Hi friend, I ruptured my achilles tendon yesterday.
Playing cricket, I set off for a single whilst batting and just felt a pop as I pushed off.
Instantly hit the deck like I’d been shot.
You can hang a car off your achilles, it’s the strongest tendon in your body and I sheered mine in half yesterday.
Needless to say it’s not an ideal situation.
6-8 months of recovery. Still awaiting a date for surgery to reattach the tendon together.
I wish I could say I’m packing a David-Goggins style bulletproof mentality.
I’m not.
But the original email I had drafted for today highlights some important sentiments which I need to remember.
So here I am, editing this email for myself, as much as for you.
After having hopped around my house on my own for a day and struggled to cook, clean, move and sleep – I need to keep some things mind…
(My Original Email…)
The main takeaway from Evolutionary Psychology is that life is inherently unsatisfactory.
“Wonderful sentiment Chris, please brighten my Monday a little more” – I know I know.
I’m aware this sounds brutal and melancholy and existential.
But learning this truth can liberate you.
Has nature REALLY allowed the smartest creatures on the planet to subconsciously always be a little dissatisfied?
Not only that – it’s written into our source code.
Through the lens of our genes, this ambient dissatisfaction is perfectly acceptable.“Unsatisfactoriness is an inbuilt function. Humans have evolved to be effective, not happy.”
If all it took to make you happy was achieving one goal – your ancestors would have stopped pushing for more after finding an acceptable cave.
Instead, if all happiness was quickly brought back to baseline – you would be motivated to stay vigilant for threats and continue to seek better & better caves.
This second version of you is more likely to survive.
Happiness is adversarial to survival – in that it makes us lazy.
There’s something very uncomfortable about hearing that no matter what you do, life will continue to drag you back to a happiness set point.
But here’s the liberating part…
If you return to baseline shortly after good things happening, the same is true of anything bad.
People who become wheelchair bound and those who win the lottery report similar levels of happiness after just 1 year.
What does this tell us?
That largely, the day to day successes and catastrophes we encounter won’t impact us long term.
You are more robust than you ever could know. No matter what happens, you will almost always be fine.
… How bizarre to have written about the fearlessness we should view becoming wheelchair bound with, less than 24 hours before my father would be wheeling me into A&E.
I’m not sure how the next few months will go for me.
I talk A LOT about focussing on controllables vs uncontrollables, the value of relying on good routines and treating yourself as if you are someone who you are responsible for helping.
But when faced with a challenge like losing your mobility and independance – it can be hard.
I guess it’s time for me to put all this armchair wisdom to work…
MODERN WISDOM
I do a podcast which has had 4 million+ downloads. You should subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
This week’s upcoming episodes:
Monday.
James Smith – the no-BS assassin of the fitness industry joins me to talk mindset, values, and how to live a life you love. Do not miss this one.
Thursday.
Kezia Noble – a female dating and attraction coach for guys gives her best tips and identifies where men are going wrong when trying to attract women. (Women – this will be hilarious to listen to)
Saturday.
David Birtwhistle – star of Netflix’s Too Hot To Handle tells us what it’s really like to become famous with big implications for what we should strive toward in life.
THINGS I’VE LEARNED
1.
People who have a family live longer than people who are single.
People with a family which also has dogs live longer than those without dogs.
But people who just have dogs and no family live longest of all.
Disregard humans: acquire dogs.
2.
How you start something is how you’ll continue it.
Set the tone with actions as perfect as you can muster.
Use today to set the standard for tomorrow to meet.
(which is why I’ve not allowed myself to avoid sending this email)
3.
Snapping your achilles doesn’t actually hurt all that much. Pain peaks at around 4/10.
Still, I wouldn’t advise it.
LIFE HACK
Lindahls Kvarg White Chocolate.
White Chocolate flavour Quark from Sweden.
Kind of like a yoghurt, but with 17g of protein and 5g carbs per pot.
Not sure what Harry Potter magic they’ve employed to hit those macros but it’s crazy tasty and really filling.
Available at ASDA.
Thanks to everyone who’s reached out to check in on me. This network is insane.
Big love,
Chris x
Listen to me on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Say hi on Twitter or Instagram.
