This is Optimal Living Daily, Life's Headwinds and Tail Wins by Jay and Heather Harrington of

Lifeandwim.com. And I'm Justin Mollick. Welcome back to the podcast where I read an article to you

every day of the year with permission from the authors so we can both get that little

dose of positivity that I think we could all use every day. So with that, let's get right to it

as we optimize real life. Life's Headwinds and Tail Wins by Jay and Heather Harrington of

Lifeandwim.com. This past weekend, I went for a run. The wind was gusting, and during the first half of my run,

I headed straight into it. It was blowing so hard that each step was difficult. The headwind was

all I could think about. And then I finally reached my turnaround point. As I planted my foot and

turn, the strong wind that had been so difficult to run into,

suddenly gave me a boost.

I remember how great it felt for the first block or so to be propelled instead of impeded by its force.

Again, the wind was all I could think about as I began the second half of my run.

And then after the first block, I forgot about it.

For most of the run back, I was oblivious to the tailwind pushing me along,

while at first the tailwind provided great relief, after a minute or two, it just felt normal.

I wasn't conscious of this headwind tailwind experience at the time. It was only later in the day

when I popped in my earbuds while taking the dog for a walk, that a coincidence occurred

that inspired me to explore this issue further. I downloaded and listened to a recent episode

of Freakonomics Radio, one of my favorite podcasts, in which the discussion focused on a headwinds,

tailwinds, asymmetry research paper written by professors Tom Gillivich and Sherry Davidey. The paper in the episode both began by

explaining the headwinds, tailwinds, asymmetrical phenomenon that runners and bicyclists

experience, and that I had noted in my subconscious earlier that day while out for a jog.

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