7 things I learnt this week

Each week I consume a lot of information that has nothing to do with fashion! To this end I'm building a new website to share some of this content - I'll be launching it soon but meanwhile I thought I'd share my main lightbulb moments from the last week.

What I learnt:

1. That doing a weekly ‘what I learnt’ list of bullets is a brilliant way to consolidate, refine and commit to memory the most important learnings from the crazy amount of input I take on board each week (from Chip Conley on the Tim Ferriss podcast, episode 374)
2. That if we can devote (huge amounts of) time to strategy sessions and business plans for our business, we can find the time do the same for our overall lives. On Monday I started the online Lifebook course, the brainchild of Jon & Missy Butcher and available on Mindvalley. I’ll write more as I go through the course but I’m really happy to be devoting time to consciously designing the various aspects of my life. 
3. That protein is not necessarily the cancer-causing Insulin Growth Factor stimulator that I’ve read about in various sources, and that protein consumption becomes super-important to protect muscle mass and overall good health as we get older (from Dr Gabrielle Lyon on Dr Mark Hyman’s podcast, The Doctor’s Farmacy)
4. That if I really want to grow intellectually I should consume more material that conflicts with my opinions and beliefs. I know that I shy away from and am almost horrified when I come across articles that have a different perspective from me. Brexit is a huge case in point. In the U.K. and US we’ve seen such polarisation in beliefs and I know I have a lot of work to do to become the learner rather than the knower (as Brené Brown puts it) and respect other people’s truths. Otherwise, we spend our lives validating our own views vs broadening them (from Jon Butcher on his Lifebook Online tutorial – Your Intellectual Life)
5. That our nervous system has an ancient part to it which we can involuntarily trigger in situations of extreme trauma or (even unconscious) fear of death. Similar to a mouse feigning death in the jaws of a cat, our body can disassociate or shut down completely. I’m wading through The Pocket Guide to Polyvagal Theory by Stephen Porges and his theories are incredible. His work has huge implications for treating autism and PTSD as well as for helping us all to understand our nervous system much better. More on this when I finish the book
6. That HRV (heart rate variability) training can be used to optimise performance and decision-making at work. I’m fascinated by HRV and have been dabbling for a while at a very early stage with my HeartMath HRV monitor, but there is loads to learn here. It’s a key part of Polyvagal Theory referenced above, and world chess champion and coach Josh Waitzin uses it for everything from trading to extreme sports (Tim Ferriss podcast episode #375). Just scratching the surface here so more to come as I get more stuck in – but overall being able to manage your own HRV appears to be a key factor in general resilience. 
7. That you can test your acidity levels a couple of times a day, in seconds and for pennies. If you buy some litmus paper strips from Amazon (around ￡4 for a couple of rolls) and keep them by the loo, you get instant feedback if you pee on them!!!! Maintaining alkalinity in our bodies gets more important as we age to maintain bone health.