TN50#190_It’s Still Relationships – Dummy_10 February_2025
Hi Team,
Happy Valentine’s day (a few days early). If you’re married or at least have a significant other of the human variety there aren’t too many weeks of the year better than this one to talk about RELATIONSHIPS.
Happy Monday and welcome to The Next 50 #190 I like to think of personal performance in 3 components: physical, mental and emotional. My framework focuses on 4 Buckets: Eat, Sleep, Move and Think. This blog is my sandbox for sharing information that you might find useful for your personal performance.
Here are some facts regarding the clogged holiday “Seasonal Marketing” shelves of your local grocery store:
- Valentine’s Day has ancient Roman roots. It’s believed the holiday evolved from the Roman festival of Lupercalia, a pagan celebration of fertility and purification held in mid-February.
- Over 250 million roses are grown for Valentine’s Day – annually. Red roses are a classic symbol of love, and their popularity skyrockets around Valentine’s Day. It’s estimated that millions of roses are cultivated specifically for this holiday.
- Richard Cadbury, son of Cadbury’s founder, is credited with creating the first heart-shaped box of chocolates in 1868.
More importantly, here are why healthy RELATIONSHIPS matter from a physiological standpoint. As observed in the Grant Study, a longitudinal study initiated at Harvard University in 1938:
- Reduced Stress: Strong relationships act as a buffer against stress. The emotional support and companionship provided by close relationships can help individuals manage stress more effectively.
- Improved Cardiovascular Health: Participants with strong social connections are less likely to develop heart disease and had lower blood pressure.
- Enhanced Immune Function: Individuals with strong social support systems have better immune responses and are less susceptible to illness.
- Increased Longevity: The study revealed that individuals with strong social connections live longer and healthier lives compared to those who are more isolated.
- Better Cognitive Function: The study found that individuals with strong social support systems maintain better cognitive function as they age.
If you aren’t familiar with the Grant Study, there’s more information available here: https://fpp.llc/2023/03/10/tn5099-its-relationships-dummy/.
Want something a little older than 1938? Here’s what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians in I Corinthians 13 (ESV).
Verses 4 – 8: Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast, it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends…
Verse 13: …So now faith, hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
I think and talk and write a lot about eating, sleeping, moving and thinking better; but without relationships and love what on earth is it all for?
Who do you know that could use this information? I bet you can think of a couple of people before you click the next email, please share the post with your team and anyone who might find it useful and let me know what you think!
Have a good one,
Alex
PS. One of the 3 focus areas under the THINK pillar of all of my Better Basics Performance Coaching is “RELATIONSHIPS”. If you have great habits and metrics for EAT, SLEEP, MOVE and your relationships are a mess – YOU ARE SCREWED! Let me know if I can help.
Top Photo by Igor Rodrigues on Unsplash
