Jack Dixon
Time for a change.
I sent the first installment of Longevity Minded on December 16, 2021.
My goal was to help you and me live longer, feel healthier, and lead more purposeful lives by making longevity simple, practical, and actionable.
I was tired of the doctors and PhDs who overcomplicated everything. So I wrote surgically to cut the unneeded nuance and deliver time-tested, science-backed longevity strategies in accessible language and practical frameworks.
The result was technical how-to articles outlining various sleep, exercise, nutrition, emotional health, and disease-risk management strategies. I wrote 200 articles and 7 e-books to the beat of that drum.
In those early days, I worshipped at the altar of health optimization. People like Peter Attia, Andrew Huberman, and Rhonda Patrick were my heroes. But through a long pilgrimage that took the form of extreme protocols followed, hundreds of articles published, countless podcasts and books consumed, and dozens of hours spent conversing with those close to me, something changed.
I changed.
I went to the extreme end of the health optimization spectrum. My lifestyle was perfectly organized around extending my lifespan.
But when I got there, it felt like I had come face-to-face with the Great and Powerful Oz. My soul wasn’t saved. Rapture wasn’t reached. My problems didn’t dissipate.
Once I arrived at The Royal Palace of Oz—complete health optimization—I realized that what I felt I had been promised by PhD podcasters and longevity docs was a lie.
Being perfectly optimized to live as long as possible paradoxically made it harder to live a good life. Jumping on the longevity superhighway made my experience of time fly by quicker and diluted my ability to enjoy life’s finer things: spontaneity, flexibility, variety, contentment, and exploration.
Last week I shared my journey to the extreme end of the optimization spectrum and what it did to my life…
I no longer believe that the ruthless optimization of your health is a worthwhile goal.
Because to spend each day with a singular focus on living longer, you have to become obsessive. And I wasn’t able to do that without letting it overtake my mental well-being and pillage the enjoyment of the life I’m supposed to be living.
Health is critical and should be tended to vigorously every day. But I want exercise and other wellness practices to be a part of my life, not an all-consuming black hole at the centre of my universe.
More importantly, who I am and what I feel called to write about has changed so much since I launched Longevity Minded two and a half years and 207 posts ago.
Last October, I took the online writing course, Write of Passage, which fundamentally changed me as a writer. My longevity articles were the type of writing anyone, or any AI, could do. I was simply distilling protocols and practices.
I wasn’t sharing personal stories, spiky unique insights, or sprinkling playfulness into my writing. I wasn’t telling stories and writing essays that only I could write. I’ve since started to do that. But I’ve only just begun. And I have so much space to improve in the craft of storytelling.
So Longevity Minded is dead.
I’m still going to write about health, exercise, wellness, and longevity—it’s a big part of my identity. And I firmly believe that leading a healthy lifestyle is worth doing even if it doesn’t add a single day to my life.
But I’m also going to write about money, meaning, travel, work, culture, nature, lifestyle, and more. And no matter what I write about, I’m going to be telling stories. I want storytelling to be at the core of what I do. Stories from my life that you can’t find anywhere else. Stories that I hope you find interesting and insightful. Stories that help us both live better with the short time we have here.
Longevity Minded will be replaced by my name, Jack Dixon.
Every Thursday, I’ll share wholehearted stories on living well before I die.
And I hope you’ll still be there to read them.
With love,
Thank you
for your edits and feedback on the first draft of this piece.Subscribe for new stories every Thursday:
My new logo:
Even though it’s probably only important to me, I spent a lot of time thinking about my new logo. This is what I’ve settled on for now, though I suspect it could change in the future.
I like that it’s colourful because I’ve used black and white for too long. I like that it’s outside, under the sun and among the trees, where I’m often happiest. I like that it’s hiking, on a trail, symbolic of this path of life we’re all walking. And I like that it’s not about walking quickly and efficiently, but about dancing, being silly, and having fun along the way.
My website also got a facelift. Check it out here if you’d like.
What I’ve been up to:
Journaling, writing, running, lifting, stretching, lake swimming, website designing, job applying, and reading… mostly in that order every day.
Prepping to go camping in the front country with my family this weekend (my third camping trip this season).
Enjoying my last week living with
(who just went pro!) before he heads out east in a few days.
Quote I’m pondering:
Gregory David Roberts in his novel, Shantaram:
“But the living emerald in Karla’s eyes, made luminous by the sunflowers of gold light that surrounded the pupils, was softer, far softer. I did eventually find that colour, the green in nature that was a perfect match for the green in her lovely eyes, but it wasn’t until long months after that night in Leopold’s.
And strangely, inexplicably, I didn’t tell her about it. I wish now with all my heart that I did. The past reflects eternally between two mirrors—the bright mirror of words and deeds, and the dark one, full of things we didn’t do or say. I wish now that from the beginning, even then in the first weeks that I knew her, even on that night, the words had come to tell her … to tell her that I liked her.”
*Bolded by me for emphasis.
Thanks for reading!
1 — Leave a like. I’d be grateful if you’d consider tapping the “heart” ❤️ at the top or bottom of this page.
2 — Let’s chat. If this resonates or you want to share your thoughts, please leave a comment on this post. I’d love to hear from you and I respond to everyone!
3 — Share the love. If you know someone who may enjoy reading this, please share it with them.
P.S. If you want to reach me directly, you can respond to this email or message me on Substack Chat.
YAY! I think it was Joseph Campbell who said, “the privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” For me, being who you are is “becoming” who you discover yourself to be, through time. And when I don’t, or I resist, I slowly suffocate.
I honor and admire your courage and commitment Jack. And most of all, your heart.
Wow, this was a surprising and refreshing read! I'm so excited for you, Jack, and relieved that you extracted yourself from a path that wasn't serving your whole vibrant self. (What a great Dad you have, too!) I'm looking forward to reading your words going forward and learning what happens next. With your bravery and self-awareness and willingness to pivot and clear values, I can't even imagine the limit of the incredible life you will have ahead - and have already had. Thank you for sharing this with us and being honest about the twists and turns of life. Cheering you on!!