- Five to Thrive
- Posts
- #010 – Effective Sacrifices & Physiological Sighing
#010 – Effective Sacrifices & Physiological Sighing
Quote, Podcast, Mental Model, Hack, Tweet.
Dimitri Gremos
May 17, 2023
Welcome to the Five to Thrive newsletter
Bringing 5 interesting ideas to your inbox every Thursday morning to ignite your curiosity and drive your growth.
read online on fivetothrive.beehiiv.com
read time 3 minutes
#010 at a Glance:
Quote that will get you thinking: Doubting Your Power.
Podcast you should listen to: Joe Rogan x Naval Ravikant.
Mental Model: Effective Sacrifices.
Hack you should try: Breathing Method to Instantly Lower Your Stress and Enhance Your Clarity.
Tweet I liked: Painful to Start, Powerful to Master.
Quote that will get you thinking:
“When you doubt your power, you give power to your doubt.”
This is actually the quote I wrote in my High School yearbook.
It’s so simple yet unlocks so much about self-doubt and the human psyche.
Podcast you should listen to:
The Joe Rogan Experience #1309 – Naval Ravikant
Naval Ravikant is a prominent entrepreneur, investor, and thought leader. He’s a big player in the startup world but at the same time has incredible insights into living a balanced, fulfilling life.
In a conversation that spans technology, philosophy, happiness, and success, these are two incredible thinkers at the top of their game.
There are only 2 podcasts that I’ve ever gone back and listened to multiple times. This is one of them.
Mental Model:
Effective Sacrifices
I’ve been thinking a lot about sacrifices lately and the idea of giving up something in exchange for something else.
It’s a principle that has been ingrained into our heads for many years:
“Want to get in shape? You have to give up junk food.”
“Want to get good grades? You can’t go to that party.”
“Want to achieve anything? Well, then you have to make sacrifices.”
But I feel like in many ways, making sacrifices has now become somewhat of a virtue signal. It’s become just a thing people do to give off the appearance that they are working towards a goal or objective. Whereas in reality, the sacrifice that they’re making is both unnecessary and ineffective.
For example:
There’s no point in skipping out on the party if you’re just going to sit at home on your phone scrolling through social media for 3 hours.
There’s no point avoiding junk food if you’re going to stand around talking to people when you’re at the gym.
And I’m not saying that sacrifices aren’t important, they certainly are. Any person that has succeeded in anything will tell you that their achievement came at the cost of giving up other things. BUT, we shouldn’t unnecessarily deprive ourselves of things that we enjoy (time with friends, certain foods, etc) if we’re not going to ACTUALLY MAKE USE of that time.
Just because you didn’t go to that party or just because you went to the gym does not mean that you’re being productive. We need to make the sacrifices WORTH IT.
Don’t fall into the trap of making ineffective sacrifices. Make effective sacrifices.
Hack you should try:
Physiological Sighing
When I saw that physiological sighing outperformed meditation, my interest was piqued (given how much hype there is surrounding the benefits of meditation). So I tried it out…
I’ve been doing Huberman’s physiological sighing protocol for 5 minutes a day over the last 3 weeks and although I admittedly missed a few days, I’ve started to experience some of those positive outcomes.
I’ve felt lower stress in moments that I would otherwise have normally experienced heightened stress (e.g. working to a strict deadline, making big decisions, etc). I also noticed increased feelings of clarity in these moments which can likely be attributed to the increased oxygen intake that this breathwork protocol supports.
So, was it worth it? Yes.
Am I going to keep doing it? Yes.
Should you try it? If you’re not too keen on trying out meditation but want to experience lower stress, better mood, and heightened clarity, then it’s definitely worth a shot.
Tweet I liked:
Writing sorts out your thought process.
That's why it's so painful when you start it.
That's why it's so powerful when you master it.
— DAN BELYAEV (@thedanbelyaev)
12:05 PM • May 13, 2023
If you’re struggling with what to write about, start with this.
That’s all for this week, thanks for reading!
Grateful for your support.
Stay hungry, stay humble, & stay curious. ⚡
Do you think someone else will enjoy reading Five to Thrive? Forward them this email!
Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe to receive them in the future!