Deciding versus doing →

Published July 18, 2019  ·  All posts on Jul 18  ·  

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.

~ David Cain, from Keep your doing and your deciding away from each other

slip:4urake1.

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.

ɕ

Social networks →

Published July 17, 2019  ·  All posts on Jul 17

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.

~ Hugh MacLeod

slip:4a947.

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.

ɕ

Ryan Ford: Coaching methods, talent hotbeds, and cryptocurrency →

Published July 17, 2019  ·  All posts on Jul 17  ·  

Ryan Ford: Coaching methods, talent hotbeds, and cryptocurrency

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.

(more…)

Abundance →

Published July 16, 2019  ·  All posts on Jul 16

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.

~ David Cain, from What to get everyone for Christmas

slip:4urawa2.

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.

ɕ

§17 – Be that guy →

Published July 15, 2019  ·  All posts on Jul 15  ·  

This entry is part 29 of 37 in the series Study inspired by Pakour & Art du Déplacement by V. Thibault

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.

ɕ

War is not wicked →

Published July 14, 2019  ·  All posts on Jul 14  ·  

As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will always have its fascination. When it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be popular.

~ Oscar Wilde

slip:4a174.

Causality →

Published July 13, 2019  ·  All posts on Jul 13

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.

~ Peter Attia from, Revisit the causality of obesity – Peter Attia

slip:4upere1.

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.

ɕ

Dying every minute →

Published July 12, 2019  ·  All posts on Jul 12

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.

~ David Cain, from 16 things I know are true but haven’t quite learned yet

slip:4urati3.

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.

ɕ

No →

Published July 11, 2019  ·  All posts on Jul 11

No is essential | Seth’s Blog

slip:4useno1.

I recently walked away from Facebook.

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?

No.

ɕ

Something ineffable →

Published July 10, 2019  ·  All posts on Jul 10

The Story Behind the Iconic “Migrant Mother” Photograph and How Dorothea Lange Almost Didn’t Take It – The Marginalian

slip:4ubado1.

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.

ɕ