Category: All

What’s the opposite of a person or organization that’s fragile? 

If you ask most people this question, they’ll likely say “robust” or “resilient.” But philosopherNassim Nicholas Taleb would say that’s not the right answer. 

He argues that if fragile items break when exposed to stress, something that’s the opposite of fragile wouldn’t simply not break (thus staying the same) when put under pressure; rather, it should actually get stronger. 

From <http://www.artofmanliness.com/2013/12/03/beyond-sissy-resilience-on-becoming-antifragile/>  

This is an interesting outlook – and well matches the CrossFit mentality.  

I do not break. 

I do not survive. 

I adapt and grow. 

With every effort, I will either get stronger, faster, more agile, more flexible, or smarter. 

I will find balance, and I will progress. 

Have you plateaued? Step back and look at yourself. Where do you need to apply more stress? Where do you need to push harder? Do you need to be stronger? Move faster? Drive longer? 

Did you break? What did you learn from it? While you heal – plan. If you come back smarter, with a plan to move forward, then you did not break in vain. You will have gained from the pain. 

“May you live in interesting times,” has been a toast offered to good friends for hundreds of years. However, never have times been more interesting than now. 

Some days my mind reels at the possibilities ahead of us. There is so much going on, and so many incredible futures that could spawn off from where we are that I get a little ADD thinking about them. I have to intentionally focus in one area each day to contain my ideas. 

These certainly are interesting times. We have technology exploding in all directions. We have societies developing at astonishing rates. We have incredibly brilliant people working on ridiculously hard problems with the assistance of tools and information that was unfathomable 10 years ago.  

The exponential growth of technology will soon keep my mind and body young through enhancements and resistance or reversals to the natural causes of aging. I also find that I don’t have to wait, I feel younger each day that I allow myself to dream about the possibilities. I come up with more inventions each day than I could have considered in a week as a younger man. This is partially due to more experience in more areas – but also due to the rapidly expanding possibilities that I see all around me, inspiring me to reach further. 

Look around you, feel the vibe of the people and the technology. There will be unrest, and there will be growth. Some people fear what is coming. Those who find it fascinating and are inspired by the change will ride the wave through. It will take a strong mind, and there are likely to be situations that require a strong body. In interesting times we must be prepared for anything that comes our way. Prepare your body and your mind for what is around the next corner, we will be there sooner than you may think. 

I wanted to take a moment to talk about my favorite number. It is one small part of my largest tattoo and people often ask me about it.  

From Wikipedia: 

In mathematics, two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities. The figure on the right illustrates the geometric relationship. Expressed algebraically, for quantities a and b with a > b, 

where the Greek letter phi ( 

) represents the golden ratio. Its value is: 

^[1] 

From <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio>  

Phi represents the perfect goal. Nature evolves to meet perfection. There is a perfect aesthetic and symmetry in the golden ratio.  The ratio implies motion and fluidity. Music and dance, art and science.  When the world around me is in alignment, I am at peace. My future environment will maintain Phi at the core of every element.  

a + b is to a as a is to b 

A more comforting statement has never been made 

Perfection in ratio to internal balance 

The art of science incarnate in a single concept – Phi 

The heart of music and dance 

While math brings them together 

A static number that implies motion and tranquility 

As one number leads into the next we flow gracefully to infinity 

The greater contains the lesser, while perfectly nestling 

This is my goal, my target, represented in a single irrational number 

Should man travel into space? 

I’m going with a resounding “No.” 

Don’t get me wrong. I have every intention of exploring the universe, traveling to other stars, and expanding the human horizon.  

I just don’t intend to send this particular ugly meat sack beyond our atmosphere. It was just not made to handle the trip. Our bodies are squishy bags of mostly water, the relative vacuum and cold of open space is not conducive to human travel for one who values the longevity of self. 

Instead, let’s assume a better approach. I believe that we are much better off with a “tele-presence” type of approach in the near term, and a more safe transfer mechanism further out. We will be able to send sensor arrays to far off places much sooner than we will be able to safely send humans. We can send sensors that surpass the human sensory experience, and gather far more information.  

Later, once we have uploaded ourselves, travel will be far more interactive and reasonable. For now, we got shit to get done in our own back yard. 

Technology slows down when too many people have the power to block it, but it will not be stopped, the barrier to entry is too low for advancement to not always continue. For as long as there is tinker in a garage somewhere trying something new, or a small startup chasing funding for their idea, there will be advancement. 

Far too many predictions of the future are overly optimistic in their timelines. I am an optimistic guy, but I recognize the role of people and economics in our advancement.  

Never underestimate the power of the ignorant in their ability to lead technology astray.  

Never underestimate the power of the fearful in their ability to block technology.  

Never underestimate the power of economics in its necessity for technology funding. 

But never underestimate the power of those determined to advance technology. 

We are in a race against our own mortality.  

This race is not a sprint.  

All out, balls to the wall, is not always the way to survive a race. 

It behooves us not to have our greatest minds burn out early and lose faith. 

For now, there are far more people against us than for us. 

We will not stop, we will not falter, we will not be defeated. 

It takes determination and vision, confidence in our goal. 

Our path may be wrong, and we may need to reset. 

We will never quit. 

Stay alive, and keep moving forward. 

Nietzsche Quote: 

The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently. 

I don’t think I have given this topic enough attention with my children, so this post is for them. I also think this rings true in every social media domain. 

Question everything. Most importantly, questions yourself. 

It is far too ingrained in our psyche to align ourselves with people who think like us, talk like us, do what we do, and believe what we believe.  

This is not always a bad thing. This is family, our support group, our comfort zone, our “church.” 

This is what our gym is to us. The people there are our family, and our box is where we go for camaraderie.  

It is important for us to have a place where we belong. 

Just don’t spend all your time in your comfort zone. 

Meet other people.  

Listen to what they have to say.  

You don’t have to join them to try and understand them. 

Think about what they say and believe. Think about why, and think about how it may apply to you. 

Just because you do not agree with them, does not mean they are not brilliant.  

We can not know everything, and others always have something to offer us. Figure out what it is for each person you meet. 

Talk to people. Get to know them. Learn from them. If what they say makes sense, then fold their input into your own beliefs.  

In all that you do, be present. 

One of my internal battles is to live in the moment, to give everything to the present. 

If I do not consciously reign it in, my mind will spend all cycles thinking about the future. 

In my search for balance, I fight this part of my nature, and believe that it is important to find equilibrium. 

One of the greatest gifts that my wife ever gave me, is the realization that right now is important. She has an incredible capacity to enjoy and live in the moment. I envy the ability to sometimes let go of everything else, and focus on today. 

here.now 

If I am with you, I owe it to you to be with you in body and mind. 

You will know if my mind is not there. Go ahead – tell me, slap me back to the moment if you have to. 

If I go to a meeting, I will commit myself. If the meeting is not important enough for me to give it my attention, then it is not important enough for me to give it my presence. As in all things, there are exceptions when simply physical presence is needed. Those times are the exception, not the rule. 

An even harder thing for me is to spend time in the past. But that is another discussion. 

I used to run marathons to find and defeat my inner demons. 

Twenty miles into the race I would hit a point where there was nothing in the world but myself.  

My suffering body, and my inner demons. 

Those voices would scream for me to stop.  

Begging.Pleading.Demanding.Ordering. 

Shutting down body parts to force me into compliance. 

And I would ignore them.  

That is why I ran marathons.  

There was no other time in my life when I could truly prove my own mettle to myself.  

I enjoyed the battle, and I savored the pain. 

In CrossFit, there are WODs that take me there. I can get there more quickly, and I can go there more often.  

This is what I am addicted to. Proving myself again and again  

To myself. 

As long as I know that I can defeat my inner demons, then know I can do anything. 

Coach Jeremy once told me: “You can always do one more wallball” (Tag Jeremy on instagram https://www.instagram.com/jmghenyi/) twitter @jmghenyi 

For a young guy, he was very wise. 

You can always get one more rep 

No matter how much pain 

Or how tired 

I may not be able to breath 

but I don’t need air for just one rep 

I don’t know my limits 

and I will never find them 

If I don’t at least try 

For one more rep 

… 

and maybe another 

Did you collapse? 

Did you pass out? 

No? Then you had one more rep in you. 

Don’t get me wrong, and don’t collapse in my gym. 

We should not push ourselves this far in every WOD. That is not sustainable and not healthy.  

But don’t tell me that you couldn’t do any more.  

Admit it, even if only to yourself.  

You chose to stop.  

There is no shame. In fact, sometimes it takes more will power to know when to back off.  

Be honest with yourself, and be conscious of your motives and rationalizations.  

If you don’t have a plan. A reason to break up the reps. A reason to slow down.  

Then just do one more rep. 

Let’s ignore the future for a few minutes. 

Before you start thinking “a transhumanist always thinks about the future” remember that I still believe in balance and if I can’t enjoy every day of my life, then I lose my desire to live forever. 

I believe that we need to know who we are and where we are before we can address moving anywhere.  

You cannot lay out a map to your destination if you do not know where you are starting. You have to be brutally honest with yourself.  

Judge yourself as harshly as you judge others. Forget your excuses for five minutes and take off your own rose colored glasses. You have been far too easy on yourself for far too long. That is the path that got you to where you are.  

Do you like the path that you are on? Do you see daily progress towards your personal, professional, and physical goals?  

Be honest with yourself. If you are not seeing progress, then is your current path working?  

Are you happy with the rate of progress towards your goals? If not, then something must change.  

This all assumes that you have identified those goals, or at least aspirations. If not, then that is the subject of an entirely different discussion that we will have later. 

Now tell me – how do you feel? 

Seriously, take a moment to self-analyze and lets do a body check. 

If you focus internally, can you say that you feel good? 

Most people are so accustomed to coasting through their day and putting up with discomfort that they don’t even recognize it anymore. 

I am not going to address the causes today, but let’s just focus on how we feel for now.  

How is your back? 

Do you have a subtle nagging headache? 

Eyes dry and tired? 

Is your stomach comfortable?   

When was the last time you belched? 

Are you bloated? 

When was your last bowel movement? 

How about the one before that? 

Are your muscles sore? 

Can you target a beneficial workout that caused the soreness? 

Do your feet hurt? Are you standing? 

Is your stomach full? 

Are you hungry? 

Do you feel relaxed? 

Do you feel rushed? 

Are you happy? 

Are you energized? 

Are you eagerly looking forward to something? 

Are you regretting something? 

What do you long for? 

Now, I’ll keep this post short. Take the time. Reflect honestly. This is the first step of a journey.  

Next, we take action!