If you are someone who is sick of feeling exhausted, rundown, unmotivated, depressed, anxious, and just plain unwell  – and you’re looking for the “No BS” list of things that you can do to make you feel alive again, full of energy, joy and motivation – then keep reading to discover the prioritized list of things you should do first, before anything else, in order to completely transform your health.

These are things that are simple to understand but can be difficult to implement. However, these things are absolutely fundamental for putting your body in a place where it can heal, giving you the energy and vitality you were meant to have.

I began my health journey back in 2018, experiencing numerous setbacks and failed experiments along the way.

However, I have also experienced profound breakthroughs and learned a lot about which things can actually make a meaningful difference in one’s health and which things are likely to be straight up snake oil.

I’ve experimented with all sorts of different things including:

• Extreme elimination diets
• Plant-based diets
• Animal based diets
• Probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics
• Meditation
• Breathwork
• Sauna and ice baths
• Redlight therapy
• Coffee enemas
• Castor oil packs
• Grounding
• Sunlight therapy
• Ozone therapy
• IV therapy
• Neurofeedback
• Peptides
• Every supplement under the sun
• And much more

If you’re someone who is new to the health space and wanting to make significant improvements in your health, but you are feeling overwhelmed at the amount of conflicting information online, please know that we understand.

It can be super stressful trying to sift through so much contradicting information and get to the truth of what will actually make you feel good.

We believe that health is very, very simple. It really all comes down to realigning the way we live our lives with the way our ancestors lived theirs, before the advent of industrialized food, modern technology, environmental toxins, endless comfort, and extreme convenience.

This is why we put together a list of the most fundamental diet and lifestyle changes you should make that will have the biggest impact on your health and wellbeing.

We like to think we have a very good BS meter, and we don’t like snake oil. So these are things we have discovered after almost a decade of experimenting and trying everything imaginable to improve our health.

Let’s dive in.

Table of Contents

• Diet
• Nutrition
• Sleep
• Exercise
• Sunlight
• Detox
• Hydration
• Community
• Purpose
• Fun

Diet

First things first. Diet.

Diet is THE biggest lever we can pull to improve our health. Eating the Standard American Diet of ultra-processed foods, hydrogenated seed oils, artificial dyes, preservatives, emulsifiers, and pesticides destroys our health in so many ways including:

• Damaging our gut microbiome
• Contributing to leaky gut
• Causing chronic, low-grade inflammation and oxidative stress
• Contributing to insulin resistance
• Damaging our mitochondria
• Damaging our brain
• Overburdening our liver
• Increasing our risk of every chronic disease

Cleaning up your diet can have such profound impacts on your energy, your mood, the level of joy and motivation you experience day to day, and your physical appearance.

The controversy always arises from the following question: Which diet is the best diet?

We don’t believe in a specific diet that’s best for everyone since everyone is so different, and what works well for someone might not work well for someone else.

However, we do believe there are some foundational guidelines that everyone can benefit from.

Guidelines

1. Remove ultra-processed foods from your diet
2. Add in organic whole foods
3. Emphasize nose-to-tail animal foods
4. Identify food sensitivities
5. Include fermented foods
6. Experiment with macros

Remove ultra-processed foods from your diet

These are synthetic foods that are designed to be highly palatable and addictive, circumventing our body’s own satiety mechanisms, keeping us eating more without getting full.

They cause chronic, low-grade inflammation which has been shown to be a key contributor to virtually every chronic disease.

These foods are also very rewarding to our brains, causing abnormally large amounts of neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and opioids to be released. This rewires our brains to crave these foods even more.

Ultra-processed foods typically include a combination of refined sugar, flour, hydrogenated seed oils, high fructose corn syrup, and many chemical additives to enhance flavor and appearance.

We recommended completely eliminating the following foods from your life:

• Refined, white cane sugar
• Hydrogenated seed oils (canola, soybean, sunflower, safflower, vegetable, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, rice bran, margarine, Crisco)
• Gluten-containing grains (this includes flour)
• Conventional dairy (we believe raw dairy is most healthy while conventional dairy, like milk you’d buy in the store, is highly processed and known to trigger autoimmunity, skin issues, and mood issues)
• High fructose corn syrup
• Artificial food dyes and sweeteners
• Preservatives, emulsifiers, and other additives

Examples of these foods are chips, donuts, pastries, fried foods, breakfast cereal, fast food, cake, cookies, ice cream…you get the idea. Typically anything that comes in a package and has a combination of the ingredients mentioned above.

Add in organic whole foods

Now that you’ve removed ultra-processed foods from your diet, you need to replace that with real food.

Strive to eat organic foods as much as possible. 280 million pounds of pesticides are sprayed on our food in the United States each year. This is damaging our gut microbiome, causing inflammation, and even potentially causing non-hodgkins lymphoma.

If eating organic 100% of the time isn’t feasible, use the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists to determine the worst offenders.

For the actual foods to eat, focus on things that grow in the ground or can be hunted or fished. This includes red meat, poultry, pork, lamb, fish, eggs, raw dairy, fruits, and vegetables.

For meat, strive to find regeneratively raised animals. For fish, opt for wild caught over farmed. For eggs, pasture raised.

For raw dairy, make sure to find an organic, regenerative farm that has very clean, transparent processes. Use the Weston A. Price Raw Milk Finder tool to help with this.

Emphasize nose-to-tail animal foods

Animal foods like red meat, chicken, pork, eggs, raw dairy, and organ meats are the most nutrient dense foods on the planet. Animal foods contain all of the nutrients we need to thrive and in copious amounts.

Focus on consuming the majority of your calories from animal foods to maximize your nutrition and feel your absolute best.

This will provide your body with plenty of the building blocks needed for producing optimal amounts of neurotransmitters and hormones, improving your brain chemistry elevating your mood and cognition.

Be sure to include organ meats like liver, heart, and kidney since these are the cream of the crop when it comes to nutrient density. An ounce or two of liver per week is a great start.

Note: Many people experience a natural “high” the first time they eat liver. This is most likely due to the high B-vitamin content of liver and is a great sign that your body is getting the nutrients it has been craving.

Identify food sensitivities

Food sensitivities are extremely common in today’s world since our guts are being damaged by so many things like ultra-processed foods, pesticides on our food and in our environment, antibiotic use, lack of exercise, and not enough sunlight.

Identifying and removing foods that are triggering your immune system is one of the most important things you can do to reduce inflammation and starting feeling better immediately.

Food sensitivities can trigger symptoms like depression, anxiety, brain fog, autoimmunity of any kind, skin issues, sleep issues, digestive issues, and much more.

Food sensitivities were causing me severe depression, debilitating brain fog, panic attacks, fatigue, digestive issues, bad insomnia, and many other symptoms.

It wasn’t until I did an elimination diet for a while and then reintroduced foods one by one did I finally resolve my symptoms and discover which ones were causing me to react.

Our recommendation would be to:

• Try an elimination diet like Paleo, AIP, Whole30, or even the most extreme, a Carnivore diet.
• Trying a more extreme diet is the most accurate way to discover problematic foods because you are eliminating a wide range of potential immune-stimulating plant foods.
• Stay on an elimination diet for 4-6 weeks before attempting to reintroduce foods.
• Reintroduce foods one at a time and wait at least 3 days before moving on to the next food because symptoms can sometimes take days to appear.

Include fermented foods

Fermented foods contain a wide range of beneficial probiotics that provide great health benefits as they travel through our digestive system.

These foods usually contain good amounts of prebiotic fiber as well which is good for gut health.

These foods can improve digestion, mood, skin issues, and maybe other symptoms by reshaping the microbiome to a more healthy composition.

Experiment with macros

Try going low carb (less than 50 grams per day) or experiment with a ketogenic diet (less than 25 grams of carbs per day).

Being in ketosis can have significant health benefits like:

• Increased mood and cognition
• Reduced food cravings
• Reduced inflammation and oxidative stress
• Improved motivation and drive to pursue goals
• Improved mental health like depression and anxiety
• Reduced risk of brain-related diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
• Reduced risk of a wide range of cancers

Ketones produced during ketosis serve as a more efficient brain fuel, producing less metabolic byproducts like oxidative stress, which is in part why it has such a great positive effect on brain health.

I personally feel best on a ketogenic diet. My mood is incredible, my energy is stable, and my brain works noticeably better.

Our recommendation:

• Experiment going low carb for several weeks – Less than 50 grams per day
• Then try going into a ketogenic state – 0 to 25 grams of carbs per day. Assess how you feel
• Be aware of keto flu – There is a common phenomenon known as the “Keto Flu” where your body is transitioning to a new energy source and excreting way electrolytes than normal. Common symptoms are fatigue, low mood, irritability, and general malaise. In order to avoid the keto flu, you must consume a very high amount of electrolytes [89][90][91].
• Make sure to consume electrolytes! – I need to say this again because of how crucial it is to mitigate or avoid keto flu. I thought I was consuming enough electrolytes until I started feeling super fatigued and irritable. It wasn’t until I increased my electrolyte consumption that my symptoms subsided. We use this brand of electrolytes.

Nutrition

Eating an animal-based whole foods diet should provide all the nutrition your body needs.

However, due to modern farming practices, our soils have become depleted of nutrients. This means that our food has less nutrients today than it did a century ago.

In addition, people transitioning from a standard American diet to a healthier diet may be starting off with low levels of nutrients due to years of inadequate consumption.

Some of the most common nutrient deficiencies include:

• Vitamin D: Around 94–96% of the U.S. population does not meet the daily requirement, and globally, about 50% have insufficiency [92].
• Magnesium: Around 52% of the U.S. population is deficient. Magnesium is important for nerve, muscle, and heart function [93].
• Calcium: 44–50% of Americans do not consume enough calcium, leading to risk of bone weakness, cramps, and osteoporosis [93].
• Vitamin A: About 43–51% have insufficient intake, which can cause vision problems and immune dysfunction [93].
• Vitamin C: Roughly 39–43% of Americans are deficient, risking scurvy, fatigue, and poor wound healing [93].
• Potassium and Choline: Nearly all Americans fall short of adequate potassium; over 90% are also low in choline, which affects nerve and cell health [93].
• Iodine: Affects 30% of the world’s population, essential for thyroid function and metabolic regulation [94].
• Iron: The most common micronutrient deficiency globally, especially among women, children, and those who menstruate, leading to anemia and fatigue.
• Vitamin B12: Common among vegetarians, vegans, and older adults due to decreased absorption or lack of animal foods. Deficiency can result in anemia and neurological issues.
• Folate (Vitamin B9): Especially in pregnant women and those with poor diets, leading to anemia and birth defects in severe cases.
• Zinc: Deficiency is common, particularly in developing countries and older adults, and is associated with impaired immunity and wound healing.

When first starting your health journey, it might make sense to have some testing done to see where your nutrient levels are.

Then you can supplement to make up the difference while your diet is working simultaneously to fill your stores.

Increasing your B-vitamins in particular can be very important, especially if your someone dealing with methylation issues, which is very common.

If supplementing with B vitamins, it’s important to use methylated B-vitamins as these are already in their usable form, making it easy for your body to make use of them.

Sleep

Sleep is absolutely essential for both physical and mental health, ranking alongside nutrition and exercise as a pillar of health and well-being. Quality sleep offers a wide array of scientifically proven benefits for the body:

• Cognitive and Emotional Health – Sleep enhances memory, learning, focus, and decision-making. It also regulates mood, helps with emotional resilience, and reduces the risk of depression and anxiety.
• Physical Restoration – While you sleep, your body repairs tissues, grows muscle, synthesizes important hormones, boosts immune function, and clears brain waste products. Growth hormone (for healing and muscle growth) is released at its highest levels during sleep.
• Immune Function – Deep, restorative sleep strengthens your immune response, helps fight off infections, and lowers inflammation.
• Heart and Metabolic Health – Consistently good sleep lowers your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity by supporting healthy blood sugar levels and reducing cardiovascular strain.
• Hormones – Lack of sleep disrupts appetite-regulating hormones, leading to greater hunger and risk of weight gain.

Poor sleep has been linked to a higher risk of infections, chronic disease (like heart disease and diabetes), mental health struggles, impaired cognitive performance, and early mortality.

How to improve your sleep

1. Cut off artificial lights after sunset

Instead use, dimly lit warmer color lights if needed such as Himalayan salt lamps or red light bulbs. Artificial lights after sunset are well documented to delay melatonin release, impair sleep quality, disrupt your circadian rhythm, and lead to lower dopamine levels the next day [95][96].

2. Lower the temperature of your room

You should feel cold when you go to bed. Your body temperature has to drop during sleep and this process can be impaired if your room or your comforter is too hot. We set our thermostat to 66 degrees F at night, but it will be slightly different for each person. We also use the Eightsleep automatic heating/cooling mattress cover to tailor the temperature of our mattress to our needs in order to optimize our sleep quality. It has been an absolute life changer. One of the best investments we’ve ever made.

3. Use a sleep mask and/or blackout curtains

These will further reduce the amount of light you are exposed to at night.

4. No meals 2-3 hours before bed

Eating too close to bed time can impair sleep quality. Your body is using a lot of energy trying to digest your meal when it could be using that energy to recover and regenerate.

Exercise

Exercise is one of the most impactful lifestyle behaviors for improving and maintaining health across your life span. It supports the body and mind, prevents a wide range of diseases, enhances quality of life, and extends longevity.

Immediate Benefits

To reward us for our efforts, exercise offers us some immediate benefits like:

• Feelings of happiness and tranquility 
• Reduced pain tolerance
• Reduced feelings of stress and anxiety
• Reduced blood pressure
• Improved sleep

Long-Term Benefits

Consistent exercise over the long term can do some pretty amazing things like:

• Decrease inflammation in the body
• Improve symptoms of depression comparable to medication [1]
• Decrease your risk of every chronic disease by 21-23% [2]
• Build strong bones and muscles
• Increase lifespan
• Improve physical function, making it easier to perform tasks of daily living
• Improve self-confidence and physical appearance
• Lead to growth of new brain cells in certain brain regions
• Increase cognitive function
• Improve detoxification
• Lead to long-term increases in baseline dopamine levels and receptor availability

Moving your body increases blood flow which carries nutrients, gets the lymph moving which helps move toxins to the liver for detoxification, increases oxygen to the brain, releases endorphins and endocannabinoids, and improves your health in just about every aspect.

The amount and type of exercise you do will depend on your current fitness level and exercise history. However, any amount of exercise is good, even a short walk.

Our Recommendation

This will look different for everyone, but I think a good rule of thumb is to:

1. Walk multiple times a day for at least 15 minutes each time
2. Lift heavy things 2-3 times a week
3. Add some high intensity and moderate intensity exercise (jogging, swimming, biking, HIIT, CrossFit) 2-3 times a week
4. Aim to do some form of exercise each day

Logan’s personal exercise routine:

• Walk for 15 minutes, three times a day
• Lift heavy weights twice a week
• Go for a run once a week
• CrossFit three times a week
• Sauna 3-5 times a week

Sunlight

For a complete guide on the benefits of sunlight and how to use sun exposure to transform your health check out our post The Ultimate Guide to Transforming Your Health with Sunlight.

Direct outdoor sunlight exposure — especially during sunrise and sunset—is central to optimal health, healing, and prevention of chronic disease.

Your physiology, hormones and metabolism depend on sunlight to function optimally.

Benefits of Sun Exposure:

• Viewing early morning sunlight sets in motion a cascade of hormone related events that:
  • Increases wakefulness hormones
  • Increases dopamine levels
  • Improves focus
  • Reinforces our circadian rhythm
  • Optimizes our sleep quality
  • Regulates our hunger hormones
• Sun exposure throughout the rest of the day has additional benefits:
  • It activates and replenishes stores of dopamine, serotonin and melatonin
  • It triggers cellular repair and preprograms the skin to absorb UV-B later in the day, reducing your risk of sunburn
  • It stimulates vitamin D production, lowers blood pressure, speeds up metabolism, improves thyroid function, rebuilds and restores hormone levels, improves carbohydrate metabolism, diversifies the gut microbiome, and boosts dopamine, serotonin, and beta-endorphins.
• Overall sun exposure:
  • Reduces inflammation
  • Regulates our hormones
  • Improves our immune system
  • Reinforces our circadian rhythm

Our Recommendation:

• Watch the sunrise – Try to view the first few seconds of sunrise to set in motion the cascade of events that will set your body up for the day.
• Bask in the morning sunlight – From about 6am – 8am, try to soak up as much morning sunlight as you can to receive the benefits in cellular repair, dopamine and melatonin recycling, and preprogramming your skin for UV-B light.
• Get some Vitamin D at midday – Try to spend at least 15 minutes from 11am – 2pm, when UV-B light is present in order to stimulate Vitamin D synthesis.
• Avoid burning – Don’t let yourself burn. Use your best judgement and if you feel yourself start to burn, apply some non-toxic sunscreen.
• Watch the sunset – The light at sunset is high in red light, which stimulates cellular healing. On top of that, it’s very relaxing.
• Avoid artificial lights after sunset – Artificial lights after sunset are known to cause circadian rhythm disruption and can actually lead to lower dopamine levels the following day. Instead, use Himalayan salt lamps or dim red lights. We use these lights in our house.
• Wear blue light blocking glasses – After sunset, wear blue light blocking glasses if exposed to artificial lights or when viewing screens. We use this brand.

Detox

For a complete guide on how to detoxify your body and which supplements and lifestyle behaviors are best, check out our post How to Detoxify Your Body Naturally.

Our modern environment is full of toxic chemicals like pesticides, PFAS, plastics, heavy metals, air pollution, mold and mycotoxins, and many other chemicals that we eat, breath, drink, and soak up through our skin every single day.

There are now over 80,000 man-made chemicals in our environment, while less than 1% of them have been tested for safety [15][16].

Our bodies were never designed to handle such a toxic load, and a lot of people’s detoxification pathways get sluggish over time.

Things like poor diet, lack of exercise, impaired methylation, and poor nutrition can further impair our body’s ability to detoxify, leading to an even greater accumulation of these toxins inside our body.

Over time, this accumulation of toxins is what gives rise to many chronic diseases and health issues.

Our main detox pathways

In order to properly detox, we have to support our primary detox pathways including:

• Our liver – The liver is the primary organ for detoxification, converting fat-soluble toxins into water-soluble compounds so they can be excreted from the body.
• Our kidneys – The kidneys filter waste products and toxins from the blood and excrete them through urine.
• Our gastrointestinal tract – Our GI tract is where the liver dumps the toxins after it has packaged them inside bile. These toxins are then eliminated in feces. Our gut microbiota also metabolize certain toxins.
• Our skin –  The skin is the body’s largest organ. It removes toxins primarily through sweating.
• Our lungs – The lungs expel gaseous toxins and metabolic byproducts like carbon dioxide through the breath.
• Our lymphatic system – The lymphatic system supports detoxification by transporting waste and immune-related byproducts to lymph nodes for processing and elimination.
• Our cell membranes – Toxins that accumulate in the body typically get stored in our cell membranes. This is a problem because it can lead to the cell not being able to send and receive biochemicals that it needs to function, leading to health issues over time. In order to truly detox, we have to remove the toxins from our cell membranes.

How to Effectively Detoxify Your Body

The following approach involves a combination of supplementation and lifestyle factors that can support or “open” these detox channels and are proven to effectively detoxify the body and improve health outcomes.

Lifestyle Factors

1. Sweating – Sweating facilitates detoxification by mobilizing toxins from the bloodstream and sending them out of the body through the pores of the skin. Try using a sauna 3-5 times per week or engage in intense exercise to allow yourself to sweat as much as possible.
2. Movement – Movement increases blood circulation and lymphatic drainage, which helps the body mobilize toxins for elimination. Try going for a walk at least three times a day, and try staying active throughout the day. Exercise is good also.
3. Hydration – Staying hydrated is key for your liver and kidneys to be able to effectively flush toxins from the body.
4. Coffee enemas – Coffee enemas, while they don’t have much scientific support, have been used for centuries by different cultures for purifying the body of toxins. They are reported to work by increasing bile flow, increasing antioxidant production, and safely escorting toxins out of the body. See our post on How to Detoxify Your Body Naturally for more details on how it works and how to perform them.
5. Castor oil packs – Castor oil packs involve applying a cloth soaked in castor oil to the skin, typically over the abdomen or liver area, with heat, to increase detoxification processes. They are effective at enhancing bile flow, blood circulation, and lymphatic drainage. We use this brand.

Supplements

1. Phosphatidylcholine (PC) – PC is a major component of cell membranes. Supplementing with PC helps rebuild and repair damaged cell membranes, normalizing cell permeability and supporting overall cellular function, which is fundamental for effective detoxification. This is our #1 recommendation for removing toxins that are stored deep within our cell membranes that otherwise would remain. This is the only supplement we are aware of that actually allows pulls toxins out of our cell membranes and out of the body.
2. Glutathione – Glutathione is referred to as the body’s master antioxidant and plays a central role in detoxification. Glutathione is essential in the liver’s two-phase detox system. Glutathione is a very effective detoxifying compound and we use it daily.
3. N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) – NAC is a precursor to glutathione and has been shown to boost glutathione levels, protect liver cells, bind heavy metals, and directly scavenge free radicals. We have been using this brand for years.
4. Binders – Binders are substances that bind to toxins in the body—particularly in the digestive tract—and help escort them out through the stool, preventing their reabsorption and reducing overall levels of toxins in the body. Examples include activated charcoal, zeolites, bentonite clay, modified citrus pectin, silica, and chitosan. We use this brand that combines many of these into one.
5. Calcium D-Glucarate – Calcium D-Glucarate is a supplement derived from D-glucaric acid, a naturally occurring compound found in small amounts in fruits and vegetables, that helps facilitate the elimination of toxins, excess hormones (such as estrogen), and carcinogens by inhibiting an enzyme called beta-glucuronidase.
6. Humic/Fulvic Acid – Humic and fulvic acids are natural organic compounds derived from decomposed plant and microbial matter, commonly found in soil, rivers, and lakes. They help with removal of toxins from the body, facilitate the transport of minerals inside cells, enhance communication between microbes in our gut, and protect us from damage from pesticides. We use this brand daily.

We recommend experimenting with these supplements and lifestyle changes and see what works best for you!

Hydration

Staying hydrated is crucial if we want our bodies and brains to work optimally.

Staying hydrated keeps us feeling our best by:

• Improving brain performance – Even mild dehydration can impair memory, mood, concentration, and reaction time. I learned this in college when I noticed that going all day without drinking water gave me brain fog that only lifted once I drank water.
• Improving digestion – Water helps dissolve nutrients in the small intestine, making them easier to absorb into the bloodstream. It also supports the transport of nutrients across the intestinal lining. Additionally, it softens stool by increasing its water content, promoting regular bowel movements and preventing constipation. It also supports peristalsis (intestinal contractions), aiding the movement of food and waste through the colon.
• Increasing energy: Hydration supports circulation and oxygen delivery to tissues, helping prevent fatigue and sluggishness.
• Improving detoxification: Water supports the liver and kidneys in flushing toxins through urine, sweat, and stool.
• Improving skin hydration: Water maintains skin moisture and elasticity, protecting against dryness and enhancing tissue health [69][70][71].

Hydration is more than just consuming more water, however. You must be sure to consume trace minerals as well.

Our recommendation:

• Consume clean water – Drink either spring water or filtered water, either by a reverse osmosis filter or a reputable brand of filter. We use this one.
• Avoid water goals – Drinking too much water, especially if it’s not re-mineralized, can actually strip minerals from your body leading to further dehydration. If you’re someone who has a difficult time drinking water, maybe setting a goal of drinking half your weight in ounces of water each day would be good, but for others, simply use how you feel as an indicator of hydration status. You can also check the color of your urine, with darker yellow colors indicating dehydration.
• Avoid tap water at all costs – Don’t drink it and don’t bathe in it. Tap water is full of toxic chemicals like fluoride, pharmaceutical drugs, pesticides, plastics, PFAS, and many other toxins that accumulate in our body, causing disease.
• Remineralize your water – After filtering, water can be depleted of minerals. Use a trace mineral supplement to add minerals back to the water so that you don’t end up with a mineral deficiency. We use this brand. We also add this supplement to a glass of water every day to support our mineral status.

Community

Having a community of family and friends with whom you can connect with and share experiences with has profound benefits on our health and wellbeing.

In contrast, loneliness is known to wreak havoc on our health, with studies showing that loneliness significantly increases our risk of premature death, cardiovascular disease, stroke, dementia, and depression [73].

Scientist actually equate loneliness to other issues like smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity [72].

Benefits of community:

• Better physical health and longevity – People with strong social connections tend to live longer and have lower risks of heart disease, stroke, dementia, and other chronic illnesses. Social support also helps improve immune function and recovery from illness or injury.
• Improved mental health – Supportive relationships reduce anxiety, depression, and perceived stress. Emotional support fosters feelings of love, belonging, purpose, and security, which strengthen resilience to mental health challenges.
• Healthier behaviors – Being around people who are health-focused has been shown to encourage healthier habits such as better diet, regular exercise, and lifestyle choices.
• Reduced stress – Social connections provide help, advice, and emotional support during difficulties, helping individuals cope better with life’s stressors.
• Enhanced sense of belonging – Feeling connected reduces feelings of loneliness and isolation. Having personal connections with other people evokes a sense of identity and self-worth.
• Longer life expectancy – Strong community bonds are associated with lower mortality rates and longer life expectancy as they promote healthier lifestyles and stress resilience [74][75][76][77].

These benefits are clearly demonstrated by the Blue Zones.

The Blue Zones are areas around the world where people have exceptionally long and healthy lives, often living to 100 or more with significantly lower rates of chronic disease.

One of the common pillars that contributes to the health and life span of the Blue Zones is strong family and community bonds.

How to Find Community

The best way to find community is to think about things that you like to do and then go do those things with other people.

For example, if you like CrossFit, go join a CrossFit gym. If you like climbing, join a rock climbing club.

Think about things you already do, and look for ways to join communities, clubs, etc. that do those same things.

Over time you will form friendships and bonds with the people you meet.

Here are some effective ways to find community:

• Join local groups or clubs – Look for hobby groups, sports teams, book clubs, or volunteer organizations in your area that align with your interests to meet like-minded people.
• Take classes or workshops – Enroll in classes (art, cooking, fitness, language) that interest you. Learning together fosters bonding and shared experiences.
• Volunteer – Helping others through volunteering creates a sense of purpose and connects you with people who care about similar causes.
• Use social media and apps – Platforms like Meetup, Facebook groups, or neighborhood apps can help you find local gatherings and interest-based communities.
• Connect through faith – If relevant, religious or spiritual communities offer support, fellowship, and shared values.
• Be open and approachable – Genuine curiosity and kindness help build new friendships. Take initiative to reach out and follow-up with people you meet.
• Create your own community – Organize small gatherings, virtual groups, or interest meetups to bring people together if existing options are limited.

Chandler and I have both taken very intentional steps to find community in the city we live in:

• We joined a local church where we stood up a small group and help lead that with another couple.
• I joined a CrossFit gym where I’ve met great people.
• Chandler is very close with her coworkers and occasionally does dinner, bowling, TopGolf, breweries, and other fun activities with them.

Purpose

Having a sense of purpose in life—defined as a personal mission or meaning that guides one’s actions and goals—profoundly impacts health and well-being.

Without purpose, we can feel a sense of emptiness, apathy, or existential distress, increasing the risk of depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem.

Without purpose, we are mindlessly drifting through life. I believe this is very common in our world today where many people feel lost, with no personal goals to work towards or any reason to get out of bed in the morning.

Our brains are wired for purpose

Our brains were designed with a dopamine-reward system that literally drives us to do things. It drives us to want things, and gives us the energy we need to pursue those things that we want.

Without a purpose in life, we are more likely to live a hedonist lifestyle where we go through life seeking cheap pleasures that are easy to obtain such as junk food, video games, pornography, alcohol, drug use, and many other addictive behaviors.

The Rat Park Experiment

This is highlighted perfectly in the famous Rat Park experiment conducted by psychologist Bruce K. Alexander in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

This experiment compared rats who were given access to drugs in two different environments:

1. A standard, isolated laboratory cage setting
2. A large, enriched social environment called Rat Park, designed to simulate a more naturalistic and stimulating environment.

The reason rats were used for this study is because they share a very similar dopamine reward system with humans, and their social nature and complex behaviors make them suitable subjects for studying the influence of environmental factors on addiction

Key findings of the Rat Park experiment:

• Rats were divided into two groups: one in isolated cages and the other in the enriched environment (Rat Park) with space, toys, tunnels, and social companions.
• Both groups had access to two water bottles—one containing plain water, the other containing a drug solution of morphine and cocaine.
• Rats in the isolated cages consumed significantly more morphine and cocaine, whereas the socially enriched Rat Park rats consumed much less drugged water, choosing mostly plain water.
• This study has major implications on purpose and addiction, suggesting that a stimulating environment with opportunities for social interaction and purposeful activities reduces the need to seek artificial rewards like drugs [78][79].
• This highlights the fact that we were designed with a self-rewarding feedback system in our brains that requires us to have a purpose in order to receive the stimulating brain chemicals that give us our sense of satisfaction, fulfillment, joy, and accomplishment.

Purpose is about the experience of fulfillment

Author, David Deida, emphasizes that having a purpose is deeply connected to experiencing a profound sense of joy, love, and fulfillment rather than merely accomplishing specific goals.

He says that:

• Purpose is about experiencing a feeling – True purpose is about living through the experience of deep joy, love, connection, satisfaction, and wholeness, which he calls the “Good feeling.” It goes beyond safety and control to a higher, expansive experience of life.
• Purpose evolves – Deida points out that each purpose or mission is meant to be lived fully until it becomes empty or boring and that it’s natural and healthy to discard it and embrace new purposes over time. This evolution is a sign of growth, not failure.
• Purpose vs. mission vs. passion He differentiates purpose (the underlying reason we do things), passion (activities that energize us), and mission (the formula or path we follow to experience the Good feeling). Mission can change, but the core purpose remains the experience of fulfillment.
• Flexibility is key: Deida encourages being open to change in how we live our purpose so that we continue to align with feeling joyful and fulfilled, instead of clinging rigidly to a single goal or role.
• Types of purpose – Deida says that men often find purpose linked to freedom and mission, while women tend seek purpose through love and connection, though these are fluid and really apply more to masculine energy and feminine energy rather than to specific genders as both men and women have a combination of masculine and feminine energies. Many women gain fulfillment from accomplishing goals while many men gain fulfillment from caring for and connecting with other people.

Reasons to have a purpose in life:

• Reduced risk of chronic disease and mortality – People with a strong sense of purpose have a significantly lower risk of dying and generally experience better physical health outcomes, including fewer health problems such as cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline.
• Improved mental health – Purpose is linked to lower rates of depression, reduced feelings of loneliness, greater optimism, and higher resilience to stress. Having meaningful goals and direction helps buffer against mental health challenges.
• Healthier behaviors – Those with purpose are more likely to engage in beneficial habits such as regular exercise, balanced diet, better sleep, and preventive healthcare, contributing to overall longevity and wellness.
• Lower inflammation – Purpose is associated with reduced systemic inflammation, which plays a key role in many chronic illnesses.
• Better cognitive function – Purposeful living correlates with better cognitive health, slower cognitive decline, and reduced risk of dementia.
• Enhanced immune function and longevity – A sense of purpose promotes stronger immune responses and has been linked to increased lifespan.
• Increased life satisfaction and emotional well-being – Engaging in purposeful activities brings joy, satisfaction, and a sense of accomplishment, supporting mental, emotional, and social well-being [80][81][82][83][84][85].

How to find your purpose in life

Finding your purpose in life is a personal, evolving journey that centers on self-discovery, meaningful engagement, and alignment with your core values and passions.

This can be accomplished in several steps:

1. Self-Reflection – Take some time, free from distractions, to reflect on what matters most to you—values (e.g., family, creativity, helping others), passions (e.g., art, health, technology), and moments when you feel fulfilled. Think about how you can use your unique skills and personality traits to contribute to the world. Answering questions like “What would I do if money wasn’t an issue?” or “What problems do I want to solve?”. Think about things that you are naturally interested in and figure out a way to use that to help other people.
2. Explore your passions and strengths – Identify what you love doing and your natural talents. Purpose often emerges where your passions and strengths intersect with the needs of others.
3. Clarify your core values – Consider what principles or beliefs are most important to you. Aligning your purpose with your values ensures authenticity and sustained motivation.
4. Try new experiences – Experiment with different activities, hobbies, volunteer work, or travel to new places to see what resonates deeply. Learn about different subjects that you haven’t explored before to see if anything resonates with you. Try courses (e.g., cooking, coding, gardening) to identify strengths and passions. Reflect on past successes and get feedback from friends and family about your talents.
5. Set small goals – Start with achievable goals aligned with your values or interests (e.g., helping someone, getting in shape, learning a skill, starting a small project). Break them into steps to build momentum and a sense of accomplishment. The simple act of making progress is known to induce a sense of joy, satisfaction, and self-worth.
6. Embrace evolution – Be open to your purpose evolving as you grow and circumstances change. Flexibility allows you to stay aligned with who you truly are.
7. Stay consistent – Purpose is best realized through consistent actions each day that align with your mission, even in small ways. Again, achieving incremental progress, even in small steps, fuels motivation and reinforces feelings of confidence, happiness, reduced stress, and self-worth.

Fun

This one is simple. Make sure to have fun each day.

Life is stressful enough from working all day, dealing with life events, raising kids, managing finances, dealing with health issues. Managing stress is of upmost importance to our health.

Stress is not always obvious. For me personally, I never actually realize that I’m stressed until my wife tells me that I’m stressed. I think it can fly under the radar for a lot of people.

We know that stress negatively impacts our health.

Stress is known to:

• Lead to nervous system dysregulation
• Raise blood pressure
• Cause muscle tension, headaches, neck and back pain
• Weaken the immune system, leaving us more susceptible to infections
• Cause digestive issues like IBS, indigestion, low stomach acid, bloating, etc.
• Lead to anxiety, depression, irritability, memory problems, sleep disturbances, and other mood disorders
• Increase blood sugar and can contribute to insulin resistance, obesity, and diabetes
• Alter hormone levels affecting reproductive health and sexual function
• Impair decision making and reduce emotional regulation
• Trigger unhealthy coping behaviors, including overeating, smoking, substance use, and physical inactivity [86][87][88]

One of the best ways to reduce stress and improve your sense of wellbeing is to have fun:

• Daily fun – Schedule something that you can look forward to each day, whether that be a delicious meal at dinner, movie night with family, game night with friends, video games with friends, sports, etc. It can also be something small like your favorite desert after dinner, a good book, or a tv show you enjoy. These things will make each day a little more exciting.
• Put something on the calendar – Having something on the calendar to look forward to is always exciting. It could be a vacation somewhere, a group outing with friends, a date night, a day trip, a concert, a baseball game, a Spartan Race, etc.
• Laugh – Don’t take life or yourself too seriously. Find ways to joke and laugh throughout the day as you engage with other people. EVERYONE likes to laugh. Laughing reduces stress hormones, boosts oxygen and blood flow, and activates neurons that release endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine, reducing pain perception and making us feel happy and relaxed.

Conclusion

We strongly believe that in order to achieve true health and happiness in every category – mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual – we must strive to adhere to these ten fundamental pillars.

No one is perfect and Chandler and I sometimes struggle with staying on track with all of these, but we make a consistent effort to try our best because we have seen so much benefit from these diet and lifestyle changes!