The Mark Of A Man
The no.1 bio marker I use to determine my daily health (definitely not what you're thinking)
There are a million and one markers we can use to try and determine our ‘health’. These range from:
Strict, numerical bio markers such as testosterone levels, IGF-1 levels, body fat %, etc.
To more practical measures like grip strength tests, reaction speed tests and even ‘morning wood’.
To more subjective and symptomatic, less measurable markers such as our presence of mind, how grateful we feel, our perceived level of happiness and so on.
It’s easy to get caught up in looking to one singular marker to give us the verdict on our health. We can get so obsessed with one of these that we end up pursuing its improvement irrespective of how we actually feel day to day.
Lately I have realised a marker that reliably tells me how well I am doing each day. It is easy to measure and completely free. The more I look to it, the more I realise this should be at least one of every man’s key markers for how healthy, fit and successful he is. It is not overall testosterone, free testosterone or even DHT: it’s decisiveness.
Decisiveness: your ability to make decisions (ideally the right ones).
I have found my level of decisiveness directly correlates to the quality of my day. It also reflects how dialled in I am on my standard protocols: diet, sleep, meditation, journaling - everything.
Decisiveness encapsulates many attributes and abilities:
Clarity of mind and mental acuity - you need to have clear process of thought to make decisions.
Gumption, drive and agency - you need to be in an ‘active’ state of being to make decisions, you need to be proactive, willing and driven to move things forward through the decisions you make.
Problem solving, resilience and composure - in order to make decisions you need to be able to effectively problem solve, you need to be able to resist getting stressed or overwhelmed by what at first appear to be insurmountable problems.
Risk taking, commitment and the strength to walk away - deciding for one thing is deciding against another, every decision you take carries a degree of risk, so you need to be able to firm the possibility the decision may be the wrong one to make and decide for it anyway.
Spiritual alignment - you can just make decisions willy nilly (arbitrarily) but you want to make the decisions that are right for you, in order to do so you need to be in touch with and conscious of your spirit/emotions.
By holding decisiveness as a North Star in this regard, I am able to easily aggregate my physical, mental and emotional condition each day. If I have not slept well or eaten well, then my mental acuity is impacted. Any kind of brain fog makes thoughtful, intentional decision making damn nigh impossible - you basically have to throw darts at the board blind.
If I am not mentally locked in then I have less gumption, I am more doubtful. When this is the case I am less driven to make decisions, more overwhelmed by the complex ones, and do not have the balls to commit and take risks in making them.
If something is spiritually out of alignment, if I am emotionally flummoxed, then I am not sure of myself and what I want on the existential level. When I am out of touch with that, how can I know what micro decisions to make in order to serve the macro?
A competent and confident man is able to make decisions; thoughtfully, intentionally and ruthlessly - in order to serve his greater mission and purpose. If you are not able to do so, then something is wrong. The something maybe spiritual and existential, but often times it can be something as physical and procedural as a mineral deficiency, too much endotoxin or a poor night's sleep.
There are many markers and parameters we should measure and track in order to ensure our health, vitality and vril as men, but if you want a quick and easy snapshot right this moment, ask yourself: can I make a f*cking decision?
Be decisive: with intention, courage and charisma.
And have a blessed day.