| A big mistake people make is failing to search for deep causality. They identify the proximate cause of something and then stop and go no further. This feels right, because, after all, you've figured out the most immediate cause of whatever you're trying to avoid or fix. If your sleep is poor, it's probably something you're doing in the evening or right before bedtime. If you're not getting the results you want in the gym, it's probably something you're doing during your workouts. If your significant other is mad at you, it's probably something you did (or they experienced) a few minutes ago. But that's not good enough, is it? You need to go deeper. You need to extend the horizon of causality to truly understand what's going on—and what you can do to fix it or make it better. In the case of poor sleep, the true cause often isn't your bedtime routine. It's your morning routine. When you aren't getting enough natural sunlight early in the morning, you throw off your circadian rhythm and delay the onset of melatonin secretion at night (the neurotransmitter that tells your body to start getting sleepy). This wouldn't occur to most people who haven't studied circadian hygiene. But it's true, and it's a good example of the value of extending your causality horizon. In the case of poor results in the gym, it's usually not the workout itself. Most exercise works, as long as you do it consistently. The most common cause of poor gym outcomes occurs nowhere near the gym. It's inadequate recovery. It's getting poor sleep. It's not eating good food, or enough of it. These are things that many people wouldn't link to the gym, but they are vital. And if there's strife at home, it's usually not just something that happened right then and there. There's probably something else going on, something earlier or deeper. What could it be? Think on this, and think about some of the "causes" you've been identifying. Can you go deeper? Can you go further? Can you extend your horizon of causality? Let me know in the comment section of New and Noteworthy. Take care, everyone. | 
