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Showing posts from December, 2023

Keeping Fit in India

I have a bold claim to make: As compared to Europe, it's much easier to get and keep fit in India. But it's far less likely. Easier because: Relatability In India, you can relate to the others' bodies. Everyone around you has the same body style, our carb heavy diet that causes so many of us to be skinny fat. And so when you go to a calisthenics gym, it really helps to be able to look around and see that a person who looks like you is fit . That shines hope, telling you that it is possible in the first place. In Europe, the same is counterproductive. Looking at the European's low body fat, tall yet muscular physique makes me think they're just born with it. (Which is not true. I suppose they really do have great genes, but their meat heavy diet and walkable/cycleable cities help with keeping fit). Food is easier in India. You know your food here. You know the spices we use and how it tastes. It's that familiar feeling of eating something you know, as opposed to...

Systems not Rules

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Systems work. Rules don't. There's a juice counter at work with two machines placed on either side of a central slab with fruits and vegetables. The one on the right has a sign in red that reads "No Ginger". One of the machines stopped working one day, and so after calling a lady from the kitchen staff, I started chatting with her. After a few exchanges, she told me "You know what, you're all smart folks working at the top software company in the world. And yet, I'm always dumbfounded here. No one reads this sign and I find ginger every other day in this machine on the right!" There's a simple fix. Move the ginger out of the center and to the side that allows juicing ginger. Keep the sign for sure, but now that you have an additional barrier, it would really take conscious effort for a person to mistakenly not read the sign. Humans tend to take the path of least resistence. So, setup systems that cause barriers or hindrances, making the easier so...