How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life

by Scott Adams

My main protein sources are . . . Edamame (soy) Nuts Protein bars (whey protein) Pasta (whole wheat) Cheese Vegetables of all types Protein shakes after working out

The Simple, No-Willpower Diet System Pay attention to your energy level after eating certain foods. Find your pattern. Remove unhealthy, energy-draining food from your home. Stock up on convenient healthy food (e.g., apples, nuts, bananas) and let laziness be your copilot in eating right. Stop eating foods that create feelings of addiction: white rice, white potatoes, desserts, white bread, fried foods. Eat as much healthy food as you want, whenever you want. Get enough sleep, because tiredness creates the illusion of hunger. If your hunger is caused by tiredness, try healthy foods with fat, such as nuts, avocados, protein bars, and cheese, to suppress the hungry feeling. If you’re eating for social reasons only, choose the healthiest options with low calories. Learn how to season your healthy-yet-bland foods.

In time you will lose your cravings for bad food without feeling a sacrifice.

Be Active Every Day

if you get one simple thing right—being active every day—all of the other elements of fitness will come together naturally without the need to use up your limited supply of willpower.

How often should you work out? What should you eat before and after working out, and should you have a different diet for cardio workouts versus lifting weights? How much should you customize your workouts for your age, gender, and condition? Will this abdominal exercise hurt your back or help it? How much rest should you get between days of weight lifting? Is long-distance running enough of a benefit to your overall health to justify the pounding on your knees? The questions and complexity are literally endless. Here are a few of the exercise “musts” you hear all the time. Do thirty minutes of aerobic exercise daily. Stretch. Hydrate. Eat protein within thirty minutes of strength training. Carb load the night before a big exercise day. Do resistance/weight training every other day. Do three sets of ten to fifteen reps. Get lots of rest. Vary your workout to create “muscle confusion.” Use proper form for lifting.

There are three practical ways to schedule exercise in a marriage or marriagelike situation: Join an organized team. Always exercise at the same time every day. Exercise together (if you both really mean it).

The most obvious explanation for the apparent power of affirmations is selective memory.

False memory is another possible explanation for why affirmations appear to work.

Another possible reason that affirmations appear to work is that optimists tend to notice opportunities that pessimists miss.1