A thought:
I am happiest when my metabolism is strong!

For example:
- When I don’t sleep enough, I feel miserable (‘unhappy’)
- When I get food coma during the day, I feel shitty. I’m happiest when I am sharp, awake, alert (intermittent fasting during the day).
- I am happiest when I have maximal alertness, physical strength, and muscular strength. Going to the gym, lifting weights, going outside and walking, thermal irregularities as essential for happiness/health/metabolism.
Life is metabolism
We all will die. Why do we die? Human metabolism has a limited-shelf life. We can only have so many heart beats before we die. It is combination of our biological size, our metabolism, heart rate, etc which contributes to the maximum human life ~122 years (+/- who knows how much)?
The theory is humans can perhaps live to be around ~140 years (assuming we can dodge all heart disease and cancer). But still — we humans (even with all the scientific innovations) cannot live to be 100,000 years old (would we even want to?)
Personally, I will strive with the best of my knowledge to be 140 years old in excellent health. I want to live the biological maximum of human beings; but not anything further. Please do not upload my consciousness to the cloud, or insert my brain into some flesh-like receptacle.
What can we control right now?

Right now it seems we can strive to maximize our personal happiness (metabolism, physiological power) everyday.
I think perhaps the best way to think of yourself as an athlete.
Tom Brady sleeps at 8:30pm every night. Many football players and pro athletes sleep 10-12 hours a night (sleep as the ultimate ‘performance enhancing drug’).
Physiological strength and health is 1000x more important than being a trillionaire. If a genie told me:
I can turn you into a trillionaire, but you will have the physiology of a morbidly obese individual, who is 300 pounds of (primarily) fat, I would give a hard NO.
I’d rather be poor and have a 6 pack with a 500 pound deadlift, than rich and fat.
Why I don’t like the bodybuilding mentality

I used to be more of a ‘bodybuilder’ type in college, but I’ve realized that I hate this approach.
Why?
Too much focus on eating ALL THE TIME: Eating all the time during the day will fuck up your metabolism. If you desire to have a zen-like focus and calm throughout the day, you cannot confuse your body’s metabolic system by having so many meals a day.
Can you gain muscle and strength while not eating during the day?
As of late, I’ve NOT been eating breakfast or lunch (only a massive dinner). This confuses people.
For example, we are suckered into thinking that
In order to get really strong and muscular, I need to eat 5-6 meals a day, with correct proportions of “macros” (protein, fats, carbs).
I am the human guinea pig

I say this is false. As an ‘ectomorph’ East-Asian (Korean to be specific), I have been able to have GAINS (muscular skeletal mass and strength), by NOT eating protein powder, NOT taking supplements, and NOT eating breakfast or lunch (or snacks throughout the day). I can tell you — I have unremarkable genetics (my dad is a skinny frail guy), and I have thin wrists. I’m around 5 foot 10, with relatively narrow shoulders, and a ‘smaller build’ in terms of my skeletal system.

Yet, I have been able to become 172 pounds (mostly muscle mass, with less than 10% body fat, as I can see my abs), while having strong lifts (430 deadlift, 340 pound squat) at the age of 31.
Powerlifting while fasting

Another truth I’ve discovered:
You don’t need to eat or consume anything before lifting heavy weights in order to maximize your lifts.
This also shocks people. To explain:
- The night before, I have a massive meat-heavy meal (fatty pork, eggs) with some leafy greens (collard greens, kale). No carbs.
- The day-of, I wakeup, have lots of water, and black coffee (no sugar, no cream).
- I go to the gym (around noon-5pm), and I attempt a new PR (personal record) of a ‘one rep max’.
I’ve been able to follow this simple regimen for almost 2 years, simply adding 5 pounds to the bar every week, to attempt a new PR every week. I don’t always achieve a new PR every week, but on average, I’m able to achieve a new PR in deadlift and squat every 1-2 weeks.
Why metabolism?
When I feel ‘happy’, essentially my body is in excellent and supreme physiological health. I don’t think happiness is a mental thing. Happiness is a signal from your brain which SIGNALS that your body is in excellent health.

Once again to clarify:
Even though I have tons of money in my bank account, and I am succeeding in life, if I only slept 2 hours the night before, I’m going to feel shitty and “unhappy”.
Or in other words: happiness is physiological health and strength!
Why Physiology?
The notion of ‘physiology’ has fallen a bit out of vogue.

Note this Google N-Grams chart — ain’t nobody really use the term ‘physiology’ anymore.
The etymology of physiology goes back to the ancient greeks. It literally meant ‘natural philosophy‘.
‘Phusis‘ (physis) comes from the notion of growth (phuo). So in some sense, physiology is the study of growth.
And us being humans, to study physiology is most interesting when we study human growth (human biology). Ultimately all philosophy goes back to the human being.
Humans are king.
Why study the physiology of plants, birds, and animals? To better discover deeper truths about human beings. Ultimately we don’t care for plants, nature, or the external things — we care for human beings. We care for human thriving, human excellence, human grandeur, and continued human existence (it is also my personal wish that humans live for another 100 billion years+).
Conclusion: Focus on your personal happiness, physical strength, and thriving
Then share your findings with others! Super simple.
ERIC
Philosophy by KIM

Dictate your meaning and purpose in your life with ZEN OF ERIC:
Philosophical Essays
- You’re the Hero
- Is Productivity a Virtue or Vice?
- Why Do We Prize the Rare?
- The Joy of Uncertainty
- How Should I Best Use My Time and Life?
- A Life Without Pain or Suffering Isn’t a Life Worth Living
- Free or Unfree?
- What Do You Really Care For in Life?
- Anti-Satisfaction in Life
- Why Think?
- The Eternal Return
- Only Do What is Best for You!
- Truthiness
- Why Be Happy?
- Permissionless Living
- In Praise of Unconventional Wisdom
- Become the Change Which You Wish to See in the World
- Happiness
- Beyond Freedom
- Idolize People, Not Stuff
- What Makes You Stronger? What Makes You Weaker?
- Why Hate?
- The Secret of Happiness
- You’re Constantly in a State of Becoming
- Life is about Choices, Not Obligations
- Anti-Nihilism
- First, Do What is Best for You.
- Live Dynamic
- How to Prosper
- Is the Point of Life to Be Satisfied?
- SUPREME EFFORT OF WILL.
- How to Become more Idealistic
- Thrivival 101
- Create Yourself
- Non-Small
- Inspiration
- How to Live a Heroic Life: Dare the Heights!
- Human Augmentation
- Prune
- Happiness: Do What You Want to Do (And Don’t Do What You Don’t Want to Do)
- Avoid Vain (Empty) Pursuits in Life
- Modern Slavery
- Kill the Leeches
- Wisdom Augmentation
- Why We Need Friction in Life
- Straight Line Philosophy
- What’s Your End-Game in Life?
- Create Your Own Happiness Today
- Desire Both Pain and Pleasure in Life
- Try the Impossible
- SELF-RESPECT
- Anti-Social Extrovert
- Never Blame Anybody But Yourself
- Human Flourishing
- Simpler, Not Better.
- How to be Free
- Embrace the Extremes
- Cultivate Your Own Culture
- COURAGE.
- Thrivival
- Inner Power
- How to Live a Purposeful Life
- My Definition of Happiness
- Why Change is Good
- Why Work?
- How to Live the Happiest Possible Life
- The Two-Pronged Approach to Maximize Joy in Your Life
- You Always Have Another Option!
- INFINITISM
- Never Stop!
- What is Your Self-Directed Purpose in Life?
- Live Today Like it Were Your Last
- Do You Photograph to Live, or Live to Photograph?
- ARTIST-PHILOSOPHER
- Live Life to the Fullest!
- In Praise of Selfishness
- Why You Must Be a YAY-SAYER to Succeed in Entrepreneurship and Life
- Why I Love Walking
- Live Life Like a Video Game!
- Simple Luxuries in Life
- Treat Your Life Like a Fun Experiment!
- Only Prove it to Yourself
- You Don’t Always Need to Feel Joyful to Live a Fulfilling and Meaningful Life
- Life is Too Short to Be Bored!
- Money Cannot Destroy Boredom
- How to Find Inspiration in Life
- Why You Must Ignore Haters to Succeed and Win in Life
- An Active Life is a Happy Life
- My Simple Joys in Life
- Never Stop Striving
- How to Motivate Yourself in Life
- How to Be Optimistic in Life
- How to Dictate Your Purpose in Life
- In Praise of a Dynamic Life
- PURPOSE.
- How to Enjoy Life
- Photography Therapy
- How to Conquer Regret
- Take Your Play Very Seriously.
- How to Prosper
- Memento Vivere
- Destroy in Order to CREATE
- Trust Your Body More Than Your Mind
- Make Photos to Make Meaning in Your Life
- Seek Knowledge, Not Information
- The Purpose of Human Life
- How to Overcome Impedence
- Why I Love Death
- How to Be Centered in the Eternal Now
- How to Be Happy
- Why Do You Care What Others Think of You?
- Why I’m Happy
- Why?
- Why I’m So Prolific
- How to Reduce LAG in Life
Masters of Philosophy »
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