Happy New Year!
Thanks for joining me for the first 411 of the year. Here are 4 thoughts, 1 quote, and 1 answer for you to consider this week.
4 THOUGHTS
1. 21 One-Sentence Breathing Ideas
"Weak is he who permits his thoughts to control his breath; strong is he who forces his breath to control his thoughts."
Breathing ideas are often long-winded, but they shouldn’t be.
Here are 21 one-sentence breathing ideas to kick off 2021. You’ll learn how breathing is the compound interest of health, the most effective way to breathe right now, and the best time to start a breathing practice. Enjoy!
P.S. Josh Spector’s excellent post on communication inspired this idea.
2. What Not to Focus On in 2021
"Just because you can measure something doesn’t mean it’s the most important thing." - James Clear, Atomic Habits
Focusing on any one outcome (e.g., CO2 tolerance or BOLT) is simplistic, even in breathing. The problem is, as James also states, "we optimize for what we measure." So, let’s avoid putting too much weight on any one measurement in 2021.
The alternative, James tells us, "is to build identity-based habits. With this approach, we start by focusing on who we wish to become." Measuring progress is important, but we don’t want our identity to be based on a measurement ("I have a high BOLT score"). Instead, we want the measurement to be an outcome of our identity ("I am someone who focuses on optimal breathing, so I have a high BOLT").
It’s a significant distinction.
3. "The Consequences of Sucking at Breathing"
"Without knowing it, you might be messing up your sleep, mood, digestion, heart, nervous system, muscles, brain, and even the development of your teeth and face structure." - Patrik Edblad, How to Breathe Properly – A (Surprisingly Important) Complete Guide
I love finding breathing articles from "non-breathing" people. It makes my heart (and lungs) happy. Even more so when they are excellently written, like this one.
My favorite part was that Patrik conveyed all the benefits of breathing without ever mentioning CO2. 👏 Enjoy the awesome read!
4. Harmonize the Butterflies in Your Stomach
"It's all right to have butterflies in your stomach. Just get them to fly in formation." - Dr. Rob Gilbert
Controlling your breathing is an easy way to help synchronize them.
1 QUOTE
"A hundred objective measurements didn't sum the worth of a garden; only the delight of its users did that. Only the use made it mean something."
- Lois McMaster Bujold
1 ANSWER
Answer: Approximately 2/3 of the mass of the human body is made up of this.
…
(Cue the Jeopardy! music.)
…
Question: What is oxygen?
In good breath,
Nick