This is just something I wanted to talk about for a bit, as I felt this inclination towards the idea today. I am not feeling my best, I'm a bit tired, bloated, takes a few seconds longer for me to recall things, and overall I'm just on the rise. Not quiet at my fullest.

Despite getting more than enough sleep, perhaps too much actually, and having a beer stein of coffee.

A while back I thought about how can I operate at my fullest every day? I know that each day is different, and thus I cannot predict how I will feel tomorrow. However I can optimize my life to be the fullest I can be.

Obviously this entails exercise, nutrition, sleep, supplementation, and optimizing various smaller things like bowel movements, or even posture and mental health walks.

Baseline to Max

Overall your baseline is based on your exercise, sleep, and what you eat. Really that is it, and how you feel the next day is because of the consequences of your day before. Good or bad.

For example, as much as I tell myself (and sometimes others), that I no longer want to drink any sort of alcohol. I do partake from time to time, and in the last couple weeks I've done it a few more times than usual.

I bring this up because this decision has cost me precious energy, focus, and a couple days out of the last dozen for recovery.

This is my own fault, but even if I hadn't done those nights of drinking. I would still be not at my top. This is due to external factors like seasonal allergies, which hit me like a semi-truck, or poor weather days that impact me more than most, mentally.

You cannot account for those things, and even if you prepare for allergies like I did with medicine, and I should have taken local honey sooner too. It doesn't get rid of them, and sometimes the medicine can mess with your energy too.

All in all, you can't control everything, and even controlling yourself is sometimes a challenge too. Then how DO we get to the MAX?

Achieving a MAX Energy level

Remember the point of getting to this level is to maximize your output. I am not talking about optimization of your daily schedule per se, or even DEEP WORK. Just overall before all that, maximizing your energy levels, so that you can even do those things. Let alone at a higher capacity.

Supplementation is something I've spent a great deal of time digging into, and trying a variety of types. From the body, to the mind, and even the joints (as it turns out jumping on concrete for the better half of a decade is gonna wear down your joints!).

Part of my obsession of supplements comes from the movie Limitless (and also the show of the same name too), as this magic pill grants the consumer near limitless cognition and retention. Boasting the ability to magically pull any piece of information the person has consumed in their conscious life.

I scoured the internet for any supplement or drug to help enhance my cognition. While Nootropics (mental supplements) DO make a difference, and sometimes by a big margin.

They are vast in variety, many different use cases, providers, and overall quality. Since the supplement world is highly unregulated, there isn't a necessary body to make sure you aren't just getting sugar capsules. Although Placebo I bet works pretty well!

Supplements Only help boost you, but not replace your baseline

All this stuff I'm talking about is great and all, but if you don't take care of your baseline. Then none of it really matters.

Going back to sleep and diet, those are the things that most people mess up. I personally grew up a night owl, and I also love staying up late as well. Although sometimes that bites me in the butt when I get up in the morning.

I tend to get enough HOURS of sleep, but they're not optimized. I'm not sure if I am getting adequate sleep cycles either (currently no sleep tracker device in my home).

Nutrition wise I'd say I'm doing better than most, and I've even been dabbling into controlled fasting. However I am not perfect, and I still need to work on removing processed foods from my diet.

These things are slowly killing me, just like all of you, and its not something that any one of us has to do alone. Rather it is a systemic thing that needs to be tackled. Although we can do better at eating healthier in the meantime.

Supplements help though if you do end up needing a boost, and you have established a good baseline.

If you can work on retaining your baseline even through dramatic external changes too. That is even better. Say something tragic like a death in the family, losing your job, or encountering a personal health problem. Do you let that ruin your life? Or do you tackle it as best you can, and try to maintain your course of regimens?

This is only the start

I do not think this post even scratches the surface of this topic. I swear I made a solocast about it in the first season of the PolyCast. Although I'm not sure, and perhaps if the show was in season I would have made one today.

In the beginning of our journey on this topic I encourage you to pursue ⚖️ Self-Development.