3 LITTLE THINGS: To build strength and mental acuity in 2025

Don't have a big New Year's resolution? Neither do I. But I'm excited for these 'mini-challenges' that involve books, handwriting and a horizontal bar.

Warmup

The clock is ticking. Bold resolutions are being made. And soon, I’m sorry to say, many will be broken.

About seven in 10 U.S. adults set goals at the start of a new year, and personal health or fitness goals are the most common. (Source: Gallup)

But by mid-February, 80% of the people who set New Year's resolutions will have abandoned them, according to Gallup.

The reasons vary. We overshoot and go out too hot. We weren’t truly committed. Inertia and life’s curveballs get in the way.

Sometimes though, the timing for big goal-setting just doesn’t line up with January 1.

It doesn’t for me this year. Which is why I’ve teed up three mini-challenges for 2025 that almost anyone can tackle and benefit from — at any point that suits them.

Let’s get it done.

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Here are my F.A.M criteria for the mini-challenges:

Flexibility: If your life is complicated right now, or later, these challenges can be started and stopped and started again — and you’ll still reap benefits.

Accessibility: You don’t need a lot of money, space or equipment to engage in the mini-challenge.

Measurability: It’s easy to tell if you’re getting it done and improving.

Mini-challenge #1

Read four books on topics you know nothing about

This doesn’t require much explanation (I hope). We tend to gravitate toward information that A) we already are interested in or B) reinforces ideas we believe.

The Internet and its algorithms exacerbate this. It’s how we land in “filter bubbles.” As we age, we’re more susceptible. (Source: Scientific American)

Picking up or listening to a book about something new changes that dynamic. You can enter a new world and stay in that world without (as much) distraction. You can become a more well-rounded person who contributes interesting ideas at work and dinner party conversations.

My first pick for 2025: “The Formula: How Rogues, Geniuses, and Speed Freaks Reengineered F1 into the World’s Fastest-Growing Sport.”

I know NOTHING about F1 car racing. But I’m already hooked and learning from this book by two Wall Street Journal reporters: “Long before Silicon Valley promised to move fast and break things, Formula 1 was driving faster and rebuilding things every year.”

P.S. There’s nothing magical about “four” books — it simply works out to one every quarter or 90 days. And that feels doable.

P.P.S. If you’ve got a book to recommend, let’s go!

Mini-challenge #2

Improve grip strength against two key benchmarks

Grip strength is an excellent overall proxy for strength and health. (Source: Andy Galpin. Time code :40 seconds)

It’s also translatable to everyday tasks (hauling groceries or firewood, opening a jar, walking your dog on a leash). Plus, grip strength is easy to measure.

You’ll find many benchmarks online. The two I’m using come from physician and podcaster Peter Attia. (Source.)

Benchmark 1 - How long can you dead hang from a bar? Find a horizontal bar that can bear your weight — gym, playground, strong tree branch. And see how long you can hang from it.

That’s it.

A very strong 40-year-old male should be able to dead hang for at least 2 minutes, and a very strong 40-year-old female should be able to hold on at least 90 seconds, according to Attia. You can subtract about 10 seconds per decade as you age.

My aim for 2025: Seven years ago I could hang for 100 seconds. Now I’m 53 and want to return to that time, and stick with it, for as many years as possible.

Benchmark 2 - What percentage of your bodyweight can you carry for one to two minutes? You can test this in multiple ways. One of the easiest is by carrying two free weights or kettlebells — what’s known as a Farmer’s Carry. [Update: And if you need to carry heavier weight, N2L member

Marshall R Peterson

reminds us in the comments below that a trap bar is a good way to go.]

For a male in his 40s, to be able to carry his body weight for 1 minute is good and for 2 minutes is very good. For a woman in her 40s, carrying 75% of her body weight is terrific, according to Attia. You can lower that by 10% per decade after 40.

Important note: if this is new for you, start with much lower weight and work up.

My aim for 2025: I can already walk with 75% of my bodyweight (almost 95 pounds) for one minute. I’d like to to reach two minutes.

Mini-challenge #3

Write more stuff by hand (and make it legible)

Wait … what, you say? Write by hand? Hello - it’s 2025. We are now fine-tuned finger-tappers and swipers. And you’re suggesting we pick up a pen and paper?

Yep, I am. Here’s why.

One of the most well-read stories I wrote over two decades at The Wall Street Journal was titled “How Handwriting Trains the Brain.” Research across multiple forums shows there is significant benefit to writing out letters (versus tapping them on a screen) when it comes to learning, memory and idea formation.

"It seems there is something really important about manually manipulating and drawing out two-dimensional things we see all the time," says Karin Harman James, assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at Indiana University.

I am acutely aware my own handwriting is terrible — like, physician terrible — and getting worse with all my screen-time.

My 2025 mini-challenge: Take the small notebook (pictured above) I was gifted for Christmas and write at least one page a day by hand — a newsletter idea, my workout notes, a quote from the books I’m reading.

The catch: I must do it neatly, however long it takes.

Note: My mother (who has exceptional penmanship) upped the challenge this morning by telling me to do it in cursive. Ok, Mom. Game on.

(If you’ve forgotten what cursive looks like — here’s a good link with PDFs to download.)

Cooldown

If you’ve got ideas for other mini-challenges, I’d love to hear about them. N2L reader comments are great fodder for future posts.

Thanks to all of you who have subscribed to this newsletter, become a paid member and read my book NOT TOO LATE in 2024. I’ll see you on the other side, a bit smarter about F1, notebook by my bed and 45 lbs. kettlebells in the garage.

As always, find something you love. Dig in. Stick with it when things get hard.

Wendy