Tag: reflection

5 FOR FRIENDS 10/15/19

~ Malcolm Flex ~ Leave a comment

Quote:  “When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And
when you have fun, you can do amazing things.”Joe Namath
There are truly amazing things you can do when you believe you can.

Book currently reading: Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb. Book one of the Farseer Trilogy was on my reading list for a very long time. It has been months since reading a book that reminds me of The Name of the Wind, The KingKiller Chronicles. It is an unfair comparison because the similarities begin and end with it being the narrator telling the story and taking pauses for some omissions from memory.
But I am a sucker for a coming of age story of a bastard trying to find his place in the world.

Article worth a read:  New typeface hides a secret in plain sight
I have a not so secret love for good design. And this goes double for new insights that help special populations. Reading about how designers are going against conventions and working with the Braille Institute of America to create fonts that are easier to read for the visually impaired warms my heart. On the nose naming convention aside, “Hyper-legible” typeface borrows from a smattering of fonts for the visually impaired better distinguish letters, such as “E” & “F” instead of keeping to aesthetic choices for uniformity.

Small Purchase: Instead of a small purchase, a small gesture that had very little cost for me except for sleep was leaving work and cooking dinner for a friend that keeps even worst hours than I do. But, for the costs of ingredients and prep time some tortellini and asparagus made for a great dinner.

What am I working on:  Last week was the beginning of the CrossFit open 20.1 and it was an aggressive time cap of 10 rounds of Ground to Overheads and Burpees reminded that even after 4 months of high volume you work, will not undo 3 years of strongman lifts.
My current aim is to continuing get faster and improve my endurance to be a great allrounder. In the meantime babying my elbow and making sure I don’t reinjure it.

Five for friends

~ Malcolm Flex ~ Leave a comment

Powerful quote:
“Among men who rise to fame and leadership two types are recognizable—those who are born with a belief in themselves and those in whom it is a slow growth dependent on actual achievement. To the men of the last type their own success is a constant surprise, and its fruits the more delicious, yet to be tested cautiously with a haunting sense of doubt whether it is not all a dream. In that doubt lies true modesty, not the sham of insincere self depreciation but the modesty of “moderation,” in the Greek sense. It is poise, not pose.”
–B.H. Liddell Hart


Currently Reading: The Ryiria Revelations Book 3:
The TLDR reason this series is so engaging is purely because for a character driven fantasy nerd you get a simple story of how a thief and mercenary, different as the sun and moon, work together to accomplish some of the most impossible missions; meeting some of the most interesting/compelling characters I’ve ever read along the way. The first book Theft of Swords  introduced me to a combination of friends that reminded me of my first D&D campaign with my best friend back in middle school: A surely lithesome rouge and broad shouldered charismatic fighter taking on a simple job that proves to be everything but.

New Work out: I was sent a differently paced workout than usual to tax my energy systems and maybe my very soul.
Technical – 5×4 Snatch
Metabolic – 30 Toes2Bars(TTB) / 30cal Row / 15 Squat Snatch (115lbs) / 60cal Row / 15 Squat Snatch 30cal Row/ 30TTB
Stabilization – 3 x max Muscle ups

Useful Lifehack: keep this one in your back pocket
Sometimes reaching a goal means adding new habits or learning a skill, but other times it simply means getting rid of some bad habits. If you want to identify what’s keeping you from your goal, invert it.Inverting your goals gives you a new perspective on what you’re trying to accomplish. The best example would be trying to lose weight. Ask yourself, “What do I have to do to gain weight?” Any answer you get is probably a habit you should avoid
Possible answers:
1. Eat whatever you want, whenever you want and how much ever you want.
2. Don’t exercise…ever
3. Don’t do any household chores that require physical activity
4. Don’t play any outdoor games.
It may seem absurd but

+EV article: Here’s What You Need To Negotiate At Each Stage Of Your Career – Negotiation is one job skill you’ll always need. But the things you’ll want to negotiate should change with your career. (Link below)

http://www.fastcompany.com/3062320/hit-the-ground-running/heres-what-you-need-to-negotiate-at-each-stage-of-your-career

Any input is always welcome

5 for friends

~ Malcolm Flex ~ Leave a comment

So last week’s five for friends has been lost to the ether and cannot be salvaged, so here we press which turns out to be strangely thematic as I glance back over my week.

Quote: 
“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.” – Maya Angelou
In my months of practicing more yoga and continuing my studies of philosophy ‘stoic’ ideals have been on the forefront of my mind and the key to taming rampant thoughts of ‘unfairness’ with the universe.
Book currently reading: 
Still trudging through the Heir of Novron, book 3 of the Riyia Chronicles. Maybe because of the how much time I’ve invested in the short stories and the previous two tomes, I am beyond happy with how this book has spent so much time not just putting the two main and various supporting characters in fantastic scenarios. But, it happening while picking up on the subtext of the many weights each carry: many instances that burden being hateful discrimination or gut-wrenching personal loss.
Article worth a read: Passion is the Result, Not the Cause of Taking Action, from my very favor website that supports my inner dilettante LifeHacker provides a pretty good lesson on how a lot of people have the passion equation backwards
http://lifehacker.com/passion-is-the-result-not-the-cause-of-taking-action-1784889200
Small Purchase: Constantly trying to improve my flexibility in yoga, Weight I can lift, Bring down my 3 miles time, and dictate more eloquently when giving speeches this weekend I instead canceled all my Saturday plans to walk around a park listening to music, and buy a pint of Moose Track ice cream and fell asleep streaming Magic Pro Tour coverage. Allowing myself to buy a treat just helped me do what has been difficult for ages: downshift and relax; instead of passing time until tired and going to sleep.
What am I working on: Recently the EGO monster paid me a visit via an Instagram comment. A month after posting a video of my first time attempting to ‘Clean n Jerk’ a “Friend” from high school commented: “Hey man if you ever want some help with technique for Olympic lifting hit me up you are going to hurt your wrist, elbow, or shoulder if you keep going like that.” For a bit of context before I admit in what way my ego went on a rampage, the last time this same “friend” spoke to me was at a party lambasting how much I little I could bench, squat or deadlift. And, before that how sub-par I was at Brazilian Jujitsu, in my teens wanting. With hindsight I guess I had a bully so my momentary outrage I feels a little more understood. Mainly because, through that comment I discovered he is a coach at the gym just a couple days before I recommended that someone check out if they were serious about learning to lift, not just momentarily excited because they saw me Clean n Jerk nearly my bodyweight(185) for a triple. I realize he was making a sale or at least start a conversation about coaching, but I am responsible for my own reactions. So, since that comment I’ve focused my strength workouts on understanding bar path and hand positions with cleans, deadlifts, and overhead squatting. So thank you ego.

 

Short list from the savage scientist 7/31

~ Malcolm Flex ~ Leave a comment

A long time ago, in an age before Tim Ferriss sent out his first 5 bullet Friday, I used to email out to a few friends a synopsis  of a few articles they would find interesting for them or the field they work in. Today I realize I haven’t been drafting nearly as many of those notes. without as much feedback I was secretly seeking from the tiny population that enjoyed those emails the practice fell off and has been filled with a torrent of emails to my very verbose supervisors. I’m still tackling my ambitious weekly goals of: finishing a book a week, practicing yoga 2x, weightlifting practice, improve my writing, and scheduling one on one mentoring sessions and feel like some of these should  be shared if it can provide value to others, even if drafting an email to a handful of people isn’t the method to use and a shotgun approach serves as a replacement until I cultivate my own email list, and get better at this blogging thing.
Currently reading: (Novel) The Heir of Novron by Michael Sullivan
Most impactful article: 9 yoga poses you can do from your desk w/o looking weird by Grace Reader from Entrepreneur.com
Gym: The snatch is becoming my favorite lift to refine.
Yoga insight: Starting session with Cat/Cow for a few cycles is the minimum effective dose for the perpetually desk bound to have a good physical practice.
Listening to: Pokemon Go station on Pandora has been fire!
Small Purchase: (>$100) Going snorkeling in an underground spring and visiting a botanical garden.

In the comments below please leave any thought or suggestions for new things to read or articles I should check out!