You can't sit still.
I know because I couldn't either. And honestly, some days I still struggle with it.
My wife will look at me and ask, "Sean, is this really a fight or flight scenario?"
Ninety-five percent of the time, the answer is no. But my body doesn't know that. My nervous system is firing like there's a lion in the room.
This is the disease of modern life.
Your sympathetic nervous system, the fight or flight system, should only fire when you're in actual danger. A real fight. A real threat. Brief, intense, then over.
Instead, we have it firing all day long. Emails. Text messages. Reports. Deadlines. Traffic. News. Social media. The lions and tigers never stop circling.
And the whole time, cortisol is pumping through your body. Telling it to store fat. Telling it to stay alert. Telling it there's no time to rest, recover, or repair.
The Stoics understood something we've forgotten.
Be comfortable in the stillness.
Not as a luxury. Not as a reward for finishing your to-do list. As a discipline. As a practice. As a requirement for a functional human body.
I have a nature preserve near my home in Minneapolis. Sometimes I park my car and just walk. Soaking in the sun. Listening to the birds. Letting the tall grass rub against my legs.
No phone. No agenda. Just stillness.
And here's what I've found: Joy is easier to see when you're not constantly stressed.
By reducing the damaging stresses in my life, I discovered a deeper sensitivity to simple pleasures. Colors look brighter. Food tastes better. My wife's laugh hits different. These things were always there. I just couldn't perceive them through the noise.
Your body has two modes.
Sympathetic: fight or flight. Energy mobilized. Heart rate up. Blood to the muscles. Ready to attack or run.
Parasympathetic: rest and digest. Recovery. Repair. Healing. The "la dee da, everything is good" state, where you're relaxed and calm.
Most people live almost entirely in sympathetic mode. Jacked up. Worked up. Never recovering.
Studies show that meditation, prayer, quiet time, being intentional about stillness, these practices measurably reduce your cortisol response. They shift you into parasympathetic mode, where your body can actually heal.
Fasting teaches this, too.
When you fast for 48 or 72 hours, you learn to sit with discomfort. A hunger pang lasts about 20 minutes. If you can be still through it, it passes. If you react, if you fight it, if you immediately reach for food, you never build the discipline.
The same applies to stress. If you can be still through the discomfort, it passes. If you react to every email like it's a lion attack, you stay locked in sympathetic overdrive forever.
This is why busy executives are often the sickest people I see.
They've lost the ability to be comfortable in stillness. Every moment must be filled. Every notification demands a response. Every quiet second feels like wasted productivity.
Meanwhile, their cortisol stays elevated. Their visceral fat accumulates. Their bodies never get the signal that it's safe to recover.
I work with senators, members of Congress, cabinet officials, and senior executives. These people are running America. And they're so sympathomimetic they don't have time to watch a 15-minute video about their own health.
Stillness isn't weakness. It's a strategy.
The Stoics knew this. Your ancestors knew this. After the hunt, they rested. After the fight, they recovered. The intensity was brief. The stillness was long.
You've reversed it. Your intensity is endless. Your stillness is nonexistent.
Time to flip it back.
That's why I built the Ultimate Start.
You get your MRI first. Simple cash-pay scan, no contrast needed. We'll show you how to order one in your state. Most people are in and out in under an hour.
Then, for $990, my team reads it. A physician analyzes your abdomen and heart for visceral fat. You see exactly what's inside you.
You also get my 48 strategies, two months of on-demand chat coaching, and 50% off Alpha Maker, where I go live twice a week and take questions.
Learn to be comfortable in the stillness.
Your body is waiting for the signal that it's safe to heal.
—Dr. Sean
Not Medical Advice: This newsletter is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, nor does it establish a doctor-patient relationship. The information provided should not be used as a substitute for consultation with qualified healthcare professionals. Always consult your physician before making changes to your diet, exercise, supplementation, or medication regimens. Individual results vary. The strategies discussed may not be appropriate for your specific situation. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you've read here. If you have existing health conditions or are taking medications, obtain medical clearance before implementing any protocols mentioned.