William James said, “My experience is what I agree to attend to.“

So much of what we call “life” is really just attention…what we feed, what we rehearse, what we let shape our nervous system and our decisions. The problem isn’t that we don’t care. It’s that we’re overloaded. It is worth taking a chance to re-anchor attention to what actually builds a rich life…health, mind, reframing wealth, and meaning.

That being said… another Four Pillar Friday.

Physical Wellness

I’ve heard a couple stories recently, and one in my own family, about someone taking a fall. And it’s a reminder: falls aren’t just bad luck. They often reveal something we’ve been slowly losing without noticing…leg strength, balance, stability, and confidence in our own body.

I have shared this multiple times, but one of the simplest “real life” checks is the 30-Second Sit-to-Stand (Chair Stand) Test or the Floor-to-Stand Test. No fancy equipment. Just a chair and 30 seconds.

How to do it:

Sit-to-Stand
Sit in a standard chair, arms crossed over your chest, feet flat. Set a timer for 30 seconds. Stand all the way up, sit all the way down, and count your reps smooth and controlled. This is about awareness and not ego. Then check your score.

Floor-to-Stand

To try the floor-to-stand (Sitting–Rising) test at home, stand barefoot on a non-slip surface (a thin mat works), take your time, and lower yourself to the floor using the least assistance possible—then rise back to standing the same way. You can cross your legs with no penalty as long as you don’t use the sides of your feet to brace. Scoring is simple: you start with 10 points (5 for getting down, 5 for getting up), subtract 1 point each time you use a support (hand, knee, forearm, furniture), and subtract 0.5 for any noticeable wobble or loss of balance; 10 means you sat and stood unassisted and steady, while 0 means you couldn’t do it without help.

Why it matters: this quick test is a proxy for lower-body strength and functional capacity. The stuff that helps you catch yourself, recover, and stay independent as you age.

Your “1%” for this week: Try one of the tests.

Mental Wellness

Out of 100 Americans, 17 say they have 0 close friends outside their family. Another 18 say they have just 1–2. That means 35 out of 100 adults are moving through life with a very small circle and this is after respondents are allowed to define “close friend” in their own way (the only clear boundary is “not relatives”). And still…many say none.

What makes this even more sobering is that this isn’t just a “social preference” stat…it’s a capacity stat. Because when life gets heavy (and it will), the question isn’t “am I social?” It’s “do I have someone I can call?” The data hints at how fragile support can be: only about 50% say they could turn to at least a couple people to take care of them if they got sick, and many report that few or none of their close friends live nearby.

And the health side of this is not soft. The U.S. Surgeon General’s materials summarize research showing that lacking social connection is associated with a premature mortality risk comparable to major risk factors and often visualized as roughly like smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day and drinking 6 alcoholic drinks a day.

So maybe the goal isn’t to “be more social.” Maybe it’s to build one dependable thread of connection—a simple, repeatable rhythm that creates belonging before you need it.

One weekly walk. One standing coffee. One workout class. One community you return to.

Small. Repeatable. Real.

Because this isn’t how our time is meant to be spent—isolated, alone, getting through the days we’re supposed to be living.

Financial Wellness

From the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study (HRS) databook, Aging in the 21st Century, a few quick health + retirement signals that don’t show up in most Monte Carlo conversations:

• Retirement is often a capacity decision: At age 61, 58% of men in good health work full-time vs 30% in poor health and 10% in terrible health.
• Chronic disease is a retirement input: The report highlights evidence of rising disease burden in more recent cohorts (e.g., diabetes prevalence 37% higher from 2004 to 2010).
• Dementia reshapes family time + energy: Dementia caregiving averaged 278 hours/month, and 44% of caregivers reported feeling depressed (vs 26% for CIND caregiving).
• Connection matters for well-being in retirement: The report notes leisure/entertainment spending is linked to happiness partly via social connection. A reminder that isolation isn’t “free time,” it’s a risk factor.

Because your portfolio can fund a retirement, but only health determines whether you have the capacity, energy, and independence to actually live it.

Spiritual Wellness

“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” — Viktor Frankl

If you’re looking for a practical book on purpose, one that doesn’t get stuck in philosophy or “find your passion” fluff, I recently read Designing Your Life is one of the best I’ve come across. It reframes purpose as something you build, not something you magically discover. Which aligns with so much of what I believe and what we do in our 9:03 programs. The exercises are simple, but they create real self-awareness: what gives you energy, what drains you, what you keep saying you want, and what your calendar is actually proving. If you feel a little stuck, or like you’re doing all the right things but not feeling fully aligned, this is a great place to dig in and get started. Purpose isn’t a statement. It’s a direction. And this book helps you choose one on purpose.

And In The End

From all of us at The 9:03 Collective: thanks for reading. Keep showing up. Stay curious. And never forget that the clock is running, so make it count.

If you’ve been enjoying Four Pillar Friday, the best way to support is simple: share it with a friend, forward it to someone who might need it, or subscribe if you haven’t already. The more people we reach, the more conversations we can spark about living with intention.

Until next week…

The Journey Team & The 9:03