The Thinking Lifter Blog by Philip Stefanov

In work-life balance, there is a popular concept called the four burners theory. I first learned about it back in 2016 from an article James Clear wrote on the topic.

The idea goes that one burner represents your family, one is for your friends, the third burner represents your work, and the fourth goes for your health.

The basic argument here is that, if you want to be successful, you need to cut off one burner. If you want to be really successful, you need to cut off two.

The idea here is pretty good and makes a lot of sense - we only have so much time and energy we could dedicate to these four burners, and we can’t possibly crank all four to the max. At least, not for long.

But, I’ve been thinking lately:

The four burners theory doesn’t just apply to work-life balance, it also applies to lifting.

In fitness, there are tons of misconceptions, myths, and lies. We often put too much value on stuff that doesn’t matter and completely ignore things that deliver lasting results. 

With that in mind, I’ve put a list of 22 overrated things and their underrated counterparts.

One critical factor influences our behaviors more than any other. It’s often left in the dark, but just as gravity keeps us planted on this blue planet, so does this power ultimately shape who we are.

That power is our environment design.

Up until a few years ago, if someone had asked me what separates those who succeed from those who fail, I’d have made some generic statement like, “Luck. Being at the right place at the right time.”

These days, I lean much more on the small daily actions and the environment we live and work in.