Dun Pretend - Outcomes matter.

Another interesting insight from the Harvard Grant Study is what's NOT a significant contributing factor for longevity ( Living beyond 85 ) was found to be as follows :

• Low cholesterol.
• Heavy exercise.
• Lack of obesity.

In fact, having an advanced degree or  a happy childhood is a greater contributing factor to attain longevity.

But I just came back from a run. I ran for about 30 minutes because I had developed a headache after 3 hours of statistical programming with R. Running produces endorphins which can eliminate headaches.

There are other reasons why I run and have one fibre meal a day, my blood sugar control is poor and medication is no longer sufficient to keep things in control. If my condition gets worse, I will develop a vascular problem which will eventually affect my chances of living to 85. ( Three vascular conditions and I am not expected to see my 70th birthday )

Exercise is an area in my life that I'm pretty sure  I know why I do what I do.

In other areas, I am less confident of the outcome I want.

I now have the means to retire, but at this point of time, I am as busy as before trying to pick up all the latest technologies I missed out while I was working. The outcome I want is still unknown.

Some people run to deal with boredom. That's a valid outcome but there are better ways of dealing with that. Others run because they want to look good, although I think that requires much more vigorous exercises.

The key takeaway is that if you want to do anything, know what of outcome you want to achieve. The thing that you do, might not be significant in meeting your objective over a long run.