Strauss Zelnick, Becoming Ageless

1. Define Life Priorities

Clearly identify your top three or four priorities in life (e.g., family, work, fitness, service) to help guide your choices and allocate your time effectively.

2. Cultivate Non-Attachment to Outcomes

While working hard on a project, invest your full time, energy, and intellect, but recognize that ultimate success is not entirely in your hands due to uncontrollable external factors. Practice non-attachment to results to reduce suffering.

3. Question Useless Rumination

When caught in an anxiety loop, ask yourself, ‘Is this useful?’ If you’ve already thought it through and have a plan, redirect your attention to something else, like your child, food, or spouse, to prevent unnecessary suffering.

4. Redefine Aging Mindset

Challenge societal perceptions of age and actively choose not to define yourself through the lens of age, instead focusing on a program to look, feel, and be mentally clear at any stage of life.

5. Balance Impatience in Action

Cultivate impatience when it comes to taking action and working hard towards your goals, but practice patience regarding outcomes, understanding that some things simply take time and are beyond your control.

6. Prioritize Listening Over Talking

When entering new situations or leading, prioritize listening to understand the context and people before talking extensively, as this approach can accelerate progress and effectiveness.

7. Seek External Accountability

Leverage strong relationships with vocal partners and good friends, and consider psychotherapy, as these external sources can provide valuable feedback and accountability to help you navigate the line between motivation and compulsion.

8. Cultivate Challenging Relationships

Surround yourself with people who are challenging, tough, and opinionated, and who are allergic to flattery, to ensure you receive honest feedback and avoid ‘yes-men.’

9. Commit to Service and Mentoring

Make a commitment to help others by having an open door for conversations about career or life, engaging in coaching and mentoring, as making a material difference in people’s lives can be deeply meaningful.

10. Practice Forgiveness for Healing

If you hold annoyance or resentment towards someone, actively pray for them as a practice of forgiveness, which can heal you by releasing your connection to negativity.

11. Start Day with Morning Prayer

Develop a spiritual practice, such as a few minutes of morning prayer in a posture of humility (e.g., on your knees), to set the tone for your day, regardless of whether you feel like it.

12. Structure Morning Prayer

Structure your morning prayer around three components: expressing gratitude for your blessings, asking for blessings for others (including those you resent), and setting an intention for the day focused on service and listening to the world.

13. Daily Gratitude for Specifics

Each night before bed, list three specific things you are grateful for that happened that day to train your brain to actively scan for positive experiences and counteract negativity bias.

14. Use Mindfulness for Compulsion

Apply mindfulness to recognize when motivation crosses into compulsion in any area of life, allowing you to self-correct and avoid staying in an unhealthy state.

15. Recognize Life’s Limited Arc

Acknowledge and embrace the finite nature of life’s arc, using this understanding to motivate you to make the most of your single opportunity to live.

16. Prioritize Regular Health Screenings

Get annual checkups, regular dental cleanings (every six months), and specific screenings like colorectal screenings and mammograms (for women) to detect and treat potentially curable illnesses early.

17. Avoid Alcohol, Sugar, Refined Carbs

Strictly limit or avoid added sugar, refined carbohydrates (like pasta, bread, processed foods), and alcohol, as these are generally not good for your health.

18. Incorporate Whole Carbohydrates

Include whole carbohydrates such as rice, whole grains, potatoes, and yams in your diet as they are an important and healthy food group.

19. Choose Abstinence or Moderation

Understand your own tendencies regarding food and drink (e.g., whether abstinence or moderation is easier for you) and tailor your approach to eating and drinking for better health and happiness.

20. Begin Gentle Exercise Program

If you’re sedentary, start moving with a gentle induction program, being kind to yourself, and gradually increasing your fitness regime over time.

21. Basic Weekly Exercise Routine

Aim for a minimum of a half-hour walk three times a week and a half-hour of weight-bearing exercise twice a week to significantly improve your health compared to being sedentary.

22. Mindful Running Noting Practice

To make running meditative, remove earbuds and engage in a ’noting practice.’ Make soft mental notes of salient sensations (e.g., ‘pressure,’ ‘movement,’ ‘wind,’ ’thinking’) and gently return attention when distracted.

23. Address Body Dysmorphia Mindfully

If you find yourself stuck in a loop of self-recrimination about your physical appearance, use mindfulness to notice this pattern and consciously redirect your focus to something else.

24. Stop Weighing Yourself

Avoid stepping on a scale, as it can lead to negative self-perception if you exceed your target weight or give permission to overeat if you’re at or below it; instead, assess your progress by how you look and feel.

25. Integrate Mentoring with Exercise

Combine mentoring and coaching sessions with exercise by inviting mentees to join you at the gym, allowing for longer, more focused conversations while also staying active.

26. Avoid Limitations as Excuses

Be mindful not to use perceived limitations (e.g., lack of time, money) as excuses for not making healthy choices, as many healthy habits are inexpensive or free.

27. Automate Meditation with Siri

Set up a Siri shortcut on your Apple device to instantly play specific meditations (e.g., daily or sleep meditations) by voice command, making your practice more accessible.