Last week, I wrote about the gap between knowing and doing. But I have been thinking about what happens after we take action. Could doing something new change not only what we know, but also what we believe is possible? In Kyoto, I walked uphill through the red torii gates of Fushimi Inari. It was a hot, humid summer day, and the path was full of visitors. One gate followed another. I could see what was immediately ahead, but had little idea what the rest of the climb would be like. What...

Tokyo is one of the most structured environments I have ever experienced. From high above the city, I watched people moving like tiny dots between buildings. On the metro, thousands move together quietly. Streets are remarkably clean. Smoking is restricted to designated areas. There are rules, systems and social norms shaping how people move and behave. And then, right in the middle of all this order, you can walk into the forest surrounding Meiji Shrine and feel your pace change completely....

For the past two and a half years, I have been paying more attention to my physical health than at almost any other point in my life. Food. Movement. Sleep. Recovery. Not obsessively, but curiously. What works? What doesn't? What can I sustain? And lately, a different question started bothering me: What am I trying to be healthy for? What am I trying to be fit for? And more broadly: What are we performing for? Problem: Performance without Purpose For years, I thought physical performance was...