There are people reporting anhedonia.
That cannot be positive for longevity.
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I think having something to look forward to is important. I am coming out with an interview on using adventure as a way to set fun but hard goals to anticipate and prepare for, and to create emotional memories to mark time.
Fullness of life comes from memories marking time. Scary and/or hard challenges, particularly physical ones, have always been a big part of my lifeā¦until recently.
Time flies when I donāt mark time with powerful memories. Itās time to get back on track.
How do you mark time?
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I mark time by summer holidays. Every summer I travel with my sons and wife for 5 weeks. Itās the best part of my life.
This year we went to Auckland, NZ; Sydney, AU; then the USA to visit my parents and friends. After that my Dad, eldest son and I went to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. Next year we are planning two weeks in Italy followed by 3 weeks in the USA.
I want to enjoy these times before my children no longer want to travel and before my parents pass. Those 5 weeks each year are how I mark time.
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RPS
#5
Same for me, travelling far and wide with my children. Epic adventures.
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blsm
#6
Oh, this is so interesting! It reminds me of something I read about recently called Misogi.
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Misogi is a Japanese Shinto ritual that involves cleansing the body and mind through physical and mental challenges. The word āmisogiā literally translates to āwater cleansingā
Yes!
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blsm
#8
Thanks Joseph! Youāre always a wealth of information and I greatly enjoy your Wise Athletes podcast. I always learn something new and helpful.
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Thanks a ton! Itās a labor of love. I learn an amazing amount from the episodes. I pick the topics that I want to learn about, and Iāve started looking for the thread that ties together the various topics.
I seek efficiency in living a healthy and happy life.
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I have seen my older family members lose their will to live after serious health events - Parkinsonās Disease, stroke, etc. Itās tough to be āoptimisticā if you canāt get out of bed, bathe, dress, walk, or eat unassisted, and when there is no prospect of āgetting betterā. They got to a point where they said, āthis stinks, I hate this, I give up.ā
Ironically, my mom grumbled for years about her father āgiving upā but when the time came, she did so herself.
I donāt blame them at all, their physical states were very challenging and demoralizing in the endgame.
On the other hand, my dad actually got to a point where he was in the hospice and they stopped feeding him, but somehow he bounced back and eventually got out of bed and started eating again. Out of sheer cussedness perhaps?
My own view is that an important factor in āwill to liveā is having a positive life purpose of some kind. We have all no doubt seen cases where the person retires, they donāt know what to do with themselves, and they drop dead within a year or two. They had not found a new purpose after years of āgo to work every dayā being their purpose (or at least an adequate substitute for it).
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That goes both ways. I believe the will to live is an adaptation. If you are healthy and have a lot to look forward to you donāt want to die. We see that often with younger people in general. A young cancer patient feels thereās so much more they want to accomplish, and they fight to live. Itās hard for people in those situations to imagine not wanting to live.
But how can you naturally come to the end of life? You must lose the will to live, that way you donāt struggle psychologically. This often happens in old people who donāt feel they have anything to live for. As a young and capable person, you feel the capability to write that book, build that company, start that family, and so you canāt psychologically understand not wanting to live. But imagine you are old and donāt have those abilities any more, those goals are no longer possible. So that motivation drops off. What about the simple enjoyment of life? Well, imagine you are sick and suffering. Your body no longer works. The will to live leaves you naturally, you no longer struggle to stay alive, because all the motivation is gone and the context of the desire to live is gone. You canāt imagine it, until you experience it.
Losing the will to live when you are sick, suffering and have nothing to live for is an adaptation easing your passage into nothingness. Losing the fear of death is a psychological adaptation to the inevitable. Itās a kindness.
It works both ways.
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Letās not lose sight of this thought.
Itās not a new idea. Socrates said something likeā¦ābeware the barrenness of a busy lifeā.
Emotionally charged memories are the key. For me it is overcoming negative feelings such as fear or tiredness to keep going to achieve a hard physical goal. Physical goals have the advantage of being discrete, tangible activities that have an end (finish line, summit, etc)
It cannot be a good meal or an enjoyable movie or a good workout (one of many). These are not nearly powerful enough.
I have a podcast coming out soon on this topic.
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Hereās my episode with Brian Keane on using adventure to avoid the barrenness of a busy life. Itās one of my favorites.
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