3023: What’s Going To Be Written On Your Gravestone by Ben Greenfield on Determining Your Priorities

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[00:01:00] This is Optimal Health Daily. What's going to be written on your gravestone? By Ben Greenfield of bengreenfieldlife.com. Hey there, happy Sunday and welcome back to the show where I act as your very own personal narrator and read to you from some of the most popular health and fitness blogs online. And always with a bit of my commentary at the end. Alright, for now, let's get right to it and start optimizing your life.

[00:01:29] What's going to be written on your gravestone? By Ben Greenfield of bengreenfieldlife.com. I remember the very first tattoo I ever slapped on my body. As a testosterone-infused 19-year-old college student, I wandered into a tiny tattoo parlor in a back alley in Moscow, Idaho, and hired a hippie dude named Caleb to ink an enormous tribal sun tattoo across my entire right shoulder.

[00:01:54] And in the center of that tattoo, surrounded by a swirl of intense blood red and deep blue patterns designed to represent fire and water, was a symbol. The Japanese kanji symbol for something called Kai. This badass tattoo was to be my life force, my energy, my body source of internal power, my Kai. A source of power that I've since tapped into for everything from the famed 72-hour Agogi race at 38 degrees below zero in the backwoods of Vermont,

[00:02:21] a dozen of the hardest Ironman triathlons on the face of the planet, days upon days spent suffering through Navy SEAL training for civilians on the beaches of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, and attainment of the pinnacle of adventurous ultra-endurance competition, the coveted Spartan Delta. But frankly, over the past two years, I've come to the stark realization that life is about far, far more than a pursuit of masochistic competitions, the pursuit of a never-ending drive to get six-pack abs or bigger lungs,

[00:02:50] or the attainment of the perfect yoga position, the perfect overhead squat, or the perfect mile split. After all, nobody ever said that they wanted written on their tombstone, quote, I was a good exerciser. Instead, I've realized as I've poured through dozens of books and hundreds of research papers on longevity, happiness, fulfillment, human potential, and beyond, that if you truly want to achieve peak performance, look amazing, defy aging, and live an adventurous, fulfilling, joyful, and limitless life,

[00:03:21] you must not just optimize your body, but also your mind and your spirit. And frankly, in my own personal journey over the past two decades of living in the trenches of the fitness industry, I've realized that exercising and fitnessing, or towing the starting line of a race, or setting a new personal record in the gym or on the track, or finally getting my body fat percentage perfectly dialed in, is pretty dang meaningless if I'm not happy and fulfilled with true balance among my performance,

[00:03:50] digestion, recovery, brain, sleep, hormones, family life, spiritual health, and beyond. Would you agree? After all, what if you and I could leap out of bed each morning and tackle the day with the extreme ferocity of an electrified tiger? What if our performance, fat loss, recovery, digestion, brain, sleep, hormones, and spirits were fully optimized and firing on all cylinders? What if we all walked around as superheroes with a body like Batman,

[00:04:18] a mind like the heroes of the smart drug movies Limitless and Lucy, and a spirit like an enlightened yogi? What if you could speed read, memorize cards, remember the names of everyone at the cocktail party, wear any jeans you want, step onto a beach with your chest out and abs in, age gracefully with zero Botox and liposuction required, and have an intense inner feeling of peace, love, joy, happiness, and true spiritual satisfaction?

[00:04:44] What if this ability to look, feel, and perform to the human body's full capacity wasn't the stuff of lore, but was instead status quo? Sure, there are UFC and NFL gladiators fighting for glory on television with optimized chi of body, random monks and meditators wandering the planet with optimized chi of spirit, and professional poker players, computer programmers, and race car drivers hunched over a card game, a keyboard, and a steering wheel with optimized chi of mind.

[00:05:12] But in a perfect world, a world that is fully attainable, you would have it all, total chi of mind, body, and spirit. So why am I telling you all this? Because I need your help. You and I need to spread the word. You and I need to create a community that encourages a new brand of health enthusiasts. People like you and me, who care not just about our bodies, not just about our minds, and not just about our spirits, but about all three elements of being a complete and happy human.

[00:05:40] People who can climb mountains, memorize a deck of cards, create amazing music, help feed people in our local community, and experience the true 100% of our human potential. Imagine an optimized body. From gut to muscles to joints, everything works the way it is supposed to. Imagine an optimized mind. You think clearly with no brain fog and a sharp, keen ability to learn and communicate. Imagine an optimized spirit.

[00:06:07] You have the invisible elements necessary for happiness, longevity, meaning, purpose, and direction in life. This complete human optimization is exactly what I envision and what I am now creating. And I want you to be a big part of this new health revolution. You just listened to the post titled, What's Going to Be Written on Your Gravestone? By Ben Greenfield of bengreenfieldlife.com.

[00:06:35] And I'll be right back with my commentary. Oikos presents 15 seconds of strength. Here we go. Steve's got a trunk full of groceries and no one to help him. Oh, that's tough, Jim. Looks like a five-trip load at least. He grabs the first bag. The second. Bob, it looks like he's trying to do it all one trip. He shimmies the door open, steps over the dog. Oh, and he stumbles. Oh, right into the kitchen without missing a beat. Jim, now that's a man who eats his protein-packed Oikos. With 15 grams of complete protein in each cup, Oikos Triple Zero can help build strength for every day.

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[00:08:03] get snackin' and get crackin' with the snack that packs a protein punch. Visit WonderfulPistachios.com to learn more. Dr. Neil here for my commentary. When we look at the research, and we try and answer this question, what is going to lead human beings to a healthy, happy, and fulfilled life? Usually, we learn that the answers are pretty much the same, and haven't changed for a long time. What we know is, anger and hostility will shorten our lifespan.

[00:08:33] It increases our risk for cardiovascular disease, possibly certain forms of cancer, lots and lots of data on the effects of anger and hostility. The counter to that is, if we can express more love and compassion for others, if we can gather together and be around people that love us, that make us feel energized, that actually increases happiness, feelings of fulfillment, and reduces our risk for disease. And so, I love what Ben is saying about this new health revolution.

[00:09:03] Yes, fitness is important. Yes, brain health is important. But don't forget to be good to each other. Express love and compassion more often, and you might just extend your life, reduce your risk of chronic disease, and, frankly, just feel that much better. That'll do it for today. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for sharing this show with someone. That's one of the best ways to help us keep our shows going. Thank you for listening every day. I hope you have a great rest of your weekend, and I'll see you back here tomorrow,

[00:09:32] where your optimal life awaits.