MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors

Five takeaways:

1. Research shows that every single system in the body benefits when you are more active. From sleep quality to daily energy levels to mood stability to memory strength, and so much more. Life is better lived actively.
2. Exercise goals are important, but like all goals, they must be specific and practical.
3. Remember that a brisk walk, at a pace of at least a 20-minute mile, provides health benefits similar to running, and probably more social benefits. Plus, your risk of injury is much lower.
4. Expand your view of exercise: You don’t need to go to the gym to get moving! Go on walks with friends instead of meeting them for coffee. Park farther from the store or movie theater. Get your steps in however you can.
5. Remember that setbacks happen: it is never easy to undertake a new challenge and the line to fitness is never going to be straight.

From Libby Richards at Inverse
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Five takeaways:

1. This piece opens by citing a recent study that says that in the first year of a baby’s life, parents face 1,750 difficult decisions– and then applies data to the question: what is the most important decision a parent can make?
2. There have been many debates over the factors that correlate most strongly with the success and stability of a child relating to almost every aspect of socioeconomic condition, family structure, domestic situation, and more.
3. Citing data from economist Raj Chetty, this piece argues that the single most important factor in predicting a child’s success is where they grow up.
4. Using anonymized IRS and Census Data, they found that three of the biggest predictors that a neighborhood will increase a child’s success are the percent of households in which there are two parents, the percent of residents who are college graduates, and the percent of residents who return their census forms.
5. Basically, it is best to raise your kids in neighborhoods with many role models: adults who are smart, accomplished, engaged in their community, and committed to stable family lives.

From Seth Stevens-Davidowitz at The Atlantic:
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Note: At the time of this posting The Atlantic offers five free article views per month.

Five takeaways:

1. It can seem impossible to change another person’s beliefs. Brooks cites one scholar who notes that one’s personal attachment to beliefs encourages “competitive personal contests rather than collaborative searches for the truth” when it comes to ideological disagreements.
2. Extensive survey-based research has shown that the two most widely shared convictions are: Harming others without cause is bad, and fairness is good. Beyond that, humans are excellent at finding things to disagree on.
3. Research shows that if you insult someone in a disagreement, the odds are that they will harden their position against yours. This is called the boomerang effect.
4. If we want any chance at persuasion, we must offer our opinions happily. Rather than as a weapon, as a gift– something we believe to be good for the recipient. This requires that we present it with love, not insults and hatred.
5. Brooks offers three tips for greater conversational persuasion:
   • Do not “other” your conversation partner by scornfully dismissing their held beliefs.
   • Do not react negatively to rejection, because such rejection is their right.
   • Listen to your conversation partner more– stronger listening can lead to deeper understanding of their convictions, which they are likely to reciprocate.

From Arthur C. Brooks at The Atlantic:
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Note: At the time of this posting The Atlantic offers five free article views per month.