Last night, I delivered a talk on healthspan to some tech folks — but not before someone got onstage and spoke breathlessly about immortality in our lifetime. That’s where I felt like I needed to make a philosophical distinction. I love the idea of reducing disease and other impairments to quality of life. I am on that ship with you — and enthusiastically throwing down ropes and ladders to anyone else who wants to climb aboard. There’s room for everyone when we focus on reducing barriers to practice and accessibility. However, the idea of being locked into a bunker with a bunch of 1,000-year-old tech bros is not what I would describe as a strong personal motivator. Let’s just agree to appreciate what we’ve got — when we’ve got it.
That’s the funny thing about longevity. In our pursuit for more future time, we may find ourselves spending more and more of the time we currently have. It seems a bit like the serpent is devouring its own tail here UNLESS you’re enjoying the experience. Our aspiration at Bang is for you to find value and meaning in the time you spend with us — and for that time to have a disproportionate value… to give more than it gets to your energy, mood, and self-efficacy. To that end, I often think of fitness as a cone-shaped vessel that you pour your efforts into. The lower your starting level, the more quickly things fill.
Sometimes, we describe progress of fitness qualities through the lens of diminishing returns — where progress continues — but with progressively more effort. Indeed, the closer to elite you become, the harder it is to fill that vessel. For example, it’s extremely labour and resource-intensive to go from being in the top 100 in the world at pickleball to being in the top 50. It’s a massive undertaking. However, if your performance is terrible, getting to so-so is totally doable — with far less time and effort. Likewise, if your V02 max (how much oxygen your body can use) is super low, you can probably climb to average levels without having to do anything dramatic. Statistically speaking, doing this will cut your risk for all-cause mortality in half. The juice is worth the squeeze!
Here’s my favourite part: no matter who you are — or what your level — your next step forward is disproportionately valuable. So, look for opportunities to take it. They’re not just for geometry and ice cream.
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