Jordan Peterson on how to know who your real friends are:
1. Here's the weird test most people miss: you can tell them good news and they'll actually help you celebrate. that sounds easy. it isn't. tell most people something good happened to you and they give you a little whack, then start talking about the great thing that happened to them three years ago. or worse, the great thing that happened to someone they know.
2. the good ones let you have your win. that's rarer than you think. some people, you're almost afraid to admit something good happened, because the second you let it be known, they'll try to take it away.
3. the other test is bad news. you can tell them and they'll just listen. they won't tell you why you're stupid, why it's your fault, why something worse happened to them once. they don't derail the whole thing. they just listen.
4. hanging around people who pull you down is attractive, and that's the trap. you don't have to take any responsibility. you can all whine together about how wretched life is. no accountability, no effort. feels good short term. it's a terrible long term plan.
5. so surround yourself with people who want the best for the best part of you. and if someone won't move toward anything better, keeps doing the same damn things, going nowhere, you have both the right and the responsibility to walk. putting up with it isn't kindness. that's enabling. you're giving it your tacit approval.
Joe Rogan gave the best advice Iโve heard for anyone out of shape who wants to get serious: Donโt try to make up for years of neglect in a few weeks.
Start stupidly light - 20 minutes, 5 push-ups, 5 squats, 5 sit-ups. Take breaks. Build slowly. Use the sauna and cold plunge for recovery. If you jump straight into what fit people do, youโll wreck your body and quit.
Consistency beats intensity when youโre starting from zero.
Research on exercise progression (including the popular โ10% ruleโ) shows that gradually increasing training volume by no more than 10% per week dramatically reduces injury risk in beginners and previously sedentary people, while still producing significant strength and fitness gains.