The theory about big decisions is that they require a tremendous amount of thought, and that investing in all these thought results in better decisions. There are many classes of decisions where there is a right move. Deliberate planning around complex issues involving different people with varied goals is essential to making a correct decision.
I say “start walking” not only because that’s the only way to get where you need to be. It’s also the easiest way to begin. Far too often I overthink things when simply taking action would get me what I truly want to know: Will it work?
Back in… not sure, 2020? I started a daily podcast of me simply reading quotes from my collection. Last year I decided to slow down to only 3 quotes per week. I record and schedule them in batches. Screenshot of episode 1,399 being recorded. o_O
Am I too often seeking the sense of safety or control? (And it is indeed only a sense-of. It is only an illusion.) What happened to the simple feeling of joy in being?
What this means, as I understand it, is that when we let go of all attachment to the outcome of our novel publication/album release/opening of our Thai Fusion restaurant … we shift the locus of our enterprise from the ego to the Self (or the soul if you prefer.)
The Muse likes this. Heaven likes this.
We are now operating on the plane of the soul, not the plane of the ego.
Sometimes an outcome is important; the measurements, the color, the specific dimensions. When the idea began with the intention of trading the outcome with another. But not every waking moment. Too much of that is obviously an imbalance.
In about ten weeks I’m making my annual journey to Boston and neighboring Somerville for a parkour event. Much has changed over the years I’ve been going. It’s moved from Septembers to Junes. The size has waxed and waned. A few of the same people are usually there, and there is an endless banquet of new forever-friends.
If you get into doing this thing, and you start going to play and train with others, you soon have a very unusual problem: The more you run into a particular someone, the more it happens in different places. You start to have this precious view of who this person is separated from where that person normally is. Sometimes you know someone well, but have no idea where you know them from. It’s weird. It’s awesome. How does this even exist?
To act on whatever our intentions might be to make the world better requires something more than individual action It requires, in almost every case, people who may have little connection with each other, or who may even be on opposite sides of a question, to decide to come together for some common good.
Embracing a growth mindset means to get pleasure out of changing for the better (inward rewarding) instead of getting pleasure
in being praised (outward rewarding.) […] to seek as many opportunities to learn as possible is the most reliable long-term growth strategy.
Ahrens of course discusses, and gives credit where credit is due, to Carol Dweck’s ideas. (See Dweck’s, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.) Her comment about “reliable long-term growth strategy” struck me as insightful. Her use of, “most reliable,” is an understatement. What other strategy would even be reliable?
If I want to grow, I need to learn. If I want to learn, I need to maximize those opportunities.
If you should ever turn your will to things outside your control in order to impress someone, be sure that you have wrecked your whole purpose in life. Be content, then, to be a philosopher in all that you do, and if you wish also to be seen as one, show yourself first that you are and you will succeed.
What are the personal transformations that occur through competitive rowing and movement practices like Parkour?
Roberto Regueiro Santiago discusses his years rowing crew, both as an athlete and a coach, and his thoughts on the competitive nature of the sport. Roberto shares how an injury changed his perspective and opened up his possibilities, leading him to Fighting Monkey and parkour. He explains his ideas of mastery, as well as his approach to games and training.
I don’t think it’s totally necessary to master everything that you do in your own practice. But master something which gives you a deep understanding — what the thing is, [and] feels [like] in the first moment that you feel like that song, like the flow state — is when you really master something.
~ Roberto Rugueiro Santiago (1:29)
Roberto Santiago reflects on his journey from competitive rowing to movement disciplines like Parkour and Fighting Monkey. He describes rowing as the first activity where he truly experienced mastery, emphasizing the deep bond and unity formed within rowing teams. Roberto shares how the rigorous nature of rowing, with its intense focus on competition, shaped his understanding of perseverance and teamwork. However, an injury ultimately shifted his priorities, leading him to explore movement practices that prioritize longevity and holistic development over winning.
In discussing his transition to Parkour and coaching, Roberto highlights the importance of sharing his passion with others, describing coaching as a way to create training partners and foster community. He values the playful, game-centered approach in Parkour, which contrasts sharply with the rigid, competition-driven world of rowing. Games, he notes, allow for self-exploration, creativity, and growth without the pressure to outperform others, fostering a sustainable and enjoyable practice.
Takeaways
Mastery through competition — Rowing provided the first experience of mastery, teaching the importance of understanding a discipline deeply.
Community in hardship — Growing up in a poor rowing club instilled a sense of responsibility and collective ownership.
Injury as transformation — An accident forced a reevaluation of priorities, shifting focus from competition to personal development.
Longevity mindset — Parkour introduced the idea of sustainable practice, allowing for rest and self-compassion without fear of falling behind.
Games as learning tools — Using games in Parkour creates a playful, low-pressure environment conducive to growth and self-awareness.
Rowing’s hidden costs — Rowing built strength but also structural imbalances, highlighting the importance of cross-training and mobility work.
Coaching for connection — Coaching is not just about teaching but creating peers to share in the practice and maintain engagement.
Acceptance of limitations — Aging brings acceptance that not every day will bring improvement, but consistent practice remains vital.
Unity in competition — High-level competition fosters respect and camaraderie, even among competitors.
Resources
The Movement Creative — A Parkour and movement organization where Roberto Santiago coaches and trains.
Fighting Monkey — A movement practice that integrates games and physical exploration, significantly influencing Roberto’s training philosophy.
There are exceptions, such as when I travel, where I end up unconscious on some other horizontal surface, but it’s as sure a rule as any that no matter what kinds of wild or unpredictable events happen during the day, the conclusion is quite predictable: me, horizontal and comatose.
Elsewhere, I’ve written specifically about sleeping. Sleep itself is fascinating, and a critical component to—well, everything; Life, quality thereof, the ability to think, and so on.
But until I read David’s piece, I’ve never had the vertiginous perspective of millions of people laying out horizontally and slipping unconscious. A rolling wave of countless people passing into unconsciousness as the world rotates. It’s eery, a third of all people are unconscious right at this moment. Also this moment. And in a relatively few more moments, I will be unconscious again.
I’m not certain, but I think my perspective upon first awakening may have shifted a little towards the, “oh! This is interesting,” end of things.
This blog just had it’s first month with more than 10,000 page-views.
Wanna guess where most of my traffic comes from? Ok, sure, most of my traffic comes from the Goog. That’s trivial. But where does most of the non-goog traffic come from?
By a long measure too. Years and years of all the other social channels, nary a bump — deleted. Bookface? nary a bump… I think about 7 (s e v e n) people click through from Bookface.
Not only could nobody tell me, but nobody even had the sense that it was an interesting question. They looked at me funny. I asked my parents; I asked my parents’ friends; I asked other adults. None of them knew. My mother said to me, “Look, we’ve just got you a library card. Take it, get on the streetcar, go to the New Utrecht branch of the New York Public Library, get out a book and find the answer.”
We live in an economic world. Economic models that were developed years ago were created based on observations of how the economy seemed to work at the time. As time goes on, it is becoming clear that early economists missed important connections. The most important of these is the role of energy and its connection to the economy. It takes energy to make anything, from a piece of steel to a loaf of bread. It takes energy to transport anything. Humans need energy in the form of food to continue to live. Clearly, energy should have a place in economic models.
I find this stuff fascinating; It’s this giant, emergent phenomenon. Billions of individual people going about their daily lives create such a whirl of activity and action. But the ultimate result is what… an “economy”? A path to “enlightenment” for humankind? Meaningless in total, but meaningful at the individual’s level of experience? Perhaps it’s simply [on the whole] incomprehensible. If you study a little chaos theory, you learn: The butterfly’s beating wings have ZERO affect on the weather. Instead, the fully understood system, (“stochastic”) is truly unpredictable.
(If you’ve understood any of that, you will be cursing the scum-of-the-earth people who spend time making up this malicious stuff. Awesome that! …let’s fix this sh*t and go get beers.)
Now, Imagine you were working on something when that little item was brought to your attention. “Hmmmm, I wonder if that’s as serious as it sounds . . . “
You need to understand the threat; That’s rather difficult once you realize that the god-level security geeks haven’t fully figured it out yet.
You have various systems that might be affected; You need to check them.
If you’ve been attacked, is it safe to even check the systems? …ok, you’ve figured that out.
Check them. All of them.
Devise your defense, (or decide it doesn’t apply to you.)
Now implement changes to fix, or prevent, future problems.
Then wonder: Do my usual work practices and designs prevent this vulnerability? …should I change my practices or designs? …can I generalize this specific problem into a general sort of problem that I can defend against all future problems like this one?
Great! Do that.
Then you can go back to being the mother hen roosting on her eggs.
I’m not complaining. This is simply a part of what I do. Just thought perhaps some of you, dear readers, might like a glimpse behind the curtain.
The Freecycle Network™ is made up of thousands of groups with millions of members around the world. It’s a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by local volunteers. Membership is free.
To sign up, find your community freecycle list by searching on the Freecycle web site.
