Good morning. It's Wednesday, January 4th. We're excited to announce the winners of our promotional giveaway:

• Hiyo variety pack: Dave B.

• SANS Meal Bar variety pack: Nathan S. 

• Thrive25 NIKE Workout Shirt: Saxon B.

Thanks to everyone who participated - this was an amazing success and really helps to build our community!

Oh and we completed our donation to World Central Kitchen!

Today - switching gears to:

• From the Lab: Power of Your Mind

• Take Action: Slow Down & Meditate

• Speed Read: Working Out with Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons

• Wednesday Weights: Row, Press & Curl (with a twist)

• What We're Reading: Sober Curious

The percentage increase in lifespan for optimists. If the pessimist dies at 80, the optimist makes it to 92...at the same health.

From the Lab

Fear of survival is why we're wired for negativity. But we have massive control over our thoughts to completely shift how we view the world and live our life (Issue #16).

But there's even more evolutionary pressure pulling us away from doing what might be best in 2023. We aren’t wired to see the world clearly, just to have kids.

That’s why we’re drawn to eat (fuel), to have sex, to impress others (more sex), and fight off rivals (again, more sex).

Dopamine is the neurotransmitter of our "wants." (Issue #18) A the right amount of this molecule is great for our drive and ambition, but too much and well we never have enough.

Keeping our brain in balance with endorphins, serotonin, oxytocin, cortisol (Issue #19), and GABA are essential to get the right MINDSET.

Take Action

1. Identify your triggers - when do you immediately feel anger or fear? Write this down to help slow down your thoughts and change your chain reaction (Issue #16).

2. Where do you focus - try Tony Robbins 1-2-3 approach to shift your mind into a more positive state of opportunity (Issue #17).

3. Boost your serotonin - get sunlight, workout, do yoga/massage, and eat tryptophan foods (or supplements) to balance your dopamine (Issue #18).

4. Slow Down - imagine living in a world at 0.5x speed. You see things before they happen and can prepare in advance. Play like Gretzky and Jordan (Issue #19).

5. Try Meditating - it helps us live in the present and avoid chasing the future or being overwhelmed in our daily stress (Issue #66). Need an example of how - try Ziva (Issue #67).

6. Practice, Not Perfection - meditation can be a struggle. But it's not about being perfect, it's about the process of practicing it (in Max's case, and other readers including Ryan F., for 56 days). It's about being better at life, not at meditation (Issue #68).

Thrive25 Partner Spotlight

Trying out Dry January?

Hiyo is a USDA organic certified social tonic mindfully crafted with adaptogens and nootropics to be the better-than-alcohol alternative™.

Hiyo is a non-alcoholic option that is inspiring more solace on the sofa, more happy hours without hangovers, more presence at parties, and ultimately, a happier, healthier you. All Thrive25 readers get 15% off - use code THRIVE at checkout - CLICK HERE!

Speed Read

Health & Longevity in the News

Imagine Defeating Your Dragons: 35-yr old musician Dan Reynolds fights off the rare inflammatory condition of AS through exercise and diet. The lead singer of Imagine Dragons works out 6 days a week in Malibu and foregoes processed food, red meat, and dairy, to be at almost 100% without drugs. Check out this full story. (Men's Health)

That's A Lot of Tea: I've become a big fan of green tea - it's my go-to drink most afternoons. Studies continue to show that it positively affects longevity - specifically by impacting the several variations of the FOXO3 gene (correlated with centenarians). But the 76% reduction in mortality is from drinking 5+ cups per day. (Read More)

NIKE and Netflix: Looks like the streaming giant is turning to health as a new way to continue growing subscribers. For those 220M of us, we now have 30 hours of fitness content. Check out the other fitness-related initiatives from Apple, Samsung, and Google. (Fitt Insider)

Wednesday Weights

We're going to get you all to love deadlifts this year! And since I knocked out 50 pull-ups on Monday, I figured this would be a great workout to run back to kick off 2023!

For easy access, save this image to your phone or computer in a folder called Thrive25.

Workout and video courtesy of Connor J. Obrochta. Check out all of Connor's workouts at Playbook! 

What We're Reading

Sober Curious

How different would our lives be if we stopped drinking on autopilot? That's the question in this book as we explore Dry January. More research is showing that even minimal drinking is bad for your brain (Study in Nature) as covered by Dr. Andrew Huberman on his podcast. This book started a bit of a movement in questioning our drinking habits that's worth a read. I've never made a resolute "I don't drink" stand, but have cut back considerably and feel the benefits. Whether Dry January is of interest to you or not, if you want to learn more about the effects of alcohol and how to maybe change your relationship with it - give it a read.

Thrive25 Referral Program

Do us the favor - tell your friends about Thrive25! Earn Thrive25 swag and other rewards from our Sponsors via our referral program:

Thanks for joining us today! Tomorrow we'll cover the best of...Sleep.

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Why Thrive25

We’re 40-something dads that felt our bodies and minds start to slow down and we’re not ready for that. We found too much information on every subject. So we started Thrive25 to transform what we’ve learned into something useful for the rest of us to spend just 3-5 min a day to optimize our health & longevity.

This newsletter is for you and we truly value your feedback. Never hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected].

To health!