Deep Life Reflections: Friday Five
Issue 31 - Captains
Hello and welcome to my weekly email newsletter, Deep Life Reflections: Friday Five, where I share five things I’m enjoying, thinking about, and find interesting. I hope you enjoy issue 31 and feel free to share your own reflections.
Here’s my Friday Five this week.
1. What I’m Reading
Outlive: The Science & Art of Longevity. By Peter Attia, MD.
Immortality may sound like a possibility to tech entrepreneur multimillionaire Bryan Johnson, who has been on a three-year quest for eternal life. Yet, in his book, Outlive: The Science & Art of Longevity, Dr. Peter Attia steers clear of such vanity pursuits. Instead, he offers a more grounded and pragmatic goal: living healthier for longer.
Receiving his medical degree from Stanford University and having been trained in general surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Attia presents longevity as two parts of the same coin: lifespan—the length of our life, and healthspan—the quality of our lived years. He envisions a life that isn't just longer but also freer from the debilitating grips of disease, which we can delay or prevent.
Most of us are unfortunately on track to succumb to one of the ‘Four Horsemen’—the four major chronic diseases of aging, namely heart disease, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and metabolic dysfunctions like type 2 diabetes. It's a stark reality, but one that Attia believes we can shift.
Taking a science-backed approach, Outlive provides a blueprint for not just being free of disease or disability, but actually thriving in the second half of our lives. At its heart is ‘Medicine 3.0’—Attia’s vision of a personalised, proactive strategy, where we are more informed and take action now instead of waiting. Rather than laying out a one-size-fits-all prescription, Attia guides us on how to think about our long-term health decisions, ignoring dogmatic stances on the latest diets or workouts.
He identifies four foundational pillars to health—exercise, nutrition, sleep, and emotional health. Attia respects the reader's autonomy, emphasising the individualistic nature of our health journeys. He, therefore, leaves the tactics and implementation up to us. While all pillars are vital, exercise stands out as the most potent longevity booster, a sentiment echoed by multiple studies that show regular exercisers outliving their sedentary counterparts by up to a decade.
In Outlive, Attia asks us to transition from being passive passengers to active captains on our own ship. By taking the helm of our health, we enhance both our lifespan and healthspan, charting a course toward tranquil waters, savouring the serenity for as long as we can.
2. What I’m Watching
Mind Games: The Experiment. A documentary by ASICS.
I had the privilege this week of attending a special screening of a documentary, Mind Games: The Experiment. Spearheaded by ASICS, the film posed an intriguing question: Can increasing physical activity levels enhance the prowess of an already sharp mind, specifically in competitive mind games?
Overseen by Dr. Brendon Stubbs, a renowned researcher in movement and the mind, the documentary takes us on a journey with four elite mind gamers from diverse corners of the globe. We meet Sherry Nahn, a professional Esports player from California; Ben Pridmore, a Memory Champion from England; Ryoei Hirano, the Riichi Mahjong strategist from Japan; and Kassa Korley, an International Chess Master from New York. Each begins their journey from a baseline of minimal, or in some cases, non-existent, physical fitness.
Narrated by Stephen Fry, we follow the unique stories of these four individuals to find out if a regimen of regular exercise took these elite mind gamers to even greater heights in their respective fields on the global stage. The results were conclusive and impressive. Participants’ international gaming rankings improved by 75%. Group confidence levels increased by 44%, concentration improved by 33%, and anxiety levels plummeted by 43%. The mind gamers’ cognitive function was also boosted on average by 10%, showing exercise was as effective at boosting brain function as learning a second language, reading daily, or completing a puzzle every day. The film reaffirms an important point: physical fitness isn’t just about the body.
In my role as a FrontRunner for ASICS, I spoke with Dr. Stubbs post-screening. He emphasised the interconnected link between physical and mental wellbeing. Exercise, he believes, helps the human ‘machine’ perform far better for longer. Reflecting on this, the adage, “A sound mind in a sound body,” feels truer than ever.
You can watch Mind Games: The Experiment on YouTube.
3. What I’m Contemplating
The cover image for this week's issue captures the magnificent El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, a photo I took in 2019. Its name, translated from Spanish, means ‘The Captain.’ As we navigate our role as captains steering our personal ships of longevity, the pivotal question arises: Why? Why do we want to live longer? For what? And for whom?
It isn't about mere life optimisation as Bryan Johnson pursues; it's about infusing life with purpose, meaning, and forward-looking intent.
A survivor from the 2009 ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ plane crash shared an insight that struck a chord with me: “If you want to find someone’s true age, listen to them. If they talk about the past and they talk about all the things that happened and all that they did, they’ve gotten old. [But] if they think about those dreams, their aspirations, what they’re still looking forward to, they’re young.”
Modern technologies like the ‘Memories’ feature on social platforms sometimes anchor us to the past. Like many, I’ve felt this pull to the past when seeing photos of what I was doing five years ago. Running is a good example. While I've cherished my running memories (and it has been nearly two years since my last run because of a significant long-term injury), I'm aware of the pull between past nostalgia and future aspirations. I try to keep my gaze more fixed to the future: growing my coaching business, planning a trip to New Zealand, and embracing the promise of unknown adventures and opportunities. Staying as physically, cognitively, and emotionally healthy as I can, for as long as I can, is fundamental to this journey.
And I’m content to flow with nature's rhythm, not defy it.
4. A Quote to note
“The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.”
- John F. Kennedy
5. A Question for you
What's your ideal state of health and fitness, and are there any beliefs, assumptions, or barriers potentially holding you back from it?
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Thanks for reading and have a great weekend.
James