My To-Not-Do List

What would the 80-year-old version of me thank me for?

Things I would thank myself for doing:

Eating 6 eggs and an avocado for breakfast.
Rucking, walking, or running 6–7 days per week.
Strength training 3–4 times per week.
Going on adventures with my friends.
Saying yes to things I actually want to do.
Wrestling with my kids.
Doing at least three mobility sessions per week.
Going to yoga with my wife.
Buying high-quality food I enjoy.
Celebrating victories — big and small.
Sleeping outside as many nights as possible.
Living within my financial means.
Doing the actual thing instead of endlessly training or thinking about the thing.
Rucking with a comfortable ruck.

Things I would thank myself for avoiding:

Long commutes.
Negative people.
Excessive drinking.
Credit card debt.
Rumination about things outside my control.
Doubting myself.
Injuries.
Excessive social media use.
Resentment.
Doing it only for the money.
Consuming more than I create.
Processed food.
Poor sleep.
Perfectionism.
Poorly designed Rucks.

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I’m not a regretful person.

But I can look back and clearly see decisions whose consequences I still carry today.

If I’m fortunate enough to make it to 80, I suspect the years from 41–80 will hit differently than 0–40.

I now have enough life under my belt — and enough agency — to make better decisions.

That doesn’t mean I won’t make mistakes.
And it certainly doesn’t justify perfectionism.

But it does raise the standard.

And I’m happy to embrace that.

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I recently read an idea that stuck with me:

It’s often what we avoid — more than what we add — that determines our outcome.

Endurance beats talent.
Subtraction beats optimization.

I’ve gone down the perfect morning routine rabbit hole before. For me, that road leads to burnout.

At Wild Gym — and in my personal life — I’m focused on one thing:

Doing less, better.

Doing nothing isn’t it.
Trying to do everything is just as destructive.

It’s about finding the sweet spot where you’re pushing just beyond your threshold of adaptation — enough to facilitate durable growth.

And to find that Goldilocks zone of life, it might be as simple as putting more intention into your To-Not-Do list.

What would the 80-year-old version of you thank you for?