Harvard's Center for International Development put together a tool that I think is pretty cool. It's called the Atlas of Economic Complexity. Its goal is to get you to think differently about the economic strategy, policy, and investment opportunities for individual countries.
Each country's profile analyzes its economic dynamics and future growth prospects, including which industries are burgeoning. They made it look pretty as well. If you're curious about specific questions, you can use their exploration function instead.
In Part 2, I talked about normalizing your habits and picking consistent, normalized metrics. This doesn't just work at the gym; it applies to life and business as well.
Today, I want to explain how and why this helps. To do so, we will 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 can make you feel excited. They affect your heart rate, respiration, etc. ... Though, the outside stimuli you experience likely 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 gotten 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.
When your doctor tells you that you are fat, it is easy to discount (because you pay them to tell you that). When your massage therapist tells you that you are getting fat, you've got to listen (because they're trying to be nice to get a better tip).
Well, for the past two months, I've been getting back into fitness.
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.
This 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.
Each year I get a little bit more focused on what I can be doing to get more out of my time and to increase the quantity of time left.
Even with a renewed focus on health, it isn't always easier. As my friend Ben Hardy says, Willpower Doesn't Work - you have to identify goals that are bigger than yourself, create consequences and rewards for achieving or failing to achieve those goals, and change your environment to make success easy.
I don't just want to be healthier to increase my time on earth, but to better support my family, my business, and to create a positive impact on those around me.
When you have a vision of who you want to be, and what you want to accomplish, achieving your goals becomes a lot easier.
When the goal is health, there are definitely some decisions that are proven to help. You can click to see the image in full-size.
On top of the science, here are some of my anecdotal opinions on living longer, healthier, and better:
Losing weight is as simple as calories in, calories out. It doesn't matter if you're on keto or eating only twinkies if you can keep your calories ingested below your calories burned
In life, and in diets, shortcuts end up hurting you long-term more than they help you short-term
Living "right" doesn't mean you can't let loose, it means that it's the exception instead of the rule. If your lifestyle doesn't let you have fun with your friends or family, it's probably not the healthiest lifestyle. Mental health is just as important as physical health
I'd love to hear your favorite "trick" to living better. Feel free to send me an e-mail.
Yesterday was my 56th birthday - I know, I know, I don't look a day over 55. Regardless, time marches on, and I become increasingly grateful for the friends and family who are journeying through time with me.
We didn't make it to the Jersey Shore this year or have genuine Philly Cheesesteaks, but we did eat amazing food, tell old stories, and spend quality time together. There is a lot to be said for family and tradition.
When I was a kid, I couldn't imagine being where I am today ... nor could I imagine the path that got me here. Looking back, it all seems to make sense (even though it felt pretty random while making my way through it).
I feel lucky to have been in the right place at the right time, so consistently, and to find the gift in most situations (even when it seemed so well hidden).
I'm grateful for a lot today, and as much as I love innovation, sometimes things are perfect just the way they are.
Hope you took time this weekend to let someone know they're important to you. If not, now is a good time for that too!
Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - September 6th, 2019
Here are some of the posts that caught my eye recently. Hope you find something interesting.
Lighter Links:
Trading Links:
Posted at 01:18 PM in Art, Business, Current Affairs, Healthy Lifestyle, Ideas, Just for Fun, Market Commentary, Science, Trading, Trading Tools, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0)
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