Become anti-fragile with Bitcoin and beyond – Bitcoin Magazine
This is an opinion editorial by Michael, a software engineer, entrepreneur and regenerative farmer.
The podcast episode “Once Bitten” with Christian Keroles and Daniel Prince got me thinking about antifragility and what it means when applied to a human as opposed to a system.
If you’re trying to make your life anti-skirt, there are many aspects you need to address. It’s a process, and one that I’ve been doing for the past 14 years, without knowing that’s what I was doing.
It has led to a lifestyle that is unique compared to most norms and probably not for everyone. While I will admit that I don’t think my situation could be considered 100% anti-crisis, I do feel that there are many situations where my family would thrive compared to others if the world went completely upside down.
It is difficult to become antifragile and you have to look at different areas that lead to sovereignty.
Food
Food is an easy place to start with lots of low hanging fruit.
Our food system is centralized and favors large corporations. It is built around on-time delivery and as such is inherently fragile. This is probably something you’ve witnessed over the past few years, with supply chains suddenly being disrupted and panic buying setting in.
On top of this fair delivery, much of what we sell as food hardly resembles anything you should be putting into your body. A general rule of thumb is that if it comes in a package, you should question it.
The best approach for anti-fragility when it comes to food is to separate yourself from supermarkets. Discuss everything that comes in packaging as much as possible. Depending on your situation, this can be a challenge, but the rewards are worth it.
Make it a habit to spend with local farmers, small producers and at your local farmers market. When visiting farmers’ markets, be wary of “retailers” who buy in bulk and try to pass the produce off as their own – they’re not much better than supermarkets. Make a point of meeting your farmers; ask them questions and talk to them. They will appreciate your interest.
Once you have separated yourself from the big players, you can take a big leap forward in anti-fragility by producing your own food. You may not have 100 hectares of land, but there is always something you can do with the resources you have. At the very least, you can grow some herbs or start low-tech mushroom cultivation.
You will soon discover after a period of learning to produce food, that it is easy to create abundance. When you produce in excess of your needs, you can sell or exchange for other goods that you are unable to produce yourself. Work to produce your food with minimal external inputs – if possible, close the loop completely. If you don’t depend on external inputs at all, the world can implode and you continue to produce.
Learn to cook, preserve, pickle and ferment. Not only will these skills allow you to store your own food and experience finer culinary delights, they are all invaluable in any kind of shit-hits-the-fan situation.
For me and my family, the approach we took to food led us down the path to a chemical-free commercial garden: Feeding ourselves and our local community, generating income, connecting with other local, like-minded producers, and enabling us to thrive as the rest of the world was in a panic about a possible food shortage.
health and exercise
Get well! If you have a decent approach to dealing with anti-brittleness in food, this will most likely already have you heading down the right path. There are many approaches you can take to food when it comes to your health. I’m not a nutritionist and I’m not here to tell you what’s right or wrong, but if you put good fuel in your body instead of crap, you’ll reap the benefits.
So you energize your body with optimal food? Now you want to get in shape. There are very few situations in life where being fit and healthy will not give you advantages. Being “fit” can be interpreted in many different ways, but ultimately, when it comes to antifragility, you’re looking for an overall all-around fitness level where you’re physically able to complete almost any task life throws at you.
Being able to run a marathon but not lift 200 pounds isn’t going to help you in the real world. Having a 450-pound deadlift but not being able to sprint 400 yards isn’t going to help you in the real world. You have to be an all-rounder. Start where you are and use effort consistently over time.
I train five days a week and have done so for as long as I can remember (with only a short break before 2020). In addition to typical intense training work, I have also trained in a couple of martial arts styles for close to 20 years. In addition to the obvious physical benefits of this, exercise has a number of mental benefits that all add up to anti-fragility.
Between food and exercise, I have avoided seeing a doctor for more than 10 years. Health and fitness are the keys to becoming truly anti-aging.
Income and finances
Let’s tackle income.
There are really two main things you have to consider: Firstly, you have to bring in more income than you spend. To me (and probably many of you) this is just common sense. Either find ways to earn more or cut back on your expenses in some way. When it comes down to it, people can achieve a fairly comfortable existence with far less money than you’d expect. You need to get your brain out of that consumer mindset and stop feeding your dopamine receptors with junk purchases. You need to look at all your expenses and ask yourself if you really need it. Sure, you can spend money to enjoy life, but don’t make it a part of who you are. Find a way to be happy without having to spend money.
Secondly, you should look at where this income is coming from. If you rely on a single income from one employer, you can quickly find yourself in a world of trouble. Start a side hustle of some kind or start several. It doesn’t have to be huge, but have it as a safety net and something you can scale up if needed. Potentially look at businesses that people will always need even when times are tough. For example, everyone needs to eat. If you run some kind of popular business that produces food in good times, people will turn to you in times of need.
When it comes to economics, there are really two schools of thought: “Debt is bad” on the one hand and “debt is good” on the other. In my view, debt in an economic environment with positive growth is not necessarily a bad thing when managed properly. When economies begin to falter as we are seeing now, debt is definitely bad. Debt is leverage and as the saying goes, when the tide goes out, we see who swims naked. If you are in debt, your chances of being wiped out financially are exponentially higher. Protect yourself by staying out of debt.
Between a lack of debt and income greater than expenses, over time you will be able to create a significant financial safety net. Use it to your advantage.
Society
Community is generally the last thing that comes to mind when talking about antifragility. In reality, no matter how capable and self-reliant you are, there will always be a time when you need other people.
Find your tribe. Get involved or build community around yourself. Put yourself on the line and go out of your way to help people when they need it. Develop relationships.
Produce something that people in your community need.
It may not seem like it, but this will bring its own rewards.
Skills and knowledge development
Teach yourself new skills all the time. Learn to build and repair things, service your car (or at least know how), learn to weld, work with wood, cook, ferment and preserve food. Constantly learn new, practical skills and put them to use. You don’t need to be an expert at everything, but a wide range of capabilities will allow you to get the job done when needed.
Not only will this range of knowledge be useful to yourself throughout life and get you out of some difficult situations, you will also become valuable to others when they need you (see community above).
Addiction and mindset
You can work as hard as you want to make yourself anti-fragile while the world remains the same. Everything around you, the system you are trapped in, is inherently fragile. It is built either to maximize profit or to extract value from you. It is definitely not built to react quickly to changing situations.
You need to withdraw from “the system” as much as possible and cut any dependence you have on institutions. The less dependent you are on government, medical, food or other big business, the more anti-corruption you can become. They will throw you under the bus to save themselves far sooner than come to your rescue. Stay out of their reach by never relying on handouts.
Above all else, becoming anti-skirt is about mindset. Become fiercely independent and self-reliant. Adopt an attitude of being able to achieve anything you set your mind to. Cast aside all tendencies towards laziness and always aim for self-improvement. Accept trials you face as challenges you must overcome. It is a process that takes time, but with persistence you will become unstoppable. You will become anti-scratch.
This is a guest post by Michael. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.
