Supersetters - Election season is upon us, and instead of a drawn-out intro setting up the content to follow this week, I want to encourage you to approach this next month and a half with an open mind.

So many of us put so much energy into identifying with and parading our politics, that we neglect the simple things we control within our own 5-foot circle that can have an equally if not more profound effect than any election could ever have.

Do something nice for someone today. Have an open-minded conversation with someone with different views. Try to understand why and how they think the way they do. Give your job your 100% effort for the day. Exercise your body. Spend time with your thoughts. Do something with your time to benefit other people. Call the person you’ve been avoiding having the conversation with. Hold the door for someone at the gas station. Put your shopping cart away.

If everyone spent the majority of their energy focusing internally on what YOU can do, we would be in a much better spot. And we can start that, today. The world’s a pretty good place to be these days if you shut the news off for a couple of hours. Enjoy it!

Brain - 1 Singular Morning Journal Prompt to Start Your Day

If you were going to reflect on one question each morning to best set yourself up for the day, what would that question be?

I have long been a proponent and fan of the idea and benefits of journaling, although self-admittedly go through waves where I do and do not journal myself. A flaw of mine.

As I look back on my most successful, focused periods, a common denominator seems to be there is some sort of act in line with journaling that is present. Strictly tracking my food intake, tracking my weights and reps in the gym, having an evening practice where I reflect on the day before bed, etc. I have used them all at various stages, and as I type this out, am slapping myself for not being more disciplined with the practice.

I am going to get back on this train this week and would encourage you to join. We start with a simple prompt for your mornings, laid out below. Before we have this prompt in line, it’s important that you understand what goal you are working towards in this phase of your life, whether it be professionally, physically, mentally, etc.

With this north star in mind, I would set a goal to every day (at least during the week to start) ask yourself this question, and write down your answer as the header for your to-do list for the day:

"What's one action I can take today that'll push me closer to my goal?"

It’s simple but powerful. So often we have so many things going on that we try to spread ourselves across a multitude of different actions, and then months down the line, wonder why we haven’t made progress towards the thing we have identified as most important to us right now.

If you accomplish this feat in more days than not, it is a fail-proof system for providing a roadmap for you to make sure you are making progress on that goal. Not a 3-month plan, not a roadmap for the year - what can I do TODAY, that will move me forward. Now just go do it.

Body - The 16/8 Intermittent Fast

I’ll be the first person to tell you that I’m not a fan of the fad diet movement. I think marketers only continue to get smarter these days, and when something is quick to show results, those marketers can latch on and promote them, without having to discuss the potential drawbacks that come alongside it.

Take keto for example - we all know someone who lost a bunch of weight, FAST, with the keto diet, and as they lost weight, remarked that they all felt way better. There are some scientific reasonings that have been proven true as positive side-effects of a low-carb, high-fat diet, but for most people, what keto does is simply shrink the pool of foods you can choose from while also helping your body quickly shed water weight, in the form of low to no carbs in the diet.

Carnivore, Whole 30, you name it - same story. One dieting style I have always been interested in though is the intermittent fast. See, with a keto-like diet, my brain instantly gravitates towards “well what happens when I want to introduce carbs back into my life?” Whereas a structural change like intermittent fasting, I can see a non-major shift in the types of food we are eating, but a much finer focus on when and how we are eating our meals.

The idea of a 16/8 (the most common intermittent fast) is this - you have an 8-hour window where you get to consume all of your calories for the day. You spend the other 16
"fasting.”

When I have done this in the past, I have typically made my eating window either starting to eat at 11 AM or noon, and ending at 7 PM or 8 PM.

Those same science and marketers will try to overpump the ancillary benefits that some see through the diet - I am not educated enough to speak to the validity of if it does or does not improve say, heart health, brain health, sleep, etc.

What I can speak to is from experience, and the real reasons I view intermittent fasting as a viable option for weight loss is:

• It drastically reduces the time window in which you are consuming food. We probably were not meant to be eating all day, but rather in condensed periods based around our physical efforts for the day. It’s hard to overeat a “semi-healthy” diet in an 8-hour window. It just is

• So many people struggle with other diets because of the food restrictions. There are no such things here. Of course you have to stay under your calorie limit, but again, much easier to do in 8 hours vs 12

• What it really does in layman’s terms is eliminate a big meal for your day. I often find that when I have “breakfast” at 11 or 12, that my “lunch” becomes a much smaller meal based around protein, and a big dinner a few hours later.

• The 16 hours you spend NOT eating, your body spends properly digesting the food. It’s tough for a few days, but once your body gets in this proper digestion rhytm, you quickly feel the benefits

I bring this to The Superset because we are 2.5 months out from the wedding, and I will likely be focusing mostly on some similar structure to a 16/8 fast. If you just took your meals from today, cut out one, and crammed the rest into an 8-hour window, you’d end up eating less food right? And less food equals…It’s not super scientific, but it’s simple, and it’s effective. If you’ve run out of hope with other avenues, give this one a shot.

Book - 5 Books to Read Before 2025

I get asked in a variety of different ways what my favorite books are to recommend for someone looking to get into the personal development reading loop. Below are 5 books that I would recommend to everyone if asked what 5 books would have the most impact on making 2025 your greatest year to date:

• Atomic Habits by James Clear - This will always be number one. Habits are the foundation for change in every facet of our lives. Knowing how they work, how our brain perceives their structure, and how to properly put them to use is the simplest thing you can do for next year, and James Clear is the Buddha of Habits.

• Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink - So many of our problems and roadblocks in our life can be overcome by first admitting that it starts with us. Instead of looking for external validations for why life or certain situations have wronged us, Jocko Willink, a former NAVY Seal, walks us through how to always approach every situation with an “it starts with me" attitude. There isn’t a single more powerful midframe switch you can have professionally and in your relationships than this one right here.

• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie - Communication is at the root of success in every part of our lives. Proper communication helps you get where you want. Being a good communicator fosters trust and comfort in your relationships. It helps you be a better friend. It helps you take advantage of opportunities as they present itself. This book is almost 100 years old, and it’s still as powerful today

• Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins - Another Navy Seal book, oh no? Welcome to The Superset. This book makes an unapologetic appearance on this list because regardless of one’s thoughts on Goggins and his communication style, every single person reading this could use at least a little bit of the kick in the ass the book provides. You have so much more to give - you aren’t a victim of your past - doing hard shit voluntarily will change your life, and Goggins will show you how to get there

• Deep Work by Cal Newport - Cal Newport is my favorite “self-help” author, because he addresses challenging topics and lays out an action plan in an understandable way for everyone who picks up the book. “Deep Work” calls out the problems the modern world presents in grasping for our attention span, how and why to combat it, and how to get more, meaningful work done

We have 3 months left in the year. The time to start reading these isn’t January 1, so I hope this head start pays its dividends for you if you choose to dive in.