Hormones - how they build capacity

A lot of you wrote back to ask me just how exactly the body gets stronger when you push a little but push hard in my previous article.

So allow me to explain how the various hormones produced by your body make you stronger.

When you experience stress, in this case, stress being anything that takes you out of your comfort zone, your body produces a multitude of hormonal responses.

Activated by your hypothalamus, your body makes adrenaline and glucocorticoids, to name a few relevant ones.

I am simplifying, but the adrenaline helps boost energy and makes you push hard to overcome your present challenge. The glucocorticoids help to build capacity for the future.

Glucocorticoids signal your body to start building its defences and enhance its capabilities.

Think of it this way. Your body experiences something that, at this very moment, takes it out of its comfort zone. It does what it can to overcome the challenge.

At the same time, it recognises that it was uncomfortable and does not wish to be in the same situation again. So it works to build capacity. You get stronger.

The more often you repeat this, the stronger you get. As the saying goes, what does not break you makes you stronger.

The trick is to use this process to your advantage by preemptively acting instead of being at the receiving end of everyday life.

The best way to do this is to evaluate your current capacity and your long-term goals. Figure out what you want to do with your life and where you lack the capacity.

Then, step by step, every day, build capacity. Compounding will occur very quickly.

The magical thing is that it is never too late to start.

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