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[00:00] Dell PCs with Intel inside are built for the moments that matter, for the moments you plan and the ones you don't. Built for the busy days that turn into all-night study sessions, the moment you're working from a cafe and realize every outlet's taken, the times you're deep in your flow, and the absolute last thing you need is an auto-update throwing off your momentum. That's why Dell builds tech that adapts to the way you actually work, built with long-lasting battery so you're not scrambling for the closest outlet, and built-in intelligence that makes updates around your schedule, not in the middle of it. They don't build tech for tech's sake, they build it for you. Find technology built for the way you work at dell.com/dellpcs. Built for you. This is Optimal Living Daily. Biological Limitations and Travel Buffers by Colin Wright of exilelifestyle.com. And I'm your host and narrator, Justin Malik. We're going to get right to it as we optimize your life. Biological Limitations and Travel Buffers by Colin Wright of exilelifestyle.com. There was a day last summer when I understood what it means to have biological limitations. I was on a road trip across the US with a couple of good friends, and we were pulling into New Orleans after spending the night driving 13 hours from Fort Myers, Florida, which was our previous stop on the trip. I remember that morning clearly because the sun was coming up along the horizon, bringing with it beautiful blues, pinks, and oranges. As I counted the colors in the sky, I was struggling, focusing all of my energy, willpower, and mental strength so as not to fall asleep, crashing the car and killing everyone inside it. I was exhausted in a bad way. Even with the all-nighters I pulled in college, I couldn't remember ever feeling so tired that despite the fact that I held the lives of three people in my hands, which were carefully positioned at 10 and 2 on the steering wheel, my eyelids continued to drift downward, tugged heavily by the increased gravity of adenosine and melatonin. This is the kind of limitation that can be fought, but not completely beaten yet. I managed to get us to our destination, but as soon as we arrived, I crashed and didn't wake up until much later that day. The thing about biological limitations is that there can be value in fighting them, even if they exist for a reason. It's smart to get sufficient sleep, but that doesn't mean you should sleep while driving. A good friend of mine from Iceland described her own combat against the biological limitations of certain emotions, jealousy for example, as floating on, rather than swimming through, the flood of hormones and instinctual reactions. In this way she can be aware of the emotion, but isn't forced to deal with the consequences of acting upon it irrationally. Any response to it can be logic driven if a response is even warranted. I make use of a similar tactic when it comes to certain emotions, especially those related to missing the people and places that I've been. Because of the lifestyle I lead, I'm always leaving someone or something I care about behind. And if I were to let that absence overwhelm me, that longing for the company of these good friends or the familiar habits of a place I've come to think of as home, that I wouldn't be able to meet new friends and plant roots in new homes, my life would be one of regret rather than one of happiness punctuated by positive change. But it's an imperfect system at the best of times, and because of this, I've had to augment my strategy a bit. I've also come to realize that allowing myself to feel these emotions as fully as possible has a practical application so long as my mourning period is structured. The balance that I've found works best for me is to give myself a short period of time during which I can miss the hell out of the people and places I'm leaving and then move on. I let the emotions wash over me and take what creative insight I'm able to draw from them and then stop, still aware of them, but rationally remembering that goodbyes are simply see you laters, not absolute permanent farewells. The time I give myself to fully experience these emotions is the time I spend in transit, on buses and planes mostly. For example, I've just arrived back in Columbia, Missouri to visit my family, and I spent about eight hours on a plane to Chicago, followed by eight more on a bus to Columbia, with a handful of hours camped out on a friend's couch in between. That period of 21 hours sucked, bad. I wallowed in the realization of what I was leaving behind and the sadness that came with it the whole time, making myself nearly sick to my stomach with regret and longing. When I arrived home, I felt great. The friends I made in Iceland are still friends, and if we're not able to see each other every day, that just means we'll have more stories to tell and more layers to discover in each other the next time we're able to meet up. Reykjavik, my home for four months, will still be there the next time I want to visit, and the changes that occur in between will allow me to be a visitor again the next time I arrive, allowing me to discover it once more. During my transit time, I was also able to write three short stories, illustrate a half dozen t-shirts, and come up with a few new ideas for projects I'm working on. It's amazing what being overwhelmed by even negative emotions can do for your creative drive if used in moderation and channeled correctly. The act of travel has become my buffer in dealing with the downsides of full-time travel. Instead of cutting out the tough parts completely, I'm using the whole buffalo, enjoying the good, learning from the bad, and embracing the emotional in order to make sure I emerge from the experience of a wiser, rounder person than I was when I entered it. Everyone deals with this kind of biological limitation differently, but what's important at the end of the day is that you take away as much as possible from it and are able to stave it off when you need to, long enough to make it to your next port in the storm. You just listened to the post titled, Biological Limitations and Travel Buffers by Colin Wright of exilelifestyle.com and I'll be right back with my commentary. Dell PCs with Intel inside are built for the moments that matter, for the moments you plan and the ones you don't. Built for the busy days that turn into all-night study sessions, the moment you're working from a cafe and realize every outlet's taken, the times you're deep in your flow, and the absolute last thing you need is an auto-update throwing off your momentum. That's why Dell builds tech that adapts to the way you actually work, built with long-lasting battery so you're not scrambling for the closest outlet, and built in intelligence that makes updates around your schedule, not in the middle of it. They don't build tech for tech's sake, they build it for you. Find technology built for the way you work at dell.com/dellpcs. Built for you. I'm constantly thinking about how to optimize my health, what supplements to take, hours of sleep, what my diet should focus on. Superpower finally takes the guessing out of it. One simple lab test covers over 100 biomarkers, and their app gives you a complete picture of your heart, liver, hormones, metabolism, even environmental toxins. Plus, it used to cost $499. Right now, it's just $199. And head to superpower.com and use code OLD at checkout for an additional $20 off your membership. Think it, Colin. He has an update to this post. I'll read that for you now. Update February 10th, 2017 I was definitely gutted after leaving Iceland because of the many friends I made there, but also because I had started dating a girl the last month I was in Reykjavik, only to accidentally have things go really well. Which is a strange thing to say, but we were both intending to leave it as kind of a fun fling only to find we were both wanting things to go longer afterward. Thankfully, we managed to make it work, staying in touch and deciding that she would come live with me a month or so into my next location, India. We continue dating off and on for years and are still good friends. So there you have it. I'll leave it there for today. Thank you to Colin and I appreciate you being here and listening every day. An extra thank you if you've ever shared this show with someone, that's a huge help to keep me going. You can also support this show by checking out the other shows in our network. We cover money, health, relationships and more. All doing the same thing, reading an article for you every single day. Just search for Optimal Living Daily wherever you're hearing this and all of our shows should pop right up. But with that, have a great rest of your day and I'll see you tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.