Is the secret to a longer life doing more hard things?

We all remember when Tom Brady was in his mid to late thirties and surgically dicing up opposing defenses. Every year we’d wonder if this would be the last time we’d see the GOAT put on a jersey.? Brady brought home his last Super Bowl at the young age of 43 and the next year, finally hung it up for good.??

Brady was meticulous about his daily routine that would start at 5:30 am. This involved multiple workouts, film study, visualization and meditation practices, and a diet that you could write a book about (wait there is one).? Brady did not touch caffeine, white flour, white sugar, dairy products, and gluten. He was also vigilant in leaning into brain exercises and practicing transcendental meditation.?

We can’t all be Tom Brady but we can learn from him. When we think about willpower and persistence, we can easily attach everything that Tom Brady embodied to that.? The inverse would present as apathy - a lack of interest or passivity.? Why this is so interesting is that there is mounting new evidence and research that highlights the importance of attaching ourselves to the former of the two. What is so eye-raising is the suggestion of how this correlates to brain aging disease. This is all tied to the anterior mid-cingulate cortex portion of the brain (aMCC).

So why are we talking about the aMCC?

It’s intriguing right now to neuroscientists due to how it reacts to what we choose to do, and with a high emphasis on the things we choose not to do. The research suggests that when we add in tasks or practices that we truly do not like to engage in, that part of the brain grows. This could be adding in a meditation or breathwork practice, eliminating desirable foods we know are bad for us, adding in a 5 am workout routine, or any number of hard things.?

There is a commonality that researchers have started to pick up on.? High-performing individuals who show tenacity and grit in overcoming obstacles and challenges have a larger anterior mid-cingulate cortex. Researchers are also finding a relational pattern in people who live much longer and healthier lives.? Could this mean that part of the equation to a longer life is actually in the willingness to embrace doing hard things??

They have found that this portion of the brain is significantly smaller in folks who are overweight but becomes larger as they add in an exercise routine and begin to eliminate unhealthy eating patterns. The data seems to suggest there is something about having tenacity and the will to improve that must be teased out further.?

Knowing that folks who are considered super-agers who embrace willpower and do hard things, consistently have a larger anterior mid-cingulate cortex is also a key data point that should at the very least, make us more curious about this recent research.?

We are very early in our journey of understanding the human brain but when research like this presents itself with some profound suggestions, links, and correlations - we should ask ourselves the next time we feel resistance and apathy ensues, am I making the right decision for longevity and overall health??