Over the last week, I have been digging into Vishen Lakhiana’a new book The Buddha and the Badass. Overall, I have not been impressed with the book and think that his first book, The Code to the Extraordinary Mind is much better. However, there have been some little information nuggets that I have found to be interesting and worth exploring.
One is a quote Vishen shares from Suguta Mitra, a professor of educational technology at the School of Education, Communication and Language Science at Newcastle University in England. The quote goes like this:
“Human beings are not smartphones. We own smartphones. We don’t need heads filled with useless facts when we all have access to Google. What we need is a head filled with the right wisdom, beliefs, practices, and knowledge to help us deal with the messy, confusing, beautiful aspects of being human itself.”
As I always do, as soon as I read this, I thought about the quote’s implications for human health. I think often times we get so hung up on the science of health and learning facts about this food or that exercise routine that we often fail to realize that this information doesn’t always move the needle for us.
Time and time again I receive messages on my Instagram that are very specific, scientific questions about genes, hormone regulation, cellular function, and more. While I love nerding out on these topics, I can’t help but think that my answers to these questions likely do not help the recipient of the information get any healthier.
Trust me, this is a harsh reality for me to realize being a health science guy and the author of a book that breaks down all of the science behind the ketogenic diet. While I think that the science of dieting is interesting and there are components of it that are worth knowing, I think the biggest thing we need to be focused on when it comes to health is the right “wisdom, beliefs, practices, and knowledge” to help us thrive in our own unique life.
Rather than getting caught in the weeds of health science, I believe that we should start thinking about what you need to be successful on your health journey. This includes, gaining knowledge on what foods, exercises, and other health strategies YOUR body responds and doesn’t respond well to. It includes learning what strategies actually work for helping YOU improve your quality of life and human performance. This also includes developing the right frame of mind and perspective on diet, exercise, and health, in general, that will allow YOU to thrive on your journey towards a healthy life.
This can be achieved by taking stock in your own health. Think about what you are subjecting your body, mind, and digestive tract to. Acknowledge the ensuing response and consider what could be done differently to help you improve. Over time, this level of awareness and attention to detail will allow you to figure out what is best for you and acquire new tools in your health tool belt that will make achieving and maintaining health much simpler.
Be aware. Pay attention. Don’t ignore the signals from your body. It is giving you information that is far more valuable than what you are looking for in a health science book.
P.S. One of my favorite brands, Equip, finally got their pre-workout back in stock. I have been a big fan of this pre-workout for the last year because it’s clean and has ingredients that actually get me pumped up and motivated to workout but also improve my workout performance and maximize my time in the gym. It also doesn’t contain a bunch of stimulants that make you feel weird or tired afterward which I especially love! If you want to snag some, click this link and use the code THEKETOLOGIST to save!