Author: Craig Constantine

Deliberate way of living →

Published January 26, 2019  ·  All posts on Jan 26  ·  

Set intentions at the start. When you start your day, or any meaningful activity, check in with yourself and ask what your intentions are for the day or that activity. Do you want to be more present? Do you want to move your mission forward? Do you want to be compassionate with your loved ones? Do you want to practice with discomfort and not run to comfort? Set an intention (or three) and try to hold that intention as you move through the day or that meaningful activity.

~ Leo Babata, from A More Deliberate Way of Living

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Long ago—maybe ten years?—this idea of setting intentions made a huge impact on my life. I’ve talked about first learning the twin skills of self-awareness and self-assessment as the first steps on my journey. Once I began developing those skills, I was able to begin setting intentions and that lead to the long period of growth I’ve recently been experiencing.

But there’s a problem, or at least there’s a problem for me. Once I started down the road of setting intentions I’ve fallen prey to a vicious cycle. Practicing continuous improvement by setting intentions and assessing progress makes me focus forward, treating my intentions at targets before me. I used to think the “focus forward” part of that was a good thing. After all, it clearly has led me on a long journey of improvement.

I set good intentions which force me out into my un-comfort zones and it turns out that I usually don’t quite reach the goals. If I do reach a goal, then I realize I could have set a better goal by stretching for a farther intention. In that way, every assessment ends up reporting that I fell short, didn’t make it, didn’t live up, didn’t achieve, didn’t succeed, didn’t, didn’t, didn’t, didn’t… and that leads to a dark place.

Recently I’ve been more intentional about what intentions I set.

(That’s a red flag right there; I’m still intentions based.)

None the less, I’ve been trying to set easier-to-achieve intentions so that I can check off more wins. I find this very hard to do since it feels like artificially lowering the bar so I can cheer-lead myself away from the dark place. Worse, this is still looking forward and assessing progress made towards goals.

I wonder what would happen if I could manage to turn around, make progress towards the goals, (they now being behind me,) while staring back at the INSANE MOUNTAIN OF AMAZING THINGS I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED?

Maybe I should try that for a while?

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One who acts naturally →

Published January 25, 2019  ·  All posts on Jan 25  ·  , ,

One who tries to stand on tiptoe cannot stand still. One who stretches his legs too far cannot walk. One who advertises himself too much is ignored. One who is too insistent on his own view finds few to agree with him. One who claims too much credit does not get even what he deserves. One who is too proud is soon humiliated. These are condemned as extremes of greediness and self-destructive activity. Therefore, one who acts naturally avoids such extremems.

~ Book of Tao

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Ignore everybody →

Published January 24, 2019  ·  All posts on Jan 24

You don’t know if your idea is any good the moment it’s created. Neither does anyone else. The most you can hope for is a strong gut feeling that it is. And trusting your feelings is not as easy as the optimists say it is. There’s a reason why feelings scare us.

And asking close friends never works quite as well as you hope, either. It’s not that they deliberately want to be unhelpful. It’s just they don’t know your world one millionth as well as you know your world, no matter how hard they try, no matter how hard you try to explain.

~ Jason Korman, from «https://www.gapingvoid.com/content/uploads/assets/Moveable_Type/archives/000888.html»

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There are so many ideas that can be tried. But knowing which ones to try, which ones to stick with, and which ones to stick with beyond the point of sanity is the hard point. It’s important to find a balance between some things which are fulfilling and a sure-thing, and some things which are inspiring and impossible.

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Mark Toorock | Parkour in Schools →

Published January 23, 2019  ·  All posts on Jan 23

On Castbox.fm — Mark Toorock | Parkour in Schools

What are the challenges and opportunities of introducing Parkour into public school physical education programs?

Parkour education promotes self-confidence and creativity in students through physical play.

I think that people have a hard time visualizing what a Parkour program in schools may actually look like. And that’s one of the things I’m helping people to discover is, what does Parkour in schools actually mean? What does it look like?

~ Mark Toorock (0:36)

The conversation explores the challenges and successes of integrating Parkour into public school systems. Mark details experiences working with two different school districts—one in Washington, DC, and the other in Maryland—highlighting the differences in approach and adoption. A key barrier discussed is the structure of physical education, which traditionally favors team sports over movement-based activities like Parkour. Mark emphasizes that while Parkour resonates with hands-on, passionate coaches, the reality of public education limits external instructors’ involvement, necessitating a scalable teacher-training model.

A major theme is the need for systemic change to create sustainable Parkour programs. The conversation stresses the importance of having an internal champion within school systems to advocate for the program, as administrative support often outweighs logistical concerns like equipment or curriculum design. Mark also shares a personal passion for encouraging lifelong play and movement, challenging the societal norm that play must cease in adulthood. The goal is to foster curiosity and movement in public spaces without shame, reinforcing Parkour’s broader philosophical underpinnings.

Takeaways

Parkour in schools — Parkour programs shift physical education from team sports to movement-based activities, fostering creativity and confidence.

Teacher training limitations — Training teachers to deliver Parkour programs is constrained by limited professional development time, requiring focused, simplified curriculum.

Scaling programs — Direct external coaching in schools is impractical for widespread adoption; training existing teachers is necessary for scale.

Administrative buy-in — Having a program champion within the school system is critical to ensure long-term success and overcome bureaucratic resistance.

Cultural barriers — Social norms discourage adults from engaging in playful movement, reinforcing a restrictive perception of acceptable behavior.

Voluntary adoption — Programs thrive when implemented in schools with willing, passionate staff rather than being mandated across districts.

Public play challenge — Encouraging public play challenges preconceived notions about adulthood and promotes rediscovery of movement.

Resources

American Parkour â€” Organization founded by Mark Toorock dedicated to promoting Parkour education and practice.

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

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Marcello Palozzo: Strength and conditioning, teaching, and learning →

Published January 23, 2019  ·  All posts on Jan 23  ·  

Marcello Palozzo: Strength and conditioning, teaching, and learning

What are the principles and practices that lead to personal growth, meaningful teaching, and effective learning in physical disciplines?

Marcello Palozzo discusses his studies in the area of strength and conditioning, his relationship with Ido Portal, and how to capture information to optimize your learning. He shares his insights on teaching and learning, discussing the responsibilities of a teacher. Marcello explains how he found his current path, as well as his goals and plans for the future.

True learning should be emotional. Unless there is that element as well in it, something is missing.

~ Marcello Palozzo (5:10)

Marcello discusses his approach to integrating diverse fields of knowledge, including parkour, strength training, and the methodologies learned from his master’s degree studies and training with Ido Portal. He emphasizes the importance of stepping out of comfort zones and creating routines that challenge both physical and emotional boundaries. His philosophy underscores the need for learning to have an emotional component to ensure genuine and impactful growth.

The conversation also explores Marcello’s teaching methods, advocating for learners to actively engage with material by organizing and revisiting it, rather than passively consuming information. Marcello shares his experiences of redefining his career path, abandoning pharmacy studies, and committing fully to movement disciplines. Marcello reflects on the significance of mentorship, community, and continuous exploration in personal and professional development.

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Too close to the machines →

Published January 23, 2019  ·  All posts on Jan 23  ·  

The programmer, who needs clarity, who must talk all day to a machine that demands declarations, hunkers down into a low-grade annoyance. It is here that the stereotype of the programmer, sitting in a dim room, growling from behind Coke cans, has its origins. The disorder of the desk, the floor; the yellow Post-it notes everywhere; the whiteboards covered with scrawl: all this is the outward manifestation of the messiness of human thought. The messiness cannot go into the program; it piles up around the programmer.

~ Ellen Ullman from, Close to the Machine

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“The messiness cannot go into the program.”

I’ve never thought of it quite that way before. Every once in a great while, you feel the ground move beneath your feet. That sentence moved the ground for me.

I spent an enormous amount of time being a thorn in people’s sides as I clamored to get them to resolve the messiness so I could then manipulate the machines. I tried explaining the machines. I tried explaining the messiness and what I thought might be ways to resolve it. None of that turned out well for the machines, the people or me. Along the way, I realized that dealing with that every day has fundamentally changed how I think. Up until that sentence at the top, I didn’t have a good way to explain my predicament. I only had this fuzzy idea that reality is one thing, computers work this other way, and here I am stuck in the middle.

The messiness cannot go into the computer.

Maaaaybe, I can use that to remind myself that some particular bits of messiness are okay to ignore?

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On reading →

Published January 21, 2019  ·  All posts on Jan 21

In this age, which believes that there is a short cut to everything, the greatest lesson to be learned is that the most difficult way is, in the long run, the easiest. All that is set forth in books, all that seems so terribly vital and significant, is but an iota of that from which it stems and which it is within everyone’s power to tap. Our whole theory of education is based on the absurd notion that we must learn to swim on land before tackling the water. It applies to the pursuit of the arts as well as to the pursuit of knowledge. Men are still being taught to create by studying other men’s works or by making plans and sketches never intended to materialize. The art of writing is taught in the classroom instead of in the thick of life. Students are still being handed models which are supposed to fit all temperaments, all kinds of intelligence. No wonder we produce better engineers than writers, better industrial experts than painters.

~ Henry Miller from, Henry Miller on Reading, the Life of the Mind, and How to Fix Education

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This reminds me of how moving seems to be the only way to sort myself out. Studying movement won’t do.

I often remind myself to always “deploy forward.” Assess. Make a choice. Move. (That would be a move “forward” by definition, since “assess” and “choose” are how I figure out which way “forward” is.) Except in the most extreme cases—so rare as to be almost not worth mentioning—never try to undo (what programs would call “roll-back”) a step. Simply assess, choose and move from the new position.

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Except by a steady, long continued process →

Published January 20, 2019  ·  All posts on Jan 20  ·  ,

Some day, in the years to come, you will be wrestling with the great temptation, or trembling under the great sorrow of your life. But the real struggle is here, now … NOW it is being decided whether in the day of your supreme sorrow or temptation, you shall miserably fail or gloriously conquer. Character cannot be made except by a steady, long continued process.

~ Phillips Brooks

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Democracy and civic duty →

Published January 19, 2019  ·  All posts on Jan 19  ·  

Many people are uncomfortable with the idea of not voting because they feel like they would then be forfeiting the only power they have over who governs. But your vote contains no power. It is a virtually inert token of your participation, which does carry some sentimental value to some people. But it has no election-swinging ability. There are plenty of actions that can make a difference but casting your vote isn’t one of them.

In the media, your vote is billed as a precious choice with resounding consequences, which means you should watch a lot of election coverage so that you don’t screw it up. Now think for a moment: who might have an interest in having you vastly overestimate the importance of your vote? The candidates, and the news organizations that talk about them 24 hours a day.

You’ve been had. They don’t want your choice to be logical, they want it to remain emotional.

~ David Cain, from If the election really mattered to you, you’d do more than just vote

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Next election, when you see me not wearing an “I Voted!” sticker, go ahead and ask me if I voted.

I’ve stopped looking at everyone’s lapels to see if they voted, and I’ve stopped asking people if they are going to vote. If and when politics comes up, I talk about topics that matter to me. My civic duty—and I believe it is a duty which I fulfill partly in exchange for reaping the benefits of living in a civil society—is to participate in the demoncratic process. That process includes a tiny, irrelevant show of theatre where some people see me at the local polling place. That democratic process also includes a much larger amount of other stuff; my working to understand the issues that interest me so I have an informed opinion. …and then using my brain to participate in the democratic process by browsing, negotiating, buying and selling in the Marketplace of Ideas. I hope to see you there here.

Thanks for browsing my wares!

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Crowding us out →

Published January 18, 2019  ·  All posts on Jan 18  ·  

If chatbots are approaching the stage where they can answer diagnostic questions as well or better than human doctors, then it’s possible they might eventually reach or surpass our levels of political sophistication. And it is naïve to suppose that in the future bots will share the limitations of those we see today.

~ Jamie Susskind, from Chatbots Are a Danger to Democracy

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This is an interesting read surveying a variety of ways that chatbots might crowd humans out of the very spaces we created.

It struck me that while, yes, chatbots are primitive (compared to “real” AI), they are still having a real affect on our social spaces. Not simply, “it’s noisy in here with all these chatbots,” but rather that our social spaces are in danger of being lost to chatbots.

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