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Hi All,
Succesful systems use up-cycling incentives.
If you look at a standard meal from a diner, you would think that breakfast should be a stack of pancakes with two eggs on the side. It's cheap, easy, tasty, and afterwards the dopamine centers in our brains say 'MORE PLEASE!'. It creates an experience with incentives that keep you coming back. For health though, those are DOWN-cycling incentives, because they're associated with a high carbohydrate, high fat, and high sugar habit of consuming nutrients which eventually leads to insulin resistance and a dysfunctional metabolism.
If you look at the standard 'Get fit, be healthy' playbook typically employed by Americans today, you'll see ways you can work out more and eat less. True to script, there are products that enable that: fat burning stimulants, pre-workout mixes, energy drinks, and coffee products abound. Fair to say we have a caffeine friendly culture and we like chemically boosting our energy. Not just in the fitness industry, but in the workplace and in education too (focus enhancing drugs). Again, these are DOWN-spiralling loops. Eventually your adrenals fatigue and your metabolism becomes dysfunctional.
Incentives feedback on themselves. Eating sugar leads to craving sugar. Stimulants lead to crashes which then require more stimulants. The DOWN-spiraling effect is exhausting and once you're on that roundabout it's hard to find the exit. That's why it's important to find systems that us incetives that UP-cycle.
Instead of a pancake that takes up your whole plate, what if it was a full plate of protein (just for kicks)? Instead of using stimulants so you can work harder, what if you hit the sheets earlier so you could sleep harder? UP-cycling routines like sound sleep and quality biomechanics lead to stronger immune systems and higher functioning metabolisms. You sleep better so you have more energy to move. You move better with fundamental biomechanics like running, lifting, pushing, pulling, and carrying...and then you're appropriately tired and upcycle into better sleep. UP-cycling is key.
Many notable humans in history have found upcycling effects, and revolutionized their industries as a result. The internet, iphones, architecture, electric cars...maybe cryptocurrencies? TBD.
What cycles are we in now?
Happy Friday!
Josh