THE SOVEREIGN DROP 040 — On the Countdown Clock
Not a newsletter, but a ritual. One drop each week. Distilled wisdom for the whole man.
Field Note: On the Countdown Clock
Every once in a while we get a reminder of our mortality.
Maybe it’s the aching back when you are maneuvering out of bed in the morning.
Maybe it’s playing sport, but you’re not as agile and fast as you once were.
Maybe it’s the bloodwork numbers. (Thank you, Function Health, for having us so informed that we’re often better suited to help ourselves than four doctors.)
Maybe it’s the “trumpeting” you do with the phone as your eyes try to focus on the screen with not as much success as they did a few years ago.
Or maybe it’s a phone call from a loved one sharing their cancer diagnosis.
For the most part, though, you shove your mortality to the deepest recesses of your mind - - you’re an elite performer, keeping up with the latest scientific research on every part of your body, you’ve got enough supplements to fill a shelf, your workouts are dialed in and getting more so by the day. You’re full of vigor and vitality! You’re on a mission with no thought of the end in sight! Fair enough.
The end will come and we’re all on a count down clock to that moment. No exceptions.
(Real pick-me-up Sovereign Drop this week, eh? Hang with me. This takes an unexpected turn. Maybe even two.)
There’s a principle called the goal-gradient effect. Essentially, your drive and speed increase the closer you get to the finish line. Simultaneously, your brain releases more chemicals when a reward feels close, and interestingly, knowing there is an exact end, your brain cuts down on doubt. Sounds like a great cocktail.
Use mortality and the goal-gradient effect to your advantage. You’ve got a lot on your to-do list still.
Questions
How will you live better today, this week, this month?
Who will you become faster...because why are you taking your time getting there?
What will you fill your days with? And probably better, what will you fill the moments here and there with?
How will you treat the ones you love differently?
Integration
I’m going a little unconventional here, but this week and forevermore decide that you’re never going to kiss your wife like you kiss your mom ever again.
Think about it for a second.
You’ve got mortality chasing you down, a count down clock constantly ticking in the background, and you’re going to give your wife the same kind of peck you’d give your mother? Please. You’ve got this beautiful life together with a woman you love and, also, an expiration date. Kiss your Love like you’re savoring every second from now on.
Benediction
You will not always have this body, this hour, this day, this person in front of you, this role, position, or company. It’s not a tragedy. It’s an invitation…
To live like the clock is a gift, to kiss your Love like you mean it, to become the man you're headed toward faster.
The countdown is meant to wake you up.
I believe in what you are becoming.
— Amy
If you know a man who would benefit from reading this, feel free to forward it to him. One drop each week. Distilled wisdom for the whole man.
