First Impressions, Hidden Perks, and Simple Workouts

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🤨 I. First Impressions

There are many reasons not to take your first impressions of someone so seriously, but the most important reason is that you are only seeing a small, imperfect glimpse of the person you’re meeting.

Imagine if someone looked at the photo reel on your iPhone, chose a photo at random, and used that photo to decide who you are. You probably would not think that this process is an accurate or fair way for someone to judge you, but it is similar to how many of us make judgments about the people we meet.

And the problem with our quick and imperfect judgments is that they are often very sticky, leading us to write off people who could otherwise become great friends, colleagues, or romantic partners.

The good news is that with a little practice, you can break this limiting habit.

If you want to give it a try, next time you meet someone and feel your mind creating a story about who they are and what you think about that, try to quiet the chatter and stay curious enough to see a few more photos in the person’s reel.

You’ll likely get a more expansive view of the person, and in some cases, that may lead you to develop new and rewarding relationships.

💳 II. The Wonders of Credit Cards

If you’re not in debt, credit cards are wonderful. You get to spend money, pay it back in the future, and earn some rewards along the way. Longer payback periods and rewards are a nice perk, but over the years, I’ve discovered a few more awesome things about credit cards.

For example, when renting a car, your credit card often offers insurance on the rental. That means you can avoid paying the inflated insurance offered by rental car companies, and if you have any issues, your card’s insurance can cover them. This perk saved me $900 when I put a minor scrape on a rental many years ago.

Another credit card wonder is purchase protection, a perk that will reimburse you for something that you’ve lost or had stolen in the first 90 days of owning it. This came in handy a few years ago when I left a new pair of Airpods in the seat pocket of an airplane. It also came in handy when my electric bike was stolen last year. In both cases, the purchase protection covered the cost of my items, making those blunders a lot less painful.

More recently, I had a display issue with my Macbook. I took it to the Apple Store, and the service agent told me that I may be able to get the $500 repair covered with the extended warranty credit card perk. After a little research, I learned that credit cards often extend the manufacturer’s warranty of products you purchase by up to 12 months. So even though my Apple warranty had expired, I was still covered by my card. I submitted a couple of forms, and like magic, my Macbook repair was paid for.

Collectively, these perks have saved me thousands of dollars over the years, and when I’ve told other people these stories, most of them have not heard of these perks or used them. That makes sense because we don’t learn about this stuff in school, and credit card companies aren’t exactly yelling from the rooftops about how they can cover you when life hands you an unexpected bill.

Of course, the details of these perks depend on the credit cards you have and which ones you use to purchase specific items, but I wanted to share these stories in the event they help you out with a current or future situation.

🏃‍♀️ III. Workout for Runners

I think most people dramatically overcomplicate their attempts to get fit. You can be in the top 20% of fitness with very simple at-home routines and small changes to what you eat. No ice baths or rigid diets needed.

Based on these beliefs, I look for simple and free routines that can help everyday people like me stay reasonably fit without too much hassle. One such routine that I’ve found useful over the years is the Ironstrength Workout by Dr. Metzl.

The program is technically designed to help runners stay strong and injury free, but I’ve found that it’s quite good even if you don’t run. What I like about it is that it’s simple, surprisingly challenging, and can easily be done on the road if you don’t have access to a gym.

If you do this workout twice a week, it would cover most of your fitness needs if you’re eating relatively well and walking around on most days.

🧠 VI. Something I’m Thinking About

The best people don’t want to be told what to do or how to do it.

That's all for now. See you next Sunday.

— Cal

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