The magic of confirmation bias is that everything I encounter seems to apply to the current situation. I incessantly, and to a fault, seek meaning. Not “what is the meaning of life” meaning, but explanations and reasons and plans and systems… all as a means to manipulating the universe around me.
Chapter 18 is the heaviest so far in the book. (I’ve read it many times now of course.) Whereas the previous chapters select a single idea that one readily finds within parkour/ADD, and unpacks it, this chapter points out that there is a large body of work and a vast shared human experience outside of parkour/ADD. Taking some hints from that outside space and bringing them back into one’s parkour/ADD practice, and into one’s life in general, can only benefit those of us on the path.
This makes an argument for two particular life skills: 1) Learning to notice the feeling of wanting something, without buying the mind’s story that it is necessary for happiness, and 2) Learning to pay attention to the present moment without habitually evaluating it — analyzing how it could be better, more secure, cleaner or fairer or otherwise more gratifying.
I’ve spent so much time—all of my life so far in fact—trying to figuring it out, that it’s probably impossible to believe myself when I think I have something figured out.
The present moment is perfect, and I am blissfully aware of the present moment. I could write a full page right here and now detailing the last moment. And in the past, I’ve done exactly that in my journal as a pop quiz to verify that I “get this.”
Meanwhile my problems remain, and they are quite real. I’ll not share details because this blog is about me and my journey, not the others in my life. Suffice it to say that I am simply serving out my remaining days. They’re very nice days, to be sure, full of very nice moments which I enjoy. But those enjoyed days and moments aren’t related to making progress on the problems because they are orthogonal ideas.
The next time you’re feeling stymied and frustrated, look at the clock. When is your best time to create, to analyze, to think? Is it early or late? Are you trying to fit a square peg into a round hole?
I often feel my entire existence is a vicious cycle of plan, plan, over-plan… until I rebel against the self-imposed structures and tear down all the walls and systems. But one thing is ever present: I never know when to quit.
I should amend that. Until very recently, I never knew when to quit. That does not mean I now always know when to quit, and it certainly does not mean that I do quit when I should. But every once in a great while, it occurs to me that now would be the perfect time to stop.
Way too often I feel I don’t have the time to do something at the right time and try to just jam the square peg in. One more task before dinner. One more thing to organize before this. One more thing. One more thing. One more thing.
This is a news flash to some: It’s okay to experience unpleasant feelings. It’s okay for things to happen that you don’t want to happen. It is possible to notice these things happening and consciously allow them to be there. And it makes a huge difference to how traumatic or not-so-bad the experience ends up being.
I believe that in some people circumspection develops with age.
I love to remind myself: If things are not going as I’d wish, relax because they won’t last. Also, if things are going as I’d wish, relax because they won’t last either.
There will be a last time that I awake from sleep. There will be a last time I have dinner with my mom. There will be a last line of software I write. There will be a last parkour jump I do. There will also be a last wasp sting, a last broken bone, a last heart-break, and the hottest and stickiest time I’ve ever experienced.
Why exactly should I be affected by the flat tire on my bicycle, the traffic jam, the cancelled flight or the irate customer?
What are the unique roles and collaborative processes behind the production of Movers Mindset podcast episodes?
In our special 50th episode, the Movers Mindset team gets together to discuss what we do, and how far we’ve come. Each team member explains what they do in the team, and how all of our roles fit together. We talk about working remotely, the freedoms and challenges that come with it, and some of the strategies we use to help with that. The team discusses favorite episodes, things we’ve learned, and what each of us has found to be very special about the project.
The thing that I’m really passionate about is that we have a platform, Movers Mindset is a platform that can give people a voice.
~ Melissa Way (10:27)
Movers Mindset team members explain how they balance creativity and organization while managing the complexities of remote podcast production.
There’s something really, really special about when— I don’t know, just the simple fact of somebody being very interested in what someone has to say.
~ Miguel Chero (11:58)
The conversation explores the inner workings of the Movers Mindset podcast, highlighting the roles and responsibilities of the team members. The team discusses the collaborative process that allows them to manage podcast production remotely, balancing creativity, technical tasks, and the logistics of releasing weekly episodes. They describe how each member’s unique strengths contribute to the overall success of the podcast.
I handle production. I handle social media. I’m also the ‘no’ to every idea Craig tries to throw at us.
~ Kristen Swantek (15:25)
Topics such as remote work challenges, the importance of guest relations, and the structured workflows that keep the project organized are examined. The team reflects on their passion for storytelling and their commitment to providing a platform for voices that may not otherwise be heard. Additionally, the group shares anecdotes about the joys and occasional chaos involved in producing the podcast.
Takeaways
Creating episodes in advance — The team often works two to three months ahead of the release schedule.
Collaborative remote work — Weekly meetings and consistent communication help keep the remote team aligned.
Role specialization — Each member focuses on different aspects such as editing, social media, guest management, and production.
Platform for voices — Movers Mindset provides a space for lesser-known individuals to share their insights alongside more prominent figures.
Structured workflows — The podcast production process follows a structured path with numerous checkpoints and collaboration steps.
Emphasis on storytelling — The passion for storytelling and listening to people’s experiences drives the podcast’s success.
Dynamic problem solving — The team adapts quickly to unexpected issues, often relying on each other to solve problems creatively.
Resources
Basecamp — Project management tool used by the Movers Mindset team to coordinate tasks and projects.
Overcast — Podcast player referenced for listening to episodes.
In 1924 a scientist named Otto Warburg happened upon a counterintuitive finding. Cancer cells, even in the presence of sufficient oxygen, underwent a type of metabolism cells reserved for rapid energy demand – anaerobic metabolism. In fact, even when cancer cells were given additional oxygen, they still almost uniformly defaulted into using only glucose to make ATP via the anaerobic pathway. This is counterintuitive because this way of making ATP is typically a last resort for cells, not a default, due to the very poor yield of ATP.
This is a simple introduction to the two methods our cells can use to get the energy they need to do everything; One way is efficient and one is not. It’s critical that our cells can switch between the two methods as circumstances change. The curious discovery made by Warburg is that cancer cells always use the inefficient method.
No matter what we think of each other, maybe it isn’t at all important that I follow you, or that you follow me. We are both elsewhere, in more complete forms. Let’s find each other there.
Having recently completed the last step of a complete exodus from my personal participation in social networks, I can now say: I have no idea wether I’m interacting more or less with other humans, and I do not care. I’m less stressed and I don’t miss it. I feel so much better just never going to those spaces.
But, wow did I used to spend time there.
It’s almost as if the multi-billion-dollar companies know so much about manipulating human behavior that I was literally unable derive benefit. It’s almost as if I was simply a battery plugged into their matrix.
People who succeed look to give their future selves an edge. They seek to put themselves in a more advantaged position down the road. They make small sacrifices today to alleviate stress and enjoy more fulfillment tomorrow.
There’s an old adage about how we consistently over-estimate what can be accomplished in a day, while under-estimating what can be accomplished in a lifetime.
At some point I started loosely planning each day; There are times when I completely pause this daily activity, but in general, early in the morning I create a plan for the day. I disagree with the often repeated recommendation to plan the night before. In the evening, as I’m winding down, planning my day would place me in front of my computer which is something I avoid at all costs.
The most prominent quality of this state of presence is the quiet that comes over the outside world. You can still hear the city noise and traffic, but the loudest thing has gone silent, which is your normal mental commentary.
Sometimes I manage to bring myself to the present moment.
Sometimes a feeling of serenity appears.
Sometimes I notice I’m staring at the horizon with a benevolent feeling suffusing my existence.
It happens too rarely.
Each time it does, in the subsequent moments—as I’m dragged down from that brief enlightenment by my personal zombie horde of thoughts—I’m left only with a echo…
Over the past few years I have been made to see, in sum, that the nature and extent of satire is not nearly as simple a question as I had previously imagined. I am now prepared to agree that some varieties of expression that may have some claim to being satire should indeed be prohibited. I note this not with a plan or proposal for where or how such a prohibition might be enforced, but to acknowledge something I did not fully understand until I experienced it first hand — that even the most cherished and firmly-held values or ideals can change when the world in which those values were first formed changes.
Doing a pushup isn’t that hard, and with a fully defined program, once I’ve decided to go with it, a pushup is all I ever have to do. Push the floor away, and I will get there. On the action level that’s all I need to be thinking about. Trying to do a pushup while you’re simultaneously deciding whether it’s worthwhile is about ten times harder than just lifting your body off the floor.
Hear! Hear! and once more, louder, for those in the back!
I’ve come to the conclusion that for me, the desired ratio for the time spent deciding versus doing is infinite. I strive to spend all of my time deciding. I try to never do anything. I try to always sit with the thinking and the deciding. …stay with it. …wait. …keep thinking. …no, I’m not yet done deciding. …no, do not initiate action.
Because no matter how hard I try to stay with the deciding, my urge to do eventually forces me into action. I never have trouble shifting from deciding to doing.
This is very closely related to my touch-stone phrase for 2019, which is, “no.” In 2018 I tried the classic, “HELL YES! …or no,” and I still said yes far too often. So for 2019 I’m trying to always say, “no.” I’m trying to spend all my time deciding.
Halfway through 2019 and I’m still getting far too much done.
Quit your yakkin’ and get busy. Quit wasting time obsessing about pimping your ass and checking your stats. Instead, MAKE stuff. Make AMAZING stuff. Make stuff that is so good that people have no choice but to find out about it. Otherwise, you REALLY are just wasting your time. This game is already TOO hard and TOO BIG a time suck to fritter away on what is, for the most part, a big ol’ distraction.
At this point, I have left all of the online social networks. I’m busy spending all of my time working on The Work—or at least trying to figure out what The Work is for me— cultivating my mind, writing and spending time with those whose company I enjoy. Unfortunately, that last one is nearly impossible since the vast majority of people are too busy.
I suggest you make a list of what’s important to you. It does not need to be ordered by priority. Simply make a list of things which are important. If that is hard to do, you’ve just learned something important; “Figure out what’s important to me,” would be a good item for your list.
I check my list occasionally to see if what I am doing in some random moment is aligned with my list. I checked recently, and social networks no longer made the cut.
What are the strategies and philosophies that guide building inclusive, innovative communities and leveraging multidisciplinary skills for growth?
Ryan Ford shares his thoughts on his Parkour EDU program, various coaching methods, and his experience of building a community. He discusses the idea of a talent hotbed, how and why it occurs, and how to apply those ideas, before delving into the world of crypto-currency. Ryan explains what crypto currency is, why he’s so interested in it, its potential for growth, and the similarities he sees between crypto and parkour.
The art of reinventing yourself and learning new skills is essential for the future.
~ Ryan Ford (23:16)
The conversation begins with an exploration of Ryan Ford’s work in developing a Parkour Strength for Adults program, which focuses on physical training as a gateway for adults into parkour. He explains his approach to making training scalable and welcoming, emphasizing community building through inclusive practices and partner interactions. The discussion touches on his inspiration from various movement disciplines and coaching methodologies, such as those by Ido Portal and Christopher Sommer.
Later, the conversation shifts to Ford’s interest in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. He highlights the parallels between parkour and crypto, such as decentralization, freedom, and global accessibility. Ford shares his experiments with using blockchain for parkour community projects, like decentralized bounties, and reflects on the potential of blockchain to democratize finance. The discussion concludes with reflections on balancing entrepreneurship, training, and innovation.
Takeaways
Parkour Strength for Adults — A program designed to make parkour accessible to a broader demographic by focusing on physical preparation.
Inclusive community-building — Encouraging partner interactions and mixing diverse skill levels in classes to foster engagement.
Parallels with blockchain — Exploring how parkour and crypto share principles of decentralization and freedom.
Scalable training methods — Techniques for adapting parkour training to different age groups and abilities.
Multidisciplinary inspiration — Drawing from varied fields like gymnastics, mobility training, and movement culture for parkour innovation.
Freedom and agency — Using parkour and crypto as tools for personal and financial autonomy.
Creative combinations — Leveraging diverse skill sets to create unique, impactful contributions.
The rest of the year we would call this feeling abundance. It’s not a feeling particular to Christmas, but for a lot of kids Christmas morning represents the abundance feeling at its peak concentration. The first days of Summer break gives a similar high, but it’s spread over a much longer period and so it’s never quite as dazzling. There is also a minor spike in the fall, the evening of Halloween. In each case the abundance feeling is glorious, but fades quickly.
I want to say I have everything I want. It’s certainly true that I have everything I need. Despite this, I do things frenetically all my waking hours with seizures of exhaustion and depression and escape to entertainment.
Clearly what I feel I don’t have is an abundance of time.
It’s impossible to do all the things I think of, and I don’t mean ideas of entertainment or escape. I mean ideas for projects, businesses, changes to improve things and so on. I know that I have to stop trying to solve so many problems. I know I need to simply find something that fulfills me and tinker.
But my obsessive nature—or is it only a habit?—leads me to try to fill every waking moment with effective effort.
After too many readings to remember, I’m still at a loss to summarize my thoughts. The difficulty is that this is an area of my life with which I currently struggle daily.
There is a basic challenge-level to reality: There is a stone in my shoe. It’s time to mow the lawn. This bill should be paid. I’m great at handling huge numbers of these basic sorts of challenges. Unfortunately, the positive thinking of chapter 17 doesn’t give me a handle on solutions to basic challenges. …and I am completely swamped with these sorts of basic challenges.
Don’t conflate basic with easy. All of the easy, basic challenges I have under control; They are already done, or are managed by reliable systems. What I’m left with are the remainders—a pile of difficult, basic challenges. Things for which positive thinking still gives me no purchase.
I don’t have much of a grasp on this chapter. But then, that’s why I’m studying this book and using its chapters as jumping-off points for my thoughts.
Most obesity “experts” assume (erroneously) that the big equal sign between the blue and red terms implies a direction of causality. In other words, they assume that an increase in fat mass (the blue side gets bigger), was CAUSED by the red number being bigger than the green number.
Yes, physics always works. Yes, the First Law of Thermodynamics is always true. Yes, “calories in” always equals “calories out”. But that does not explain why we get fat. The equals-sign in the calories-in equals calories-out does not tell you anything about causality.
As with every single thing Peter Attia writes, you should go read this. Twice.
Whenever I’m playing with my phone I am only shortening my life. A smartphone is useful if you have a specific thing you want to do, but ninety per cent of the time the thing I want to do is avoid doing something harder than surfing Reddit. During those minutes or hours, all I’m doing is dying.
The whole article is full of great truths, many of which I feel comfortable saying I’ve learned. But on this one in particular I was guilty, until very recently.
About a year ago, I picked up the idea of clearing my phone’s home screen and re-learning to always use the search to explicitly launch the app I wanted. I also disabled all notifications and converted the phone into a tool which I use—the phone never uses me.
Was there some amount of value I was getting from Facebook? …certainly. Given that all things take up time, resources, and/or just space in my mind, what’s the cost-benefit analysis?
Sometimes I stumble upon things like this—in this case, from Maria Papova—and I’m not quite sure what to do with them. There’s something to this which scratches at the back of my mind.
What does it take to balance creative passion, personal growth, and professional responsibility while navigating life’s unpredictable journey?
Amos Rendao reflects on what music means to him, flowing vs planning, and the benefits and importance of journalling. The conversation turns to the idea of success and what that means, before moving to Aikido, and information activism. Amos shares his insights on diet and nutrition, his journey with injuries and recovery, and how he manages self talk.
Journaling is such an important way to develop a relationship with yourself.
~ Amos Rendao (49:50)
The conversation covers the relationship between creativity, self-reflection, and structured productivity. Amos reflects on his deep connection with music, sharing how his early experiences in bands shifted to a hiatus as parkour and business took priority. He revisits his passion through home recording, finding renewed joy in music’s restorative power. This leads to broader discussions on the interplay between freeform exploration and the necessity of structure, reflecting on how Amos balances spontaneity with highly organized systems to maximize productivity.
Amos and Craig explore the transformative impact of journaling as a tool for self-awareness and growth. They discuss the challenges of maintaining consistency in habits, diet, and personal health while navigating entrepreneurial and athletic commitments. The dialogue also touches on the influence of aikido in shaping their movement practice, drawing parallels between martial arts and parkour. The broader theme highlights how embracing both structured goals and open-ended exploration can lead to deeper personal insight and development.
Takeaways
Journaling – A powerful tool for developing self-awareness, tracking personal growth, and identifying patterns over time.
Creativity and Flow – Revisiting creative passions can restore mental health and balance, even after long hiatuses.
Structured Productivity – Building organized systems around sleep, diet, and time management can significantly enhance efficiency.
Freeform Exploration – Spontaneous, unstructured days can lead to valuable experiences and insights, balancing out rigid schedules.
Movement and Recovery – Insights into how parkour, aikido, and other movement practices contribute to long-term physical resilience and injury recovery.
Diet and Performance – Experimenting with diet, fasting, and biohacking to improve mental clarity and athletic performance.
Community and Connection – The importance of community involvement, both in local parkour initiatives and broader projects like USPK.
Resources
APEX School of Movement — A movement school co-founded by Amos Rendao focused on parkour education.
Parkour EDU — An educational platform designed to teach parkour principles and coaching techniques.