2025 – JANUARY BENCH JEWELER “NEWSLETTER”

Ever start a New Year thinking or saying, “I’m gonna lose weight…I’m gonna save more money…I’m gonna quit smoking…I’m gonna eat less red meat…etc., etc.? Even if it rarely works, we keep thinking or saying it anyway, every year. We can actually blame the Romans as you will see by reading on…..

A New Year’s resolution is a promise a person makes for the new year. Regardless of what resolution you commit to, the goal is to improve life in the coming year.

Resolutions can come in many forms. Some people make a promise to change a bad habit, such as quitting smoking or eating less junk food. Other people make a promise to develop a positive habit, such as starting an exercise program, volunteering in their community, or recycling more.

The tradition of New Year’s resolutions dates all the way back to 153 B.C. January is named after Janus, a mythical god of early Rome.

Janus had two faces — one looking forward, one looking backward. This allowed him to look back on the past and forward toward the future.

On December 31, the Romans imagined Janus looking backward into the old year and forward into the new year. This became a symbolic time for Romans to make resolutions for the new year and forgive enemies for troubles in the past.

The Romans also believed Janus could forgive them for their wrongdoings in the previous year. The Romans would give gifts and make promises, believing Janus would see this and bless them in the year ahead.

And thus the New Year’s resolution was born!

With or without a “New Year’s resolution, I wish for you a very….

Happy New Year!!

Things to Ponder….

* Write a list of books you would like to read. Contribute to it every time
you hear a recommendation and you’ll have a plethora of ideas if you are ever
seeking inspiration.

* Make a promise to yourself today to be open-minded. Allow other
possibilities to flourish and to hear out the opinion of others.

* Join a forum for a topic you’re interested in or that discusses a challenge
you find yourself facing. Find comfort and inspiration in those who have
similar interests and experiences to you.

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Want a long life? Prioritize time with friends By: Hilary Brueck

For 100-year-old men in Italy and Costa Rica the key to a long life is quiet quitting — and always making time for happy hour

By Hilary Brueck

• Men in Sardinia make it past 100 years old with stunning regularity.

• The traditional work of shepherding goats and sheep on the mountainside may be key to their longevity.

• Sardinian men also prioritize happy hour and naps, and avoid chronic stress.

Biohacker bros and millionaires hoping to extend their lifespan and enjoy more time on Earth are consistently toying with novel ways to maximize productivity and, essentially, cheat death.

The tech exec and venture capitalist Bryan Johnson has a strict daily eating routine that ends at 11 a.m., and he even once tried injecting some of his son’s blood to infuse himself with youth (that didn’t work). Other longevity-seekers are popping pills such as metformin and rapamycin or putting their faith in supplements such as NMN.

But in areas of the world where men already live beyond 100 with stunning regularity, a big key to living longer, healthier lives seems to be organically managing stress and taking time to live in the moment. Instead of maximizing productivity, men who actually crack 100 prioritize happy hour with their friends.

Italian mountain men have unusually high odds of living to 100

In Sardinia, men accidentally figured out something unique about longevity long ago. The island is home to the highest concentration of male centenarians on the planet. (In the US, 100-year-old women outnumber men by a factor of almost six to one, but in Sardinia, the ratio is more like one to one.)

Men’s work is one of several interwoven factors that make Sardinia one of the world’s five Blue Zones, a longevity hot spot.

Sardinians live in steep, stairwell-dotted towns where everyday life is like a gentle but consistent StairMaster workout. Traditionally, Sardinian men were shepherds, tending to their flocks on the mountainside, work which required a significant number of steps.

“They spend time with their animals, they’re up in the hills walking, they take naps and by happy hour, they’re usually back in their villages sharing a glass of wine with their friends,” Dan Buettner, an author and longevity expert, said in the forthcoming Netflix docuseries “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones,” premiering on August 30.

Perhaps the original quiet quitters, these men consistently end their workday on time and head off to check in with their people afterward, laughing and teasing each other over a glass or two of their regional, antioxidant-rich vino called Cannonau.

“It’s not that these shepherds here don’t have any stress. It’s just that they seem to have not a lot of chronic stress,” Buettner, who also has a forthcoming how-to book about Blue Zones’ secrets for living longer, said. “Men in Sardinia work, but they don’t appear to be especially stressed out at work.”

Managing stress and connecting with people is a tried and true longevity recipe

Chronic stress is a driver of many of the diseases that are associated with aging and can lead to premature death. The glucose spikes and inflammation associated with our body’s stress response can, over time, lead to more diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and obesity.

But, if we can overcome our daily stressors and find ways to navigate issues like lost sheep or sick members of our herd, we keep stress in check.

“This sense of active coping, where you can resolve the problems that you are given, is a very important part of mental health, cognitive longevity, and stress resilience,” Dr. Mithu Storoni, a neuro-ophthalmologist featured in the docuseries, said.

Along Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula, another longevity hot spot highlighted in the docuseries, men abide by similar ideas about balancing work and stress. “I work from 6 to 10,” 86-year-old Juan Carrillo told Buettner. Carrillo’s often toiling with a hand ax or machete, chopping logs for firewood, working up a sweat. The work is intense but relatively brief. “Now, with my old age, I think that you have to rest,” he said.

In the afternoon, Carrillo makes time for leisure and connection. “I like to go out and treat myself,” he said. Some days that means going out to the bar and dancing, shaking his hips and enjoying a cold beer with friends. “In Nicoya, just like all the other Blue Zones, people would never do a couple hours of work when they could be enjoying their family, or taking a siesta, or interacting with their friends,” Buettner said. “They slow down to make time for things that really matter to them.”

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Thanks, until next time…. Vic! Please stay safe and healthy!