Health

Here is a completely free hack to improve how your body processes food, so you can get way more of the good stuff from your meals.
 
Before every meal, take three deep breaths.
 
This activates your parasympathetic nervous system, optimising nutrient absorption and reducing inflammation. 
 
Costs nothing, takes a few seconds, and research shows it's powerful. 
 
Makes you more mindful of the upcoming meal too.

Wealth

Warren Buffett retired this month at the age of 94. 
 
Buffett built Berkshire Hathaway from a failing textile maker into an investment juggernaut worth $1.16tn (£870bn) and is arguably the world's most successful investor. 
 
Here's our favourite quote of his...

You're rich if you are working around people you like. You will make money if you are energetic and intelligent. This society lets smart people with drive earn a very good living. You will be no exception.
 
If you don't know much about him, it's well worth doing some research. Don't expect to find answers to 'get rich quick'; instead, you will likely find inspiration from the patience and wisdom in his actions and his published words.

Relationships

I heard Arthur Brooks, author and academic, on a podcast talking about the science of falling in love and found it pretty fascinating. 

Can you relate to the below?

Stage 1: Attraction
Triggered by sex hormones (testosterone and estrogen).
This is a sort of mild psychosis, it makes you behave impulsively, leading to some crazy decisions, think tattoos, moving in together after a week, that sort of stuff.
 
Stage 2: Anticipation & Euphoria
Fuelled by dopamine and norepinephrine.
Causes excitement over small interactions, like obsessively checking your phone for a text.
 
Stage 3: Obsession & Rumination
Characterised by a drop in serotonin.
Leads to obsessive thoughts and sometimes jealousy. It’s your brain’s way of reinforcing the bond by making your partner feel incredibly important to you.
 
Stage 4: Bonding & Attachment
Driven by bonding hormones (oxytocin and vasopressin).
Creates deep emotional connections, comfort, and long-term companionship.
 
Understanding these stages helps you navigate your relationships better, it helps you to realise that your biology may not actually allow you to stay in the earlier lustful, obsessive, overly passionate stages forever, making sense of all the delightful craziness along the way!

Freedom

“A person's success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.”
― Tim Ferriss

Health

How to use journaling to stop catastrophising and working yourself up

• Identify the source of anxiety or fear clearly
  • Write down explicitly what is causing anxiety or fear. Bring clarity to vague worries by explicitly stating them.
• Define the worst-case scenario
  • Like in the fear-setting exercise in the beginning of the Evolve Journal, clearly document the absolute worst outcome that could realistically result from this situation.
• Evaluate the probability of occurrence
  • Assess how likely it is that this worst-case scenario will happen. Give it a percentage rating out of 100. Be rational and honest.
• Plan your response
  • Write out exactly what you would do if the worst-case scenario were to occur.
    

This planning helps to stop repeating the same internal conversation over and over again, reducing uncertainty, and we've found it super helpful to manage anxiety effectively, making us take more action and make progress towards our goals.

Use the What I'm Pondering or Weekly Reflection pages in the Evolve Journal for these prompts.

Wealth

Tearing down is more attractive than building up. “Notice it's always "smash the system" and "demolish capitalism" and "eat the rich." It's never "help the needy" or "feed the poor." You'll see a thousand communists say "billionaires shouldn't exist" but not a single one who says "poor people shouldn't exist.” — Rob Henderson

Relationships

A trap that people fall into is approaching relationships as another puzzle, something we need to solve to find lasting happiness.
 
However, the reality is love isn't a problem, another thing sat on a to-do list that needs checking off, it's a curious journey. 
 
You know exactly what love is, but you can’t simulate it. You can’t predict it. You can’t solve for it.
 
Trying to "solve" love can lead us to frustration and disappointment. Instead, embracing love as something you need to buckle up and live through allows us to grow through its highs and lows.
 
So let go of perfection.  Stop trying to “fix” every issue immediately and accept small disagreements or imperfections as natural parts of growing together.

Freedom

You’ll never feel free until you realise the love you need most is your own acceptance.

Health

"You have one major goal when it comes to health 'Don’t die from something stupid' before the healthspan revolution arrives. Take care of yourself. Surviving the next 10 years will be the most important thing you can do for your healthspan. Trust me. We're going to achieve Longevity Escape Velocity." - Peter Diamandis

(Longevity Escape Velocity is the point at which medical advances extend human life faster than aging, so each year you live, science can help you live even longer.)

Wealth

Someone with less talent is earning ten times more, not because they’re smarter, but because they never stopped to question if they could. 
 
Self-doubt isn't the problem though, stopping is.

Relationships

"In a relationship, roughly the only thing that matters is if you can be yourself around them… shared hobbies, attraction, lifestyle alignment is downstream.
 
If you can’t be fully yourself around someone, you’re either performing or negotiating constantly & over time that corrodes everything.
 
True intimacy is being radically unedited & still accepted. The rest is just set design.” - Signüll

Freedom

Journal Prompt: What important decision have you been putting off, and how might that delay be costing you in time, energy, or opportunity?