Vividlee

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Any value, measurement or quantity can be compared to another. And we humans like round numbers. We have an affinity for some numbers, indifference to others and even hatred for others. Some numbers will seem to have a magical place in our minds.

More is better. Larger is better. Too many weird biases to count.

Many times we evaluate numbers without regard to context in time. Take for example marathon finish time. A slow finish time for an elite athlete in his or her prime could be a personal best time for a late blooming older athlete.

Context is important. And sometimes the only way to see the context is to take a step or two back. This gives us a wider view and maybe puts data in context to the data around the number. Sometimes a better understanding comes from taking a look around.

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In an electronic device voltage and current are contained and carried along wires and pathways called circuits. When a pathways is broken it’s called a open circuit and current cannot pass. If a pathway is connected where is should not, current may flow along an unintended pathway and is called a short circuit. This short circuit will cause malfunction in the device. The malfunction could be minor and just annoying. But it can also be bad enough to cause a no function condition. Or the the very worst case damage or destruction of the device.

So short circuits are bad and should be avoided. Our brain has behaviors that are like short circuits. The highly addictive substances can cause short circuits or influence our behaviors. The behaviors can be slight, annoying or self destructive.

• Opioids
• Alcohol
• Nicotine
• Sugar

These are known, addictive and destructive because they change human behavior that harms our health. Harm in the extreme leading to death. No joke. No exaggeration.

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To fuel a car or electronic device you refill the gas tank or battery. And you go on your way.

The human body is constantly shedding dead skin cells. Hair and fingernails never stop growing. Your skin wraps into every orifice and lines your nasal passages, throat, lungs, stomach and gut. Cells are being shed here as well as mucous. All to protect us from the outside environment.

So human fuel is not just calories or energy. It’s building blocks. What’s that? It is the constituent molecules, elements, minerals, proteins and fats that make up the parts of the cells of our body. If our diet is missing or deficient it can make some of them. It can even harvest or recycle it from somewhere else in the body. But there are some things that, if missing, the newly rebuilt cells will be weak or damaged in some way.

A body with a high percentage of damaged or weak cells will have compromised immunity, lower performance and probably shorter lifespan. It doesn’t take much imagination to see how this is directly correlated with health, disease and athletic performance.

Building blocks so small you can’t see them. Building blocks so essential that without them we get sick and can die. Makes me think of every bite as an opportunity to get what my body needs.

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If you don’t recharge your electronic device it will eventually run out of power and stop functioning. As the battery ages it capacity may decrease. It’s performance may decrease compared to when it was brand new.

The human body is not an electronic device. There are many more variables that influence performance. Here are some of the physical and actionable variables.

• Rest and recovery
• Training and exercise
• Nutrition and hydration

If we can strike the right balance of these inputs, we can maximize human performance. If we maximize human performance we will position our bodies to perform well under stress. We will stave off age related declines.

But too much rest and not enough exercise and the body will weaken and atrophy. Decline and run down will be the result. Too much training and not enough rest will result in decline and injury. Inadequate nutrition will also lead to illness, injury and decline. The human body has amazing abilities to adapt and recover from all kinds of insults, injuries and deficiencies. But they are not unlimited.

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Electronic devices have a run time limit. If they have rechargeable batteries, it is called battery life. Human bodies are not batteries. But there are fundamental differences and similarities.

The similarity is that our bodies have a run time and need recharging or recovery. This comes in the form of rest and food.

The difference with batteries and devices is the fuel. They need one energy source. One input and they are ready to go again. Perform their function as designed.

Human bodies can be fed one kind of fuel. Like carbohydrates or sugar, which are devoid of nutrients or nutrition. They have calories and can fuel our activity. But in general they are low in essential minerals, vitamins and essential fats.

While human performance is an amazing and spectacular thing to behold. It is like a water well. You can draw water and enjoy it. But you may need to let it recharge and refill before you draw it down again.

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Before each workout of a marathon training session, especially the hard ones, there is an internal debate. I consider skipping it and doing something else. Most of the time I say to heck with skipping and just go out anyway. Usually it’s hard, usually there is struggle. And usually there are nice moments of realization that the difficulty is what I was seeking all along.