My Love/Hate Relationship with Coffee & The Power of Accountability

Hey friend - happy Friday.

Just wanted to drop in and say - if you're reading this, I'm grateful for you.

Even when the work week is stressful, I look forward to writing & sharing these newsletters with you. Your support means more than you know.

We're gonna keep today's nice and short.

3 Quotes, 2 Ideas, and 1 Podcast. Hope you enjoy.

3 Quotes I’m Reflecting On:

“It is by logic that we prove, but by intuition that we discover.”(Henri Poincaré)

"The best revenge is not to be like that." (Marcus Aurelius)

“The artist is not expressing himself, he is discovering himself.” (Steven Pressfield)

2 Ideas I'm Thinking About:

Coffee– My Love/Hate Relationship

I once worked with a dude who would get a headache after work every day like clockwork. He’d drink at least three coffees before noon, and in the months we worked together, not once did I see him drink water until his headache set in. 5 years later and it's still baffling.

This is obviously an edge case example, but since then, I’ve become fascinated with how coffee affects the body & mind and how it impacts our performance & well-being.

Let me first say, I love the stuff.

There's nothing like a warm cup of coffee to start the day. In the winter, especially.

But over the last six months, I've noticed that loading up on caffeine each morning was surprisingly harmful to my performance at work and mood throughout the day.

When I'm overly caffeinated, I'm more prone to stress. I'm less able to shift out of nervous or anxious states of being. I make more mistakes and get frustrated in the process.

Drinking coffee before exercise?

For sure. It’s dope. I feel stronger & more engaged with the workout.

But coffee before a presentation?

Not a shot. My anxiety shoots through the roof. And I stumble on my words b/c of it.

Learning when and how to lean on the stuff, when needed, is individual to each person and circumstance, but following this advice from Stanford neuroscientist, Dr. Andrew Huberman was a great starting place for me.

The Power of Accountability:

This past week was the first week in years where I meditated every day for 20 minutes.

When I first started my practice, I was so pleased with the results from Emily Fletcher’s book “Stress Less, Accomplish More”, I meditated every day as a non-negotiable.

Since then, I've become more mindful in everyday life and reduced my practice to every two or three days. I never missed more than a week in a row, but meditation was no longer a core habit.

After experiencing my first breath-work workshop last week, I realized how much I missed meditation and the positive effects it had on my life.

So I made one of the most simple yet powerful decisions of my year so far.

I committed to an accountability challenge.

My friend Natalie and I decided that every time we meditate, we text each other: 🧘✅

Having this accountability system in place has been fundamental to rebuilding this habit, and I'm excited to continue deploying accountability in more areas of my life.

Shoutout to Natalie for joining me in this accountability challenge, committing to daily meditation, and overall, being a great writer and friend.

A lesson this is helping me learn:

Support From Others Can Make Change Easier & More Effective.

1 Podcast I'm Loving:

Dan Buettner is a journalist, author, and longevity expert who is known widely for his work with the Blue Zones— areas in the world where people live the longest, healthiest lives.

In this conversation with Rich Roll (my favorite interviewer at the moment), Dan shares what he's learned over the years studying blue zones and conversing with some of the world's healthiest elders and chefs.

One of my favorite ideas - Choice Architecture. One theme from the many Blue Zones across the world is: The Healthy Choices are Made Easy

I appreciate you reading.

Are you a coffee drinker? Curious about your perspectives here. How does it affect you?

& If you were to sign up for an accountability challenge, what habit would you commit to?

Send me a message and let me know!

Hope you have an awesome Friday & weekend ahead.

Aidan