Hunger Lightens the Brain
Many people underestimate the impact of food on mental clarity. Our natural desires for food often lead us to overlook how excessive eating clogs the brain and hinders our ability to think clearly. The reason for this is simple: when the body focuses on digesting food, a portion of its resources—resources that would otherwise be dedicated to cognitive functions—is diverted. This affects mental clarity.
For instance, if you have to make high-level decisions, hunger is an immediate distraction. It pulls focus away from the task at hand, clouding your thoughts. On the flip side, being too full also creates a distraction. Excessive food intake can leave you sluggish and lethargic, impairing your mental faculties.
The key is achieving a state of equilibrium—where you're neither hungry nor too full. Only then can you make decisions with the clearest mind possible. This principle is why, in military settings, soldiers are not overfed. They are given just enough food to remain alert and sharp.
Take a look at the difference between nations with excess resources and those suffering from poverty and hunger. You'll notice, if you're honest with yourself, that people from countries where poverty and hunger prevail tend to possess greater mental clarity and insight into human nature. They have a heightened sense of common sense and a deeper natural understanding of the world. This is why many groundbreaking advancements in fields like mathematics, technology, and even history have come from people in impoverished regions and conditions. Their minds aren’t bogged down by excess, allowing them to see more clearly and think more creatively.
Yet, even with these people and those under these conditions, excessive hunger also impedes their cognitive function. If your brain is in a constant state of starvation, it cannot focus effectively. The balance between hunger and fullness is key. The ideal is just enough food to keep your back straight.
Another example lies in the contrast between human advancement and the increasing unnecessary excess in our lives. As humanity progresses technologically, the more we produce that offers little true value. Much of the hard, tangible, brick-and-motar work—everything that required patience, discovery, transformation—was done by the people before us whose lives were far more difficult. Why? Because they didn’t have the luxury of excess. Excess is not only about hunger and food. It comes in many forms: holding onto any unnecessary material, unnecessary relationships, excessive distractions, endless chatter. All of this excess adds weight, draining clarity from the mind— clouding your judgment.
The more you accumulate nonsense, the less you see. Seeing here doesn’t mean the eyes; it means seeing with the mind and heart. That’s when you see truth—and truth is nothing but precision (which is another word for mathematics). Everything in this world is mathematically precise which means everything is honest; it is we who lie to ourselves. But our bodies and everything on this planet? They don’t lie. Even when our minds try to deceive us, our bodies speak the truth (guilt, etc.).
For those making critical decisions, it’s vital to maintain that delicate balance. Your ability to access your focus and think creatively hinges on staying in between hunger and overconsumption. Everyone has their own ideal balance—you know yours—yes…you do, and you need to be honest about it. It is crucial for unlocking your highest mental potential as your decisions have a much stronger and further impact than those of the regular individual.
