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SamuelOz
How To Be Happy: A Surprising Lesson On Happiness From An African Tribe
~2.7 mins read
We would all love to learn how to be happy. And sometimes, the solution comes from a surprising place.
Let me tell you a story…
There was an anthropologist who had been studying the habits and culture of a remote African tribe.
He had been working in the village for quite some time and the day before he was to return home, he put together a gift basket filled with delicious fruits from around the region and wrapped it in a ribbon. He placed the basket under a tree and then he gathered up the children in the village.
The man drew a line in the dirt, looked at the children, and said, “When I tell you to start, run to the tree and whoever gets there first will win the basket of the fruit.â€
When he told them to run, they all took each other’s hands and ran together to the tree. Then they sat together around the basket and enjoyed their treat as a group.
The anthropologist was shocked. He asked why they would all go together when one of them could have won all the fruits for themselves?
A young girl looked up at him and said, “How can one of us be happy if all the other ones are sad?â€
How to Be Happy: Ubuntu
Years later, the well known South African activist Desmond Tutu would describe the little girl's thought process by using the word ubuntu, which means “I am because we are.â€
Here’s how Tutu explained the concept:
We believe that a person is a person through other persons.
“Africans have a thing called ubuntu. We believe that a person is a person through other persons. That my humanity is caught up, bound up, inextricably, with yours. When I dehumanize you, I dehumanize myself. The solitary human being is a contradiction in terms. Therefore you seek to work for the common good because your humanity comes into its own in community, in belonging.â€
This is exactly the type of philosophy that our community embraces.
Community First
“Your humanity comes into its own in community, in belonging.â€
In our little community here, we each have our own goals and mission. Some of us are working to lose weight and get healthy. Others are striving to gain muscle and feel happier. But regardless of our individual pursuits, we are always a team grinding towards greatness. We are a group of people on a quest to make the world better, not just different. We support each other.
We believe that there is always room at the top. We believe in abundance and we work hard to make life great for everyone in our community. We walk to the tree and enjoy the fruit together.
Happiness comes from combining what we love to do with something that is meaningful. In this community, our goal is to improve your health and happiness so that you can do what you love and contribute something that is meaningful. We believe that we are here to make the world a better place, and we think that happy and healthy people have a better chance to do that than anyone else. That's why we share ways to naturally lose fat and gain muscle, reduce stress and feel happier, and boost your energy and creativity.
If you choose to share your journey with us and work towards your goals as part of our team, then you'll find thousands people who support you. That's because we find value in community. We find our humanity in belonging.
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SamuelOz
THE PURPOSE OF SLEEP
~1.3 mins read
Sleep serves multiple purposes that are essential to your brain and body. Let's break down some of the most important ones.
The first purpose of sleep is restoration. Every day, your brain accumulates metabolic waste as it goes about its normal neural activities. While this is completely normal, too much accumulation of these waste products has been linked to neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.
Alright, so how do we get rid of metabolic waste? Recent research has suggested that sleep plays a crucial role in cleaning out the brain each night. While these toxins can be flushed out during waking hours, researchers have found that clearance during sleep is as much as two-fold faster than during waking hours.
The way this process occurs is fairly remarkable:
During sleep, brain cells actually shrink by 60 percent, allowing the brain's waste-removal system—called the glymphatic system—to essentially “take out the trash†more easily. The result? Your brain is restored during sleep, and you wake up refreshed and with a clear mind.
The second purpose of sleep is memory consolidation. Sleep is crucial for memory consolidation, which is the process that maintains and strengthens your long-term memories. Insufficient or fragmented sleep can hamper your ability to form both concrete memories (facts and figures) and emotional memories.
Finally, sleep is paramount for metabolic health. Studies have shown that when you sleep 5.5 hours per night instead of 8.5 hours per night, a lower proportion of the energy you burn comes from fat, while more comes from carbohydrate and protein. This can predispose you to fat gain and muscle loss. Additionally, insufficient sleep or abnormal sleep cycles can lead to insulin insensitivity and metabolic syndrome, increasing your risk of diabetes and heart disease.
All of this to say, that better sleep is critical for your mental and physical health.
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