Sick

Author

Vincent Chan
May 25, 2025

Welcome to reThinkable - my Sunday newsletter where I share actionable money tips, strategies, and resources to help you make smarter money moves.

Read time: 3.0 minutes

I had thyroid cancer when I was younger.

I rarely talk about it but you might’ve noticed the scar on my neck in some videos.

I know you're focused on building wealth, but here's the truth we rarely discuss: without your health, wealth means nothing.

Fortunately for me, after the surgery, I got better and life got busier. That’s just the way life goes, right? 

Between work, family, and responsibilities, prioritizing our health feels like a fantasy. Just ask yourself:

  • Did you ever drag yourself to the office with the flu because you had a presentation that "couldn't be rescheduled?

  • Did you ever eat a granola bar while on mute during your third back-to-back call, calling it lunch?

  • Have you ever realized at 4 PM that your only "meal" was the stale bagel someone left in the conference room?

It wasn’t until I had my 2nd or 3rd really bad burn-out that I realized I owed it to myself to start putting my health 1st. Even when inconvenient.

If you don’t take care of your health now, you’ll either be too unfit or dead to enjoy your wealth or you’ll end up spending all that wealth later trying to get your health back.

So I wanted to share 3 ways I prioritize my health nowadays while balancing work, family, and friends.

1. Health non-negotiables

I have a short list of things I never compromise on.

  • Not when I’m swamped.

  • Not when there’s a big deadline.

  • Not even during a zombie apocalypse (okay, maybe then).

Here’s what’s on my list right now:

  • Getting enough “REM sleep.” For the longest time, I put sleep on the back burner but it became a lot easier to prioritize sleeping well after I started tracking my REM sleep with this.

  • Exercising at least 3 times a week and focusing on compound exercises (meaning I work multiple muscle-groups at once). This makes it more efficient.

  • Stretching for 15 minutes every night to wind-down before bed.

There’s plenty of research showing how proper sleep, breaks, and exercise improve focus, creativity, and quality of work.

2. Fiber, fiber, fiber

I have a family history of high-cholesterol and ideally, I’d like to avoid getting it too so I now prioritize fiber over protein.

Eating enough soluble fiber reduces “bad” cholesterol, reduces the risk of heart disease, and improves your digestion.

Fun fact: 95% of adults don’t get enough fiber.

Here are the high-fiber foods that I started incorporating:

  • Chia seeds (I put this in water and drink it)

  • Psyllium husk (It’s a little gross so I chug this mixed in water)

  • Overnight oats

  • Fiber gummies (Recently discovered these. Absolute game changer).

What you eat has a bigger impact on your overall health than exercise. 

3. Leave work at work

If you’ve watched Severance (9/10 would recommend), you know how scary it is to watch someone exist only to work. No joy, no hobbies, just an endless loop of tasks.

One of the best things I’ve done for my health was leave work at work. Sounds crazy, right?

Here’s what helped me:

  • Turn off work notification from things like Slack / Email etc. after 7:30pm ET

  • Block off at least one night a week (usually Fridays) for date night

  • Block off one day a week (usually Sundays) to spend time with my family

If you don’t make time for your well-being now, you’ll be forced to make time for burnout later.

Now I want to hear from you: What’s 1 thing you do to take care of your health, even when life gets busy? Reply to this email and let me know — I read every response, and I’d love to see what you find helpful!

To making smarter money moves,

— Vincent Chan

Cool things I found this week

Vincent Chan

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