās name Hugh but in a long drawn out fashion: Huuuuuuu)
As a teenager in boarding school, the very first time I did this technique I had a vivid dream about the future that came to pass the very next morning!
Awesome post. Thank you for sharing Justin!
Cheers!
It was harder in Helsinki for sure - very very cold water - but I like the idea of ice baths - so the colder the better.
When itās very cold here I find them even better prep for the day 
and in summer the water out of the tap is not as cold and I always wish it was!
Yeah ok nice line!
Itās rare but there have a been a few in the past!