New Year, New You? Try a Past Year Review for Real Change in 2023

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:

• Mental Time Travel: A Cheat Code for Success

• Could Nasal Breathing Improve Your Heart Health?

• Atomic Accountability

Mental Time Travel: A Cheat Code for Success
Sahil Bloom

Lights, Camera, ...
The journey to success often reveals a stark disparity between external and internal definitions of fulfillment. While financial success may seem synonymous with happiness, the reality is that even the most accomplished individuals share universal struggles: living in the moment and crafting a vision for the future. Enter Mental Time Travel, a tool that invites you to vividly explore both your past and future selves. Beyond the standard version, which involves using the past to correct course and envisioning the future to plan, the more profound version allows you to inhabit your past and future selves. This flexible imagination technique offers two significant applications: professionally, it helps you bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be; personally, it cultivates gratitude by connecting with your younger self's amazement at your present life. Embrace Mental Time Travel to enhance both your personal and professional life, appreciating the present and charting a clear path to your ideal future.

Action!

1. To boost gratitude, travel back in time and reflect on your younger self's amazement at your current achievements.

   1. How did your concept of "enough" change in the last 5 years, and is it a conscious choice now?

   2. What accomplishments would your younger self be proud of you for, and are you proud of them in the present?

2. To chart a course to success, travel to the future and look back at what your future self did to get there.

   1. If you woke up in 10 years and were in the flow, what actions led you there?

   2. If you woke up in 10 years and everything was broken, what mistakes were made?

   3. If everything else remained the same, what one variable would bring the most positive change?

   4. Envision your ideal day in the future, how does it differ from your current day?

Could Nasal Breathing Improve Your Heart Health?
Brady Holmer

Lights, Camera, ...
Nasal breathing, as supported by science, offers intriguing health benefits such as warming, humidifying, and filtering air, enhancing blood vessel dilation, and reducing the metabolic cost of breathing compared to mouth breathing. A recent study involving 20 young adults found that even brief periods of nasal-only breathing can lead to modest improvements in resting blood pressure and heart rate variability, both of which are linked to cardiovascular health. While the advantages of nasal breathing during moderate exercise were less clear, this research underscores the potential of nasal breathing as a simple, cost-free strategy for enhancing heart health, especially in individuals without cardiovascular risk factors. Though high-intensity exercise may not benefit as much from nasal breathing, it opens doors to explore further applications like improving sleep apnea and morning alertness. So, the next time you inhale and exhale, consider doing it through your nose – your heart will thank you.

Action!

• Incorporate more nasal breathing into your daily routine (and sleep), as it can help lower blood pressure, improve heart rate variability, and reduce perceived effort, potentially benefiting your cardiovascular health.

Atomic Accountability
David Cain

Lights, Camera, ...
Embrace 'Atomic Accountability' to beat procrastination! If you're a serial procrastinator, you need a nuclear option – a fail-safe to force yourself into action. The author's personal trick involves giving a trusted friend $300, which they'll spend if you don't complete your task by a set deadline. This creates a no-way-out scenario that propels you to tackle your responsibilities. It's like invoking a forbidden power that makes things serious, without going too far. The key is to construct a box of limited options with consequences for not getting things done. Find the right incentive, be it cash, charitable donations, or public embarrassment, and dare yourself to say 'later' again. Take control of your procrastination – give yourself the option to act.

Action!

• Create "atomic accountability" by setting up high-stakes consequences if you fail to complete a task by a specific deadline, to overcome procrastination and ensure you get things done. Examples:

  • Give a trusted friend money to spend if you don't complete a task by a certain deadline

  • Use online commitment contract services that hold you accountable with penalties like donations to opposing charities.

  • Sharing your goal publicly, such as on social media, and asking friends to hold you accountable, making it embarrassing to back out.

TOOL TIP

stickK: Provides an incentive and accountability tool for committed individuals that are looking to leverage behavioral techniques to their advantage and stick to their goals. An option if you’re interested in commitment contract services as described in atomic accountability above.

FUN FACT

In emergencies, mammals can breathe through their anus.

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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.