Micronutrients of happiness, death meditation, and outdoor exercise

Supercharged Sundays #8

Atop Sugarloaf Mountain with my brother. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. September 2023.

Welcome to this week’s edition of Supercharged Sundays, a Members-only newsletter sharing three health, fitness, and wellness practices for your week ahead.

What to expect:

• The four Micronutrients of happiness

• Accepting and meditating on death

• The case for outdoor exercise 

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Micronutrients of happiness

What makes you happy?

So far, we’ve covered the macronutrients of happiness summarized in a few snappy formulas:

Happiness = Enjoyment + Satisfaction + Meaning

• Enjoyment = Pleasure + People + Memory

• Satisfaction = Achievement + Struggle + Effort

• Meaning = Coherence + Purpose + Significance

But happiness, even when distilled into its key ingredients, is still elusive and fleeting.

Rather than blindly chasing the intangible feeling of happiness, wouldn’t it be better to pinpoint the concrete things that make us happier so we can intentionally build them into our days?

What are those concrete things, you ask?

The four micronutrients of happiness: family, friends, work, and faith.

Family

At the end of your life, everything will fade into insignificance by comparison to your family. 

And while we’re alive, family will be the most significant source of enjoyment and meaning in our lives.

As most parents and grandparents can attest, they will die for their family.

What else in your life gives you such deep a sense of purpose that you’re willing to die for it?