The “Yes And” Rule

The “Yes And” Rule

  December 09, 2024    Pratik Bandagale

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A few years back, I attended my friend Nick’s blowout 40th birthday party. As part of the celebration, he hired an improv comic, and we all had to participate in learning improv comedy. (I just felt the collective shiver of all the introverts reading this newsletter). We started tossing out fun scenarios and scenes to participate in, and we learned about the most important rule of Improv: “Yes and.” Two...

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The most important skill for getting (and staying) healthy

The most important skill for getting (and staying) healthy

  November 11, 2024    Pratik Bandagale

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In 1933, an overwhelmed and frustrated woman named Frau sent a letter to psychologist Carl Jung, asking “how to live.” (She didn’t have any Instagram influencers to yell motivational platitudes at her, I guess) Jung replied: “Your questions are unanswerable, because you want to know how one ought to live. One lives as one can. …if you do with conviction the next and most necessary thing, you are...

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The Past Isn’t Set In Stone

The Past Isn’t Set In Stone

  November 04, 2024    Pratik Bandagale

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I’m currently reading ​The Tainted Cup​, a fantasy detective novel. Think “Sherlock Holmes set in Westeros.” The main character has this augmentation that allows him to absorb every single detail of every interaction, crime scene, and then recite back these exact details...

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Boundaries: the Cure for Burnout?

Boundaries: the Cure for Burnout?

  October 15, 2024    Pratik Bandagale

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It’s been a while since I’ve felt this uncomfortable. I had an empty afternoon last week and saw Speak No Evil (​trailer here​), a horror/suspense film about a family who goes to visit another couple they met on vacation. And shockingly, things don’t go as expected. If...

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The ONE thing that finally worked…

The ONE thing that finally worked…

  October 15, 2024    Pratik Bandagale

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I stumbled across ​a reddit thread​ that really grabbed my attention. Somebody asked “What was the ‘one thing’ that finally made weight loss work for you?” And this question had 5,400 replies (and counting). Some of the answers involved environmental changes or changing...

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94 Years of Wisdom

94 Years of Wisdom

  September 30, 2024    Pratik Bandagale

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Last week, I flew to Massachusetts to visit my 94-year grandmother in the hospital. Let me tell you about this amazing woman. Barbara, Auntie B, or Gramma to us grandkids, was born in 1930 to first-generation Newfoundlanders. (No wonder I love the music of ​Alan Doyle​...

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You’re overcomplicating it.

You’re overcomplicating it.

  September 23, 2024    Pratik Bandagale

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I know you’re overcomplicating things, because everybody does. Including me, the nerd who studies this stuff for a living. I shared a quick story the other day on ​Threads​ (and ​Instagram​): A few thousand people resonated, and I couldn’t help but chuckle ​at the replies​....

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I apologize for my sideburns and striped shirt

I apologize for my sideburns and striped shirt

  September 13, 2024    Pratik Bandagale

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For the first time in 10+ years, I rewatched my 2012 TEDx talk: “​Nerd Fitness and Resetting the Game of Life.​” My first thought: “Whoa, Steve. Those are some EPIC sideburns.” My next thought: “Bold choice with the striped shirt, jeans, and flip flops!” Then I gave myself...

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The Warrior Emotion

The Warrior Emotion

  August 29, 2024    Pratik Bandagale

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Nick Cave has taken over my life for the past month. Mr. Cave has been putting out music since the mid 1980s with his band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. He’s also a writer, screenwriter, poet, and all-around interesting dude. His band’s most famous song, “​Red Right Hand​,”...

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What if you NEVER get there?

What if you NEVER get there?

  August 12, 2024    Pratik Bandagale

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About a year ago, I decided to make a big change to this very newsletter you’re reading. You see, from 2020-2023 I was pretty unmotivated to do my job. Which is kind of amazing, when you realize that I have complete autonomy, created Nerd Fitness, and essentially built...

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Can you really be Diet Resistant?

Can you really be Diet Resistant?

  August 06, 2024    Pratik Bandagale

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In 1992, a study was conducted on weight loss resistant individuals. In this study, the lab specifically studied people who reported eating less than 1200 calories daily and had bodies that were resistant to losing weight. Researchers set out to explore this phenomenon: Were...

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