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Welcome to Effective Habits, a weekly newsletter where I share evidence-based strategies and tools to help you live a happy, healthy, and productive life.
Today at a Glance:
A Letter to the Next Generation
Can One Day of Overeating Ruin Your Progress?
Living on Principle
“Decide what you want to be....
Pay the Price ...
And be what you want to be.”
A Letter to the Next Generation
Sahil Bloom
🔦Lights, Camera, ...
There’s something timeless about the impulse to pass on hard-won lessons and to leave behind not a map, but a compass. The letter of a parent to a child distills the universal wish that each generation learns to navigate life’s paradoxes: that love and sadness are twins, that struggle is the price of growth, that reliability quietly outpaces brilliance, and that kindness matters most when unseen. Beneath it all lies a tension every human must reconcile, which is the instinct to protect against pain and the understanding that pain itself shapes meaning. What emerges is a philosophy of agency, curiosity, and integrity: to meet life not with certainty but with presence, to keep asking questions even when the answers are unclear, and to trust that the dance between joy and difficulty is where purpose is found.
🎬Action!
Always take yourself seriously. Treat yourself with the seriousness you wish the world to reflect. Stand tall, take care of your body and mind, listen closely, speak with intention, and bet on yourself, because how you carry yourself sets the tone for how life responds to you.
Never give up your agency. When things fall apart, resist the urge to blame or wait for rescue. Take responsibility, take control, and take action. You are capable of doing hard things, solving problems, and rebuilding stronger each time. Stay at the wheel.
Seek out and embrace meaningful struggle. Don’t run from difficulty but grow through it. The right kind of challenge becomes a source of energy, purpose, and joy. Show up long enough for hard things to transform you and eventually, you’ll fall in love with the process itself.
Be relentlessly reliable. Do what you say you’ll do, every time. Show up, follow through, repeat. Consistency beats flashes of brilliance, and reliability earns trust faster than talent ever could.
Question the defaults. Don’t accept “truths” just because they’re familiar. Be brave enough to ask why things are the way they are and whether they should be. Progress begins where curiosity meets courage.
Choose the right people, not just the right pursuits. Focus less on what you’re doing and more on who you’re doing it with. Cultivate your own character and values, and you’ll naturally attract those who make the journey lighter and more meaningful.
Be kind when no one’s watching. Let quiet integrity define you. Treat everyone with dignity, return the cart, lend a hand, and offer warmth without expecting credit. True character shows when there’s no audience.
Protect your curiosity. Leave room in your life for wonder. Explore ideas, activities, and experiences that serve no clear purpose, because that’s where imagination, creativity, and the texture of a full life emerge.
🔦Lights, Camera, ...
One day of overeating doesn’t ruin your progress. In fact, it barely makes a dent. Even if you eat 1,000 calories over maintenance, your body absorbs only about 90% of it, burns another 10% through digestion (the thermic effect of food), and often ramps up movement and fidgeting (NEAT), burning off even more. What’s left to store as fat is tiny (roughly 40 g, or about the weight of a slice of bread). Most of the “weight gain” you see on the scale afterward is just water, glycogen, sodium, and food still in your gut, not body fat. In fact, your body’s water weight alone can fluctuate by 1–2 kg in a single day. Studies confirm this: one day of overeating typically leads to just 45 to 90 grams of fat gain, far less than what your scale suggests. The real danger isn’t the extra food, it’s the guilt spiral that follows. So don’t panic or overcorrect. Just get back to your usual habits, and your body will naturally rebalance within a day or two.
🎬Action!
Don’t stress about one day of overeating, just get back on track the next day (without feeling the need to compensate in addition to your regular plan). Most of the weight you’ll see on the scale is temporary water fluctuation and glycogen, not fat. Instead of fixating on daily fluctuations, track your weekly average weight to see real progress over time.
Living on Principle
Ben Meer
🔦Lights, Camera, ...
When you live on principle, life becomes simpler and more powerful. Most of us already know what we value, but few translate it into consistent action. That’s where simple rules come in: your personal operating code for life. They act as “pre-decisions,” freeing you from the exhaustion of 35,000 daily choices and helping you act with clarity instead of hesitation. In psychology, these are called implementation intentions (If X happens, then I do Y) and research shows they can double or triple your likelihood of following through. The people we admire most live by such codes: they’re grounded, consistent, and unmoved by trends or pressure. When your beliefs, words, and actions align, decision fatigue disappears, and in its place, you find clarity, confidence, and peace. Extraordinary lives aren’t built by doing everything, they’re built by deciding, once and for all, how you’ll do anything.
🎬Action!
Choose 3–5 Simple Rules to Begin With. Pick a handful of small, meaningful principles that reflect what matters most to you. They should be concrete enough to guide behavior, but flexible enough to live by long term. Examples:
Health: “If it’s within three hours of bedtime, then I don’t eat.” → Reinforces sleep quality and digestion.
Wealth: “If I want to buy something over $100, then I wait 24 hours before purchasing.” → Builds financial awareness and curbs impulse spending.
Relationships: “If I think something kind, then I say it out loud.” → Strengthens connection and positivity.
Anchor Each Rule to a Real Trigger. Rules work best when attached to specific situations or cues and moments that happen regularly. These are your decision checkpoints. Examples:
Career/Productivity: “If my alarm rings, then I get up immediately.” → Removes the morning negotiation.
Lifestyle: “If it’s bedtime, then I don’t leave dishes in the sink.” → Closes the day with order and calm.
Test, Refine, and Evolve Your Rules. Treat your principles like software and update them as your life changes. Drop what doesn’t serve you, and double down on what does.
Make Them Public or Visible. Write your principles where you can see them daily, like on your phone, whiteboard, or journal. Sharing them with a friend or partner adds accountability.
Live by Them Consistently. Your principles mean nothing if they only apply when convenient. The goal isn’t perfection, but alignment. Every time you follow your rule, you strengthen your integrity and reduce the mental load of constant decision-making.
TOOL TIP
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FUN FACT
There’s a scientist who willingly let insects sting him to find out which hurt the most. Justin Schmidt turned his own body into a research tool to create the Schmidt Pain Scale – and discovered the South American bullet ant delivers the most excruciating sting of all, describing it as like being shot.
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Disclaimer: The information provided in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult a medical professional for advice, diagnosis, or treatment. We are not liable for any risks or issues that may arise from using this information.
