Metabolism Drives Evolution
How adaptation precedes genetic change.
The Only Constant is Change
In a world changing faster than ever, the ability to adapt is the only sustainable advantage. The endocannabinoid system is evolution's answer to adaptation.
If there's one principle that ties everything together, it's this: adaptation is everything.
The arrow of time means you can't go back. Far-from-equilibrium dynamics mean you must constantly process energy to survive. The endocannabinoid system is your built-in adaptation mechanism. FLPs succeed because they adapt; BLPs fail because they don't.
"The future belongs to the adaptable. Rigidity is extinction. Flexibility is survival."
Here's a revolutionary idea that flips the standard evolution narrative: metabolism drives evolution, not the other way around.
The sequence is: Metabolism → Epigenetics → Genetics
This means adaptation is primary. Your ability to adapt metabolically—right now, in real-time—is the leading edge of evolution itself.
Jeanne Calment lived to 122 years old—the longest confirmed human lifespan in history. She smoked cigarettes until age 117. She ate two pounds of chocolate per week. She drank port wine daily.
By every conventional health metric, she should have died decades earlier. So what was her secret? Adaptation.
Calment was famous for her calm, unflappable demeanor. She didn't stress about things she couldn't control. Her calm attitude protected her from the damage that stress would have caused.
Continue your journey through the Far From Equilibrium framework.
View All Pillars →Adaptation is the process by which living systems maintain their far-from-equilibrium state by responding to environmental changes. It's not just survival—it's the continuous process of reorganizing and evolving in response to new challenges and opportunities.
The endocannabinoid system is your body's master adaptation system. It regulates stress responses, inflammation, mood, appetite, and countless other processes that help you adapt to changing conditions. When this system is deficient, your ability to adapt is compromised.
Stress pushes you further from equilibrium, which can trigger growth and adaptation (hormesis). But chronic, unmanaged stress depletes your endocannabinoid system and pushes you toward breakdown rather than breakthrough. The key is cycling between stress and recovery.