The Monday Read: Health as Number One Priority

My fully operational home (office) gym

I’ve decided my main priority at the moment is health. Not work, not family, not hobbies, not friends, not (gasp!) money, but health.

After all, a healthy man wants many things, but a sick man only one.

I’m still aiming to lose another 9 kg or so, to reach 77 kg (and stay there!) by September. I’m still using intermittent and short (1-3 day) fasting to help with that, but the new thing is that I have put together a small office gym at work and will be using it 6 days a week to work out.

A friend recommended this 3-day dumbbell workout for beginners, and it is crushing me even with very light weights 😉

On the other three days I use my rowing machine for about an hour (been doing 5 x 1500m, which takes me about 7 minutes for each, with a short break in between). Feeling good!

Mentally I have been working on being more relaxed, avoiding getting angry or snapping at people, and remembering that everything is good, I choose to do everything in my life, and it’s all meaningless anyway 😉

Also getting more sleep than I was before as I am no longer eating at night when I get home.

And on the subject of eating, I have been watching YouTube videos about gut health, so am working on eating more fibre, a wider variety of vegetables, fermented foods, and as little processed foods/sugar as possible.

YouTube

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Metrics

Jiu-jitsu classes: two (fail)
YouTube videos: one (pass)

Consequences: 5,000 yen to Second Harvest Japan. It was a bit borderline as the reason I didn’t make the third class was because I had an unexpected root canal when I went for my dental checkup, but rules are rules 😉

The Forum

The Forum is doing well (27,860 posts so far). Here are the latest active threads:

This week’s links

  1. I’ve seen this argument before, that energy scarcity is holding back progress: 💡 What Future Energy Revolutions Do We Need?
  2. I would love to see changes to this: THE 99% HAS A VERY DIFFERENT MEANING IN JAPAN
  3. They should come to Miyagi: we have 1.4 jobs per applicant here. China’s 11.6m graduates face a jobs market with no jobs
  4. This was incredible. I’m glad I’m close to retirement rather than starting work now (YouTube): Ex-Google Officer Finally Speaks Out On The Dangers Of AI
  5. I always find the numbers slightly strange, but I wonder if the same renting penalty exists in Japan? Missed out on buying a home and have to rent in old age? You will need £617k plus a state pension to afford a decent place to live AND a ‘moderate’ lifestyle
  6. I don’t see much here I recognise, although not having your finances in order might cause some of this: Visible Minorities: Departing Japan at Middle Age
  7. Property investing in Japan: genius or idiot move (Reddit)? Why is property investing a bad idea?
  8. This seems like a great solution to the battery issue: A Toyota EV drove 1,200 miles without stopping to charge thanks to electric roads with wireless charging
  9. This is horribly familiar. I have had numerous frustrating experiences around names and institutions in Japan: The Sad, Sad Tale of a Major Japanese Bank
  10. Gosh, who could have seen this coming? Everyone. AI-controlled US military drone ‘kills’ its operator in simulated test
  11. Depressingly, it seems Thailand is no longer much cheaper than Japan: WHAT SALARY DO YOU NEED TO LIVE IN THAILAND?
  12. Can’t really argue with Mr Bean here. No car is better than an electric car: I love electric vehicles – and was an early adopter. But increasingly I feel duped
  13. If you’re looking to make more money on the side: The ladders of wealth creation: a step-by-step roadmap to building wealth
  14. I saw on the news the birthrate in Miyagi is 1.09. Yikes: Japan’s fertility rate matches record low as it drops for seventh consecutive year
  15. Interesting classic article by CS Lewis: The Inner Ring
  16. This is a mental reframing I use all the time: Get To vs. Have To
  17. I agree with this, but think it will take a bit longer to really make a difference: Why English teachers in Japan can’t ignore the coming AI storm
  18. This is a huge change, particularly once they roll driving licenses and zairyu cards in too: Health insurance cards planned for retirement in autumn 2024

What do you think? Anything interesting in there?

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16 Responses

  1. # 17 – Very good article and nice to see that Patrick is still writing and online after his disappearance from twitter! I am so glad to be on the cusp of retirement at this stage as I am probably now too long in the tooth and lazy to fight to stay necessary and relevant in the days of AI. With all the improvements in translation software etc I also think the benefits of language learning for communication purposes are going to become harder to sell to a generation who seem to me to be less and less interested in travelling abroad anyway. I hope I am wrong about that but I certainly wouldn’t want to be just starting my Eikawa school at this time!

    1. Just to add – have just watched #4. Wow – quite terrifying, really!

  2. Hi Ben,
    Health is definitely the biggest asset anyone can have. All the best with achieving your goal – As they say, in Osaka: ぼちぼちでな〜✌️

  3. Regarding health, Dr. Peter Attia’s book “Outlive” is a nice review of the art and science of living a long, healthy life. Worth a read, I think.

    1. Michael, I was about to post the same comment but you beat me to it! Yes, a great book about all facets of health, not just the one or two obvious ones.
      As Peter would point out, it is the science first and then the art of living a long, healthy life.

  4. Hey Ben…

    Great post and thanks for the links!

    I totally agree on the number one priority being our own health – physical, emotional, mental. They all have a way of affecting each other, so it is important to “train” all of them!

    thanks

  5. As I was reading the ‘visible minorities’ article I was constantly thinking to myself “this sounds like it was written 15 years ago”. And then I reached the by-line and there was the answer, Debito Arudo 😂 I remember switching off his output a long time ago because all it did was leave me feeling forlorn. And surprise of surprises, it turns out he left Japan!

    We make our own future and we won’t enjoy living anywhere with a perpetual victim mentality and expecting the government to take care of us.

    1. Exactly. Alarm bells were going off as I was reading it and then I saw who wrote it and it all made sense.

    2. I’m glad a couple others have remarked on this (#6). He may be trying to reinvent himself, or at least a new persona. But I’m my opinion, he really shot himself in the foot (both feet?). Any reinvention should probably be done such that offering commentary on japan is left out of it.

    3. I feel a bit sorry for him. Some people bring their issues with them when they come here and then blame Japan for their problems. Simplistic generalities about a complex society don’t help.

  6. #4 was absolutely excellent and totally frightening
    Makes one worry about one’s own children

  7. Regarding #3: Over the last few years, when I talked to graduating Chinese students at my university, I pointed out how many jobs were available in Japan and suggested they consider staying, at least a few years. Part of that time was during the pandemic, when China was really restrictive about returnees and its policies were draconian.
    As for #6, I wasn’t aware that Debito had left, I’m glad stolt pointed it out.
    And #12 is the unfortunate reality of the current generation of EV batteries. They’re fine for some, but better batteries will be needed to secure a larger proportion of the driving public.

  8. I would suggest a rethink of the way you are sometimes giving money to charity. Giving is a form of generosity, which comes from the heart. But if you tie giving to an undesirable outcome, the motivation inevitably shifts, it seems to me. I’m sorry I don’t have a good suggestion for what you can do, but please give it some thought. I look forward to hearing what new system you devise.

    1. Oh, I give money to charity monthly. You can see the details here: https://www.retirejapan.com/blog/progress-report-2022/ (scroll down to ‘giving progress’).

      This is something else. It was supposed to be giving money to a charity I don’t agree with, but I don’t want to do that! So I give the odd top up to 2nd Harvest Japan.

      I am finding it useful as a motivational tool so far ^-^

  9. I enjoy Second Harvest and have been lucky enough to get to volunteer at their kitchens in Tokyo. Great people and purpose but a few years back, overrun with volunteers. Great problem to have it seems.

    Nice gym set! If you need motivation, Nike put some training vids on Netflix. I find them strangely addictive. 10, 20 or 30 minute workouts with very different trainers. Give it a whirl and see if you get hooked.