Getting Healthy: Creating a New Normal

Note: This is a compilation of several articles I've written on my journey to get healthier. They've been edited to fit together. I'm putting it in one place to create a more comprehensive explanation of my approach. The focus is on mindset and action - not on quick hacks to better health and fitness.

Part 0: An Introduction

How many more decades of being healthy, fit, and vital do you want? As I get older, I become more conscious of my mental and physical health. It's easy as an entrepreneur or business person to focus entirely on your business and neglect your health - but investing in your personal health can be the best thing you do for your business.

I recently started working with APEX, Dr. Jeffrey Gladden's concierge medical wellness practice. They begin with a deep dive into your underlying genetic, physiologic & biochemical makeup, and then benchmark neurocognitive function, body composition, cardiovascular performance, hormonal status and much more.

Many of my friends now believe that with technology and a sustained focus on health & longevity, they can live past 100. They're paying attention to genetic, physiologic & biochemical makeup, cognitive function, body composition, cardiovascular performance, hormonal status and much more. Whether they're going to live past 100 or not, I can see the daily results in the quality of their life and the way they look. 

It got me thinking about the difference between the way we view healthcare and what healthcare really should be. Healthcare takes care of you once you're sick, but it should really help you stay healthier for longer. 

I fully intend on being here for a long time ... So, I'm building the habits to keep me healthy.

I'm investing my time, energy (and money) into wellness so I don't have to invest in healthcare. 

Part 1: Finding A Way

It's hard to fight Mother Nature.

Willpower isn't always enough. 

The trick is recognizing that you can create conditions that make your success much more likely.

No matter how much internal resolve you have, changing the story you tell yourself, and the environment you create for yourself, are reliable ways to make meaningful and lasting change.

How You Do Something Is How You Do Everything

I was at the gym and getting pretty close to the end of my workout.

Frankly, I was at a point where being done was way more attractive than the option of doing additional exercise.

Over time, I've developed many habits and beliefs that focus on finding the best next step - or a way to do just a little bit more. So this time, I used reverse-counting to help me finish that workout strong.

I started with 10 push-ups. I know I can do 10 push-ups, even at the end of a hard workout. Without putting my knees down, I can rest in plank position for a moment or two ... then I do nine more push-ups. That has to be easier than 10, right? Then eight more ... seven ... six. You get the point.

Each set is a little bit harder than the one before, but mentally I'm prepared for it, and can convince myself that I'm so much closer to the goal.

So I get to three, and sweat is dripping off my nose, my arms are shaking, and my hips want to sway. Somehow knowing that there are only two more sets, then only one more, allows me to finish.

That story could have been about creating profitable trading systems, developing a new database, or recovering from a setback. It's about finding a way, regardless of external circumstances. No excuses.

Finding a Way to Do Just a Little Bit More

There are many times that it seems easier to do nothing or to give up. That's just not my nature. It's not in my "nurture" either.

My father used to say that the secret to success was getting up. What he meant was that if someone knocked you down 10 times, then the secret to success was getting up 11 times. And if someone knocked you down another time, then the secret was to get up 12 times. There's a lot of truth in that.

I laugh when I think of all the little things I do that condition me to take the best next step. Here are a few examples of small things that help define that mindset.

• I never stop reading until I finish a chapter.
• Also, when I play a strategy game on my iPhone, I never stop until I win.
• And, when I play a strategy game that I'm good at, I never stop until I achieve a certain score. 

It doesn't matter if I'm frustrated or tired. I find a way. Each of these things, in its own small way, helps condition me to know that I can do anything I commit to doing. Ultimately, what that means is that regardless of what happens, my outcome depends most on what I choose to do.

Sometimes these habits seem silly, quirky, or even a little bit OCD to me. Yet, they serve me.

Many benefits come from knowing that the game's not over until you say it is ... or until you win.

Moreover, it's comforting to know that there's always a best next step or at least a different perspective that will create new opportunities and possibilities.

I tend to take that perspective into business as well. We focus on the progress we're making, and what that makes possible, rather than how far we are from the ultimate goal. Why? As we continue to make progress, the things we shoot for are bigger and farther away. Focusing there would always show a shortfall. Obstacles and setbacks become the raw material for new growth, ideas, and strategies. The trick is getting back up, isn't it?

Sometimes the best advice is simple. Nike got it right in their slogan ... Just Do It.

Part 2: Measuring Normalized Behavior

I used to be a competitive athlete. In the past, for me, exercise was about gaining an edge and competing better. In a sense, that is still true (just on a different field). Now, I work out to stay healthy, fit, and vital while managing the challenges of running a company, navigating an overbooked calendar, and traveling every week.

In the previous section, we talked about the habit of conditioning yourself to take the next best step.

This section is about focusing on the right things so you can best measure progress.

Normalizing your habits and picking the right metrics isn't just a habit for the gym. It's a habit you should pick up in life. If you don't set the right measuring stick you'll always be unhappy or underperform. 

Plan forward – but measure backward ... you have to make sure you're not so focused on the horizon that you don't track what you've accomplished. 

Normalizing the result makes this easier and better.

In running, for example, it is the time it takes me to finish one mile, while never going above 170 heartbeats per minute.

Meanwhile, in trading, we do this by comparing different opportunities based on a constant risk level (for example, the expected return for the next day of $1M, assuming a 2% maximum drawdown). It doesn't matter what market we trade, or how many trades the system makes ... we can make a fair comparison and get better insights about performance.

Part 3: Getting Used To Your New Normal

Now, if you have the right mindset, you know what actions you want to take, and you've begun normalizing your habits, it's time to talk about controlling your arousal states.

Chemically, most arousal states are the same. Meaning, the same hormones and neurotransmitters that make you feel fear also make you feel excited. They affect your heart rate, respiration, etc. ... The outside stimuli you experience determines how you interpret what is happening. 

In most situations, a heart rate of 170 beats per minute is an indicator of extreme danger (or an impending toe-tag). If I felt my heart racing like that in a meeting, it might trigger a fight or flight instinct. I prefer conscious and controlled responses. So, I train myself to recognize what I can control and to respond accordingly.

One way I do that is by being mindful of heart rate zones during exercise. 

My goal is to get as close to 170 bpm as I can, then stay in that peak zone for as long as possible.

Here is a chart showing a Fitbit readout of an exercise session.

As you can see, every time I reach my limit ... I get my heart rate back down. It becomes a conscious and controlled learned behavior.

Here is a different look that shows effort based on my maximum heart rate. It is from an app called Heart Analyzer.  

Recognizing what this feels like is a form of biofeedback; it's not only got me better at controlling what happens after my heartrate reaches 170 but at identifying when I'm close – even without a monitor. 

Now, when my heart rate is at 170 bpm (regardless of the situation), I don't feel anxious ... I think about what I want to do. 

I currently use an Apple watch with the HeartWatch app to measure heart rate during the day. The Oura Ring is what I use to measure sleep and readiness.

These are useful tools.

It's the same with trading ... Does a loss or error harsh your mellow – or is it a trigger to do what you are supposed to do? 

Getting used to normalized risk creates opportunity. 

When you are comfortable operating at a pace, or in an environment, that others find difficult – you have a profound advantage and edge. Tony Robbins preaches the importance of expanding your "threshold of control."

The idea is that you need to continuously push your limits and grow your tolerance of what is within your comfort zone. Think about the problems and annoyances you had when you were 18, 13, or 8 ... Chances are that they were much smaller than what you now face comfortably. 

Expanding your thresholds of control and facing your fears (and discomfort) is a big part of growth. In my company, we call it "Getting Comfortable Being Uncomfortable." The old way wasn't enough, and the tools and techniques that got you where you are, won't get you where you want to be.

Part 4: Conclusion

People overthink getting healthy. If you take the logic to the extreme, losing weight is as simple as Calories In/Calories Out; increasing your fitness is as simple as increasing the load of your workouts (whatever they are) slowly over time. Don't get me wrong, it's infinitely more complex than that. Other factors add value - but you'll get results if you blindly commit to those two things. Once you've gotten the basics down, you can expand.

The trick, and where most people fail, is that any quick-fix solution isn't a solution. You also can't try to do too much too fast. You have to create a new normal (that you can keep long-term) and track your commitment to that new normal.

You can rely on external factors to bring you motivation, or you can make it an internal habit. It's easy to see what will win out. Being driven (by yourself) feels better than when someone tries to push you or drive you.

I'll often see employees, or friends, get something 80 - 90% done and then move on to some new exciting prospect. They get distracted by "shiny" and use it as an excuse to ignore the hard part (that last 10%), and whine that nothing's ever finished. 

As long as you are making progress (and refuse to give up) you are guaranteed to meet and exceed your goals.

So, stop whining and start grinding! It's time to get to the getting!

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