From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
When those inputs are removed, it starts to prune function and structure, because those functions aren't needed anymore. It's still that same process — we just call it ageing. And it happens because we've removed physical activity, cognitive stimulus, and social connection. The brain responds accordingly.
In India affordability and improving life are also key pillars of entrepreneurship- coming from the circumstances and context of the country; for example, India has 1,000 radiologists for a population of 1.4 billion.
While people may have more connections than ever, these connections often lack depth; they are rarely reciprocal and seldom provide emotional sustenance. The pain of loneliness is something else entirely—stemming from being deliberately excluded, ostracized, or bullied. This type of isolation is literally painful, as it activates the pain centers in the brain.
It shocks me that our society has not caught up with the fact that mental illnesses should be treated like any other disease, and not relegated to the justice system. We have so many different therapies and medicines, and people can make significant recoveries.
The physical and mental aspects of our lives are inseparable and taking care of the basic physical requirements is essential. Athletes and leaders rarely experience deep relaxation and this can become transformative in their lives.
Our suffering arises from the unseen, unfelt, and unprocessed parts of our psyche, or the 'issues in our tissues.' We often frame emotions as negative, but it's important to recognize the intelligence within every emotion, even depression, fear, and hurt.
We're outnumbered by bacteria 1.3:1, we're slightly more bacteria than we are human. We're also stardust. We are also 60% water, and that water in our bodies is billions of years old. At an atomic level, 98% of the hydrogen in our bodies came from the bigbang. We're incredibly ancient beings, perhaps we should see ourselves as aliens!
What they found was that people thought the person with the whiter, straighter teeth looked healthier, younger, more well educated. Just the teeth. Same person. Whiter, straighter teeth. Everything else was the same.
I want to set an example for this generation of war reporters, and for my generation as a whole, that you don't have to rely on drugs or alcohol to cope with traumatic experiences. Cold exposure, like an ice bath or cold shower, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, getting outside for a walk in the sun—ideally, a combination of all these things—can make a huge difference. You'd be surprised how your brain starts to adjust after just a few days, making you feel lighter, healthier, and more capable of handling whatever life throws at you.
Research shows that individuals who are slower to habituate to negative events tend to be more prone to depression. This ability to habituate is crucial for moving forward.
Ageing is malleable, we can control it. 20% of our health in old-age is due to genetic factors, and the rest is due to our lifestyle. We can measure this clock. It's literally measuring chemicals in our own DNA.
Ancient philosophy almost hasn't been bettered as a kind of therapeutic toolbox in 2400 years, and have a certain aesthetic to them which makes you feel part of a long tradition... You're part of a three millennia old tradition of wisdom that thousands and thousands of people have read the same book that you're reading, and found it therapeutic in very dark times.