Reviewed by Emily Johnson - Co-owner, High Vibes Drinks.
I just finished reading this book. I was expecting more of a self-help, psychology based book, but I was pretty pleased to find that the author is the CEO and founder of Spartan - Joe De Sena. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but as a Personal Trainer and Nutrition Coach, this is right up my ally. Plus I know Elise would love it too because she is tough and has competed in Spartan races before.
It’s a lot about building mental resilience through physical endurance, failure and grit. Which of course I’m down with. A big theme is discipline. I think sometimes we can forget that there is actual reward through discipline.
One of my favourite parts is this: “So here’s the catch: to be healthy in the world today, you have to do what others aren’t doing. We have become a society that promotes habits that are actually bad for us – regular drinking, overspending, eating cereal that looks like a rainbow. To be healthy and both mind and body, we often have to go against the grain and resist distraction of shiny things, social media, and Saturday night cocktails. You have to do things that challenge your first instinct to fall in line with the norm and keep you comfortable. You have to zig when others zag, stick your neck out, lift heavy things, do endurance exercises, eat green foods, go to bed early, avoid alcohol. Otherwise, you risk sliding into the sick, sedentary, and solitary life that’s so many struggle with.”
While it is very much about using exercise to build confidence and resilience, I love that it promotes going against the grain and doing the hard things that make your life better. At High Vibes Drinks, we certainly understand that sometimes you need to avoid alcohol to make your life better and zig when others zag, and we make no apologies for that.
I highly recommend this book. It can be purchased from Booktopia.
Love and high vibes,
Em