What Doesn’t KILL You, Actually Does Make You Stronger
A few years back I heard something at a conference that REALLY stuck with me, one of those things that gets the instant “mental post-it note” upon arrival, it helped that my phone was handy too. The context was around professional athletes and what truly makes them stand out from the rest of the (professional) pack. The speaker (a high profile sports agent) asked the following question – “Do you know the difference between the top-notch players and everybody else?“
The room paused …. Silence
“They recover from adversity faster than everybody else”
Whether it be physical, mental, emotional, or psychosomatic, they have this uncanny ability to push forward. They understand that it’s a part of growth, it’s “The Process“, “The Grind”, and very-much comes with the territory of being elite. Theses top athletes – and really anyone at the top of their profession – have utilized this natural human ability to keep raising the bar, especially when the haters and doubters are at their loudest. It’s the mindset that we’re able to push the limits of what we think we can do, it will be uncomfortable and scary, but intensely exhilarating at the same time, and it’s a skill that we (yes you and me) can all utilize.
You had to have heard (and be sick of hearing) the cliche ….. What Doesn’t Kill Me, Makes Me Stronger! Well,There’s actually quite a bit of biological truth to this, that truth is called Hormesis!
WTF is Hormesis
It kinda sounds like a Harry Potter spell, or something Khaleesi would whisper into her children’s ears, allowing them to go play with those little people in shiny suits. I’m not going to deny that it may have some magical characteristics, it may be an evolutionary survival tool that’s aided us (humans) since the early cellular days. The 16th century Swiss chemist and physician, Paracelsus wrote: “All things are poison and nothing is without poison, only the dose permits something not to be poisonous” – meaning everything in this world has the capability of being poisonous, it’s the dose which is the determining factor.
Hormesis is the process in which exposure to a low dose of a chemical agent or environmental factor (that is damaging at higher doses) induces an adaptive beneficial effect on the cell or organism. Basically, a low dose of a toxic substance builds up our bodies defenses and resiliency to be able to handle a higher does of that toxin at a later date, this is also know as “preconditioning” or “adaptive stress response”. But this reaction does more than just prepare the body for a future toxic siege, it trigger cells to activate protective and restorative pathways (1). These molecular processes provide immediate benefits, neutralizing oxidative stress, building cells stronger, and clearing up damaged cells throughout our bodies.
Micro-Magic!
Everyday Hormesis
Guess What?
There’s a good chance you may be getting your Hormisis on and you don’t even know it! Daily acute stressors that trigger this process include:
- Exercise
- Dietary Energy Restriction (or Fasting)
- Eating Fruits and Veggies (due to the exposures to phytochemicals)
WHOA! I know what you must be saying – ” I’m a Lean, Mean, Hormesis Machine! ”
Every time you exercise (or train) you’re technically putting your body through a bout of stress. For example, while strength training, there’s a good chance you’re creating mico-tears in your muscle tissue. As part of the body’s response to this stress it ups the production of Growth-Hormone to repair and build the muscle stronger. Pretty dope right! When it comes to food, eating certain plants (or not eating at all) is equivalent to Harry waving his wand and casting the Hormesis spell throughout your body. Natural substances in plants called “Phytochemicals”, have antioxidant properties and are one of the strongest anti-aging tools we have (3).
But what about that feeling when you’re concentrating so hard that you brain begins to hurt? I’m not sure what that is… BUT accumulating evidence suggests that the reason why regular engagement in intellectual activities is beneficial for the brain (4) is that it activates hormetic pathways in neurons. By using your Brain, you can actually grow and heal your Brain! So get your Jimmy Neutron on and start exercising that noodle!
We were built to be able to handle and mitigate stress, we’ve been doing it for…….well forever! If we couldn’t, we would have never made it this far. So don’t look to CGI on the big screen or for David Blaine on the street to be entertained by magic. The Magic is right in-front of our eyes and inside us (literally) Every Damn Day! The wand is in your hand, you know the spell, the question is… are you brave enough to put this magic to practice in your everyday life? The hard part was taken care of by evolution, all we have to do is kick-off these pre-built pathways by getting our sweat on, eating some veggies, and maybe putting down the phone and picking up a book. Don’t take your innate magical prowess for granted, you’ve got the power within, say the magic words already.
Professional athletes often push the boundaries in their sport to new uncharted territory, but they dont just do that over night. So don’t expect a week of exercise or eating right to result in a physical and mental transformation. Get ready for an adventure, a Long adventure much like one you’d find in a movie, with laughs, tears, fright, uncertainty and doubt. So go to iTunes (or Spotify) and play this on repeat until its hook is chiseled into your subconscious…
