The Big Idea: Don’t Fight Your Evolutionary Hardwiring; Understand It.
- The biological impulses you have come from 10,000 generations of evolution. However, the world has completely changed over the last 10 generations.
- Our biology leads us to overeat since we now live in an abundance of food.
- Our biology wants to to sleep from dusk to dawn.
- Most chronic health problems come from a mismatch between our biology and our environment.
- We are evolutionarily hardwired to consume resources, so you’ll have to overcome your evolution to save money.
- Dunbar’s number claims the average tribe size was 150 and that this is the optimal social group size.
- Lack of background noise might contribute to insomnia. Try going to bed with some background and going to sleep right after dark.
- New friends are good. Old friends are better.
- Statistically, the best marriages are couples that have known each other the longest before marrying.
- Wealthy people are often the happiest when flying in old friends to visit.
- Happy people tend to cluster together.
- Reach out to old friends/coworkers/teachers.
- Eat out less. Cook more.
- If you don’t like to read, consider audio books and seminars.
- Automate your savings plans since we’re not hardwired to save money.
- Don’t try to fight biology. Understand and work around biology.
- Pay close attention to the media you consume because it will rewire your brain — for better or worse.
- Control your environment it will control you.
- Contributing to something bigger than you creates happiness.
- Amish people are heavily reliant on their community, which likely contributes to their happiness.
- Sources: The Selfish Gene, The Story of the Human Body, Salt Sugar Fat, The Paradox of Choice, Happiness Hypothesis, Top Dog, The Power of Others
Tai Lopez is an entrepreneur, investor, and blogger who runs an awesome online book club. 67 Steps is a lecture series teaching how to be successful in health, wealth, love, and happiness. I’m a big fan.