Fact:
The life-span of human beings ranges between 70-120.
The day I read that statement, I wanted to be on the far end of that range.
Nobody wants to die. But that inner voice doesn’t lie and kept on reminding me…
Not. Gonna. Happen.
So, I decided to delay it as long as I can. I‘ve spent almost half of my life obsessing about ‘How to live a long live’
Is it possible?
Yes.
In my world, everything starts with understanding. And that’s what shall do, my friend.
We’ll start from scratch and understand this body to its very core. And with that understanding we’ll figure out the best real life practices to maximize our lifespans.
Do you know how to drive a Spaceship?
Unless you’re an astronaut or Elon Musk reading this newsletter, the answer is a flat no.
What if I gave you the keys to the most awesome spaceship ever made? Would you take it for a ride?
Nah! You’d be scared shitless. You may play around with a few buttons & blinking lights like a 5 years old, and that would be it, the end of your adventure.
And that’s exactly what you’ve been doing with your body. You know a few buttons here and there with the help of some random meditation fact you read at 2 a.m on your Instagram feed.
That’s about it. That’s all you know.
You see, this body is kinda like a spaceship.
This body is given to you to zip around this planet and do your shit.
Now if you know how to drive it right, you can keep it and play with it for a long, long time. If you fool around and act like a 5 year old, God’s gonna snatch it away.
So, what is the first thing you need to learn how to drive it?
You need driving instructions.
But the funny part is, you’re given the keys without any instructions, and you gotta figure it out on your own.
God’s really got a sense of humor.
I’m not a doctor or a medical expert, but I’ve been obsessed with it for so long, reading and researching so deep into the layers, that I think I’ve got something important here. Trust me.
How to drive a spaceship and keep having fun with it for a long long time:
Your body is a machine.
Now to understand it, simply imagine it like your car.
Now what keeps a car running in a good condition for a long time?
Many things. Timely maintenance, oil change, repairs, smooth driving and all that. Now in the same way, if you look at your body like a machine, there are three most important things to keep in mind.
These are the only things you’ll ever need to keep your body in a good condition for a long long time.
1) Food
2) Rest
3) Maintenance
Sounds so simple. Right?
But the real confusion lies in the details.
What food to eat?
Rest? When?
Maintenance! What’s that?
And so on…
We’ll walk through each one of them and explain how all that jazz works
The 3 Simple Ways to Live a Long Long Life
1. FOOD
99% of all problems in your body arise from what you eat.
Food is fuel. And if you’re putting in the wrong fuel, it is same as running your car on coconut oil.
Not. Gonna. Happen.
This human body is designed to be healthy 24/7, 365 days. How do I know this?
I did a 90 day experiment two years ago.
In this experiment, for 90 days, I ate the same food everyday.
How did I choose what to eat? Good question.
I have 3 laws for a food to be healthy:
- Easily digestible. Probably in 2 hours.
- Doesn’t make you feel lazy after eating it.
- Makes you feel energetic and fresh.
I’m not going to reveal what I ate, because that will be like telling you what to eat, which is the exact opposite of what I want you to learn.
Anyways. Moving on.
So I chose two different varieties of meals. And ate one at 11 am and the other at 7 pm. For 90 days straight.
What happened?
NOTHING.
That’s my whole point. Nothing should happen.
- No bloating
- No cough, cold
- No tiredness
- No laziness
- No mood swings
- No acidity
I felt exactly the same everyday. Fresh, energetic, and ready to roll.
Now, the second thing I did was to eat only organic food.
What organic really is?
I don’t know. But I do have my own definition of organic. And instead of Organic I have a different name for it.
I call it Life food.
Life food as the name suggests is food that has life in it. What the hell is that supposed to mean? Eating a fish straight outta the fishing hook.
Well, you’re close.
What it means is eating food that has a natural expiry date.
- Like milk goes bad in a day – It has life
- Like an apple rots in a couple of days, it has life
- Eggs go bad in a week, they have life
- Any kind of green veggie goes bad on 3 day, they have life
- Meat rots in a few hours, it has life.
Now don’t start wrecking your brains. It’s not rocket science.
A simple sign to figure this out is – anything that comes straight from the ground, trees or an animal and goes bad naturally in a few days is life food.
When you eat life food, it transforms into life, and increases your life.
You see, if you’re always eating dead food that has added preservatives and other chemicals for long shelf-life, it gives you the energy but it doesn’t give you the vitality. It will give you the energy to work, but not the nutrition & nourishment your body needs for a long life.
The life inside is left starving. The dead food will only touch the body, not the soul.
Okay, so that’s the kind of food you should eat. Next thing is.
2. Rest
If you keep on running a car for miles and miles and miles, what will happen to the engine?
It’ll smoke out, and you may have to take it to a mechanic.
In the same way, when we do not give rest to our bodies, they get sick. Sometimes very sick. And then you have to take it to the body mechanic a.k.a doctors.
Now how do we fix that?
It is funny that sometimes simple things can be the most confusing things, no?
When to rest?
8 hrs or 7 hrs of sleep?
Nap or no nap?
What if I’m not feeling sleepy?
Well, my friend, the best way to resolve the puzzle of Rest is to create a comfortable routine for yourself.
I like what the Chinese have figured out. Have a look:
And from what I have experienced, the best way to create a routine is to align yourself with nature.
How?
By following the natural rhythms of the day.
So you work during the day and rest when the sun’s down. Simple as that.
When it’s daytime, work, build, create, run, eat, do whatever you want to do, but once the sun is down, the energy also goes down. Do things that relax you. Listen to music, go for a walk, take a hot shower. get into a cozy blanket and read fiction. Anything that relaxes your mind and helps you have a good night’s sleep.
Keep it simple and consistent. A well rested body can be stretched to its limits and it can give you unimaginable results. Treat it with love and care.
That’s about it. Moving on to the finale.
3. Maintenance
Maintenance is the KEY to live a long life.
Read that again. DO it.
I won’t say it’s the most important of all three. All of them are equally important. But this is what actually slows down the aging process.
So I’d say it’s slightly more important than the others. If you’re eating shitty food, and sleeping 6 hrs every night, but if you’re maintaining the body to make up for the damage done by the other two, it will still last for a pretty long time.
Maintenance is done by creating RITUALS.
What is a ritual?
No matter what happens, you HAVE TO do it. That’s the kind of commitment it takes to maintain your body.
A simple ritual could be like brushing your teeth before bed.
It may not look fancy or involve magic and fairies and crystals, but in the long run this is what keeps your teeth where they are.
You have to have a ritual of maintenance.
Now there are different kinds of maintenance procedures recommended by doctors and scientists and gurus and philosophers. You can experiment with different kinds and see what fits your body the best.
I’ll give you a few ways here and you can experiment with them.
My Maintenance Rituals:
1. Fasting
There are all kinds of fasting out there.
- Intermittent fasting
- 1 day, fasting
- Night fasting
- 3 day Fasting
- And hundreds of kinds of fasting.
Honestly, it’s not that complicated.
Fasting is simply not eating food. You see, the body is a machine. And this machine has different parts. And these parts also need rest.
Fasting is resting your digestive system so it can repair itself.
This body is very intelligent. It’s a spaceship, remember? You don’t have to do anything extra to help it repair any damage. It’s way more intelligent than you. It knows how to repair itself. You just need to give it rest.
A very, very important insight:
Every month there comes a day when you will not feel hungry. Your energy will be fine, but you won’t feel like eating.
Now, if you’re into a habit of eating, you will eat. And then you’ll get an upset stomach. But if you’re aware and present, you’ll notice that, yes, I don’t feel like eating, don’t eat.
That’s the day of maintenance, the body gives you all the signs. All you need is to be open and listen to it.
Do whatever you do in your regular day, just don’t eat. If you feel thirsty, you can drink water. If you are not feeling thirsty, you don’t have to drink water.
I prefer to do intermittent fasting. You only eat in an 8 hour window, let’s say from 10am to 6pm. In that time window you can have two meals or three, whichever suits you best. And then you don’t eat anything for the rest of the 16 hours. Simple as that.
2. Exercise
Your body is a machine. And what do machines do?
THEY MOVE.
If you see the physiology of this body it is designed to move. If you don’t move it, you’re gonna lose it.
So pick up any exercise that fits your body shape.
Swimming is great. Walking is easy, put on a pair of headphones and go walking. If you prefer nature’s music, do it without them, just walk at least for 20-30 minutes every day.
This is non-negotiable. You have to do it.
It’s important, very important for your knees, for your joints, all the moving parts of the body. Look at it like a machine. Remember machines have moving parts. And if you don’t move them, they’ll start getting a little rusty and jammed.
Swim, dance, run, hit the gym, whatever fits you. But make sure you move at least an hour every day. Consciously doing something that will keep you healthy and fit.
3. Mental health
Here are my 2 simple rules
- Live a stress free life.
- Surround yourself with happy people
Slow down, don’t rush, don’t exert yourself. Don’t drown yourself in an ocean of anxiety or overthinking everything.
Calm down.
Cultivating habits to take off that stress. Let out the steam.
Like meditation or just sitting under a tree will work just fine to calm you down.
Hang out with good people. People who make you feel energetic, people who make you feel good, people who help you relax, and with whom you can express yourself without having to hold back anything.
Live close to your family. Have fun with friends, go out, whatever that makes you feel alive.
Whatever makes you feel happy.
And at last, the one thing that will keep waking you up day after day after day with joy is – Have a life mission.
Help the universe know itself through you.
P.S. If you want to learn How to Transform into the Highest Version of Yourself, Find Your Life’s Purpose, and Become Wildly Successful Doing What You Love
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