It’s inevitable that you’re going to fail. If you’re not failing, then you’re definitely doing something wrong because you’re supposed to find your limits. There are parts of it that are going to suck the whole way along— that’s a perfect possibility, but you’re going to grow.
~ Adam McClellan
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Life does not ask what we want. It presents us with options.
~ Thomas Sowell
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What makes a river so restful to people is that it doesn’t have any doubt—it is sure to get where it is going, and it doesn’t want to go anywhere else.
~ Hal Boyle
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I’ve recently begun the long project of looking through my past recordings. Only in the last month or so have I been keeping notes about the conversations as I record them, and I want to go back to day-one, (January 28, 2017,) and update my notes on who, when, where— but also the themes and ideas that were discussed. (I’m not listening to everything, just going through the scattered information I already have about the recordings.) Although it’s a lot of work, it’s rewarding to see so many things organized in one centralized system! These days, ideas and connections I find in the slipbox also point me to my specific conversations.
It’s inevitable that you’re going to fail. If you’re not failing, then you’re definitely doing something wrong because you’re supposed to find your limits. There are parts of it that are going to suck the whole way along— that’s a perfect possibility, but you’re going to grow.
~ Adam McClellan
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You may fail miserably, or you’re gonna break through it— you’re gonna learn something new about yourself, and you’re gonna develop a new skill out of necessity that you didn’t have at the beginning of the painting. So that’s what keeps me excited about making paintings, is because I couldn’t do the same thing over and over again. I have to manufacture some sort of potential failure there.
~ Jonny Hart
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Also: Delightful connections like the two quotes above fall into my lap along the way.
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How does one balance pursuing multiple creative and physical endeavors while maintaining long-term growth and curiosity?
Practical insights into climbing, gymnastics, and writing illuminate the shared themes of persistence and adaptability.
My real goal is to get people thinking about how to apply all these different kinds of steps to their own training or injuries or whatever they are working on and be able to do things for themselves.
~ Steven Low (15:59)
This conversation weaves through the journey of pursuing physical and creative challenges, reflecting on how to balance growth and curiosity over time. Topics range from the iterative process of writing deeply informative books to the physical and mental intricacies of climbing and gymnastics. The discussion emphasizes the importance of problem-solving and adapting methods based on personal experiences and new scientific insights.
Personal anecdotes highlight the interplay of curiosity, physical limitations, and the satisfaction derived from mastering difficult tasks. The conversation touches on teaching as a vehicle for personal fulfillment, drawing parallels between activities such as rock climbing and whitewater rafting in terms of their unique ability to offer new perspectives and foster resilience.
Takeaways
The process of iterative refinement — Decisions about revisiting or updating projects depend on scientific advancements and user needs.
The importance of problem-solving — Physical activities like climbing offer unique opportunities for analytical thinking and pushing limits.
Balancing multiple interests — Shifting focus to new projects can sustain long-term curiosity and motivation.
Encouraging independent learning — Teaching concepts rather than step-by-step instructions fosters autonomy and adaptability.
Practical application of concepts — Trial and error helps individuals tailor training approaches to their unique circumstances.
Avoiding repetitive monotony — Preference for varied and challenging activities highlights the value of engaging pursuits.
The role of curiosity in growth — Directed curiosity helps bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application.
The appeal of outdoor activities — Activities like climbing and hiking combine physical effort with an appreciation for nature.
Adapting training methods — Personal experience and feedback guide modifications to improve outcomes.
The significance of goal-oriented training — Structured challenges provide satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment.
The interplay of teaching and learning — Effective teaching ignites curiosity and helps others become self-sufficient problem solvers.
Resources
Overcoming Gravity — Steven’s book focused on mastering gymnastics-inspired training.
Overcoming Poor Posture — Steven’s book addressing common posture problems and their solutions.
Steven Low’s Blog — Articles exploring fitness, health, and training methodologies.
(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)
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If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in the dark with a mosquito.
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I often find things scattered about which make little connections appear in my mind. That’s literally what the word composition means when it’s used in the context of writing and literature; writing which composes something new from some number of other things already found. This little missive has been laying in the pile of such things for far too long… and so I’m putting up here to see where it leads us.
Way back in March of 2021 I listened to this podcast episode:
Decoding the Patterns of Human Connection with Marissa King from the Masters of Community podcast, March 22, 2021.
Around 46 minutes in David Spinks asks…
Marissa King: What she found is people consistently underestimated how much their partner was enjoying the conversation. So the short answer to this is you’re actually more likable than you think just the way you are.
David Spinks: That’s really interesting. What are the steps then? …for somebody to become a better conversationalist?
Marissa: Do they just have to become aware of that fact, and stop worrying about it so much? I think that’s part of it. And what I try to do throughout my book is actually to give people the tools of social science to allow them to apply this in their own life. […] So for instance, imagine you’re walking into a cocktail party. What we know, based on human interaction is when I walk in, I often will just see a wall of people. […] But we know that people actually don’t just form walls, that they tend to form small groups or clusters. The question becomes, which cluster do you go to? And people will have all sorts of different ways of choosing this. […] It turns out, that people are in these clusters, because of just the way that humans are built, that we have two eyes, and we have two ears, almost all conversation actually happens in dyads—groups of two. And because of this, if you look for an odd number group, whether it’s 1, 3, 5, 7… When you join that conversation, you’re giving someone else a conversational partner, and so you’re really creating balance. […] oftentimes if you apply this, or you imagine that you are one of these people who feel this aversion, or you feel like I don’t know how to do this, by applying these basic tools, it actually allows you to engage in these types of activities more comfortably.
(I did that transcription by hand and edited it all lightly for clarity.)
That show is all about communities. It’s intended for community builders, managers and moderators. A lot of its content is about health and wellness, as well as the more obvious topics of strategies and tactics for community building.
But this part of this episode really grabbed my attention from my “I record conversations with people” podcast creator point-of-view.
TWO PEOPLE
I’ve long believed that two is the perfect number of people in a podcast. Yes, there are exceptional instances of podcasts with the other numbers of people in them. But there’s magic in two.
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PS: In the above, that small idea about “composition”… that came from some other reading which I unpacked in, Thank you Miss Merrill.
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Based on everything I’ve seen, a simple recipe can work: Focus on what’s in front of you, design great days to create a great life, and try not to make the same mistake twice. That’s it. Stop hitting net balls and try something else, perhaps even the opposite. If you really want extra credit, try not to be a dick, and you’ll be a Voltron-level superstar.
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To paraphrase Jim [Loehr]: The power broker in your life is the voice that no one ever hears. How well you revisit the tone and content of your private voice is what determines the quality of your life. It is the master storyteller, and the stories we tell ourselves are our reality. For instance, how do you speak to yourself when you make a mistake that upsets you? Would you speak that way to a dear freind when they’ve made a mistake? If not, you have work to do. Trust me, we all have work to do.
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Excellence is the next five minutes, improvement is the next five minutes, happiness is the next five minutes. This doesn’t mean you ingore planning. I encourage you to make ambitious plans. Just rememeber that the big-beyond-belief things are accomplished when you deconstruct them into the smallest possible pieces and focus on each “moment of impact,” one step at a time.
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