Run For Your Life

Dr. John Ratey has done some interesting work on the brain/body connection. His studies make clear that an active body exercises the brain in significant ways. In fact, he says that our brain evolved to move and without exercise or movement, our brains atrophy. This is a big problem as we age and face difficulties in keeping our bodies in motion.

Ratey also points out that our brains are more effective while we are standing - about 7% more effective.  This is why most presenters stand while giving their presentation even if most are unaware of the impact. 

Ratey cites studies done at poor schools where physical fitness has been given priority.   These schools have experienced significant positive change by introducing a vigorous PE program to start the day. Almost like boot camp activities. Behavioral problems have all but been eliminated, test scores have skyrocketed and obesity problems have been cut to a fraction of the national average.

I've been pretty fortunate over the years. I have a few rusty hinges, but am able to stay very active with a workout regime five days per week. I also have a stand up desk which gives me that 7% edge. Now that I know I have it, I'll have to figure out how to exploit it!

Legacy

I just finished Legacy; What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About the Business of Life.  It's a quick read that provides a bit of insight into one of the most successful teams in the world. The success has been sustained by building so much of what they do into the culture.  Work ethic, honesty before harmony, team, dependability, preparation, commitment, passion, and so much more have become the core of the unit.

I find the difference between what the All Blacks do (or the NE Patriots - so many similarities) and what I do to achieve success to be embarrassing.  The All Blacks play a sport with virtually nothing at stake - it's entertainment for entertainment's sake.  Sure, it's a business and there are fans and money involved, but at the end of the day, there is virtually no value add for the community.  At least that's how I view it.

Contrast that to the labor movement, and specifically our local union.  We are organizing our members, negotiating for contracts that support families and helping to defend workers against an ideology that wants to destroy the voices of collective labor.  Why aren't we approaching our work like the All Blacks?  Why are we not committing to each other like the players do?  Daily preparation, showing up and giving it your all, even when you don't feel like it, because your team is depending on you.

Am I giving it my all?  Am I holding back?  Would my character and determination be enough for the All Blacks?  Am I showing up with my best self every day?  How am I improving - making marginal gains that lead to big improvements?

Albert Schweitzer once wrote; " Example is not the main thing in influencing others.  It's the only thing."  I may not be able to drag people along with me, but I can continue to live and speak into my values.  Those that this inspires will come with me.

Don't Blink

Challenging the status quo is ridiculously hard work.  There is a tremendous amount of inertia in a culture, holding all who operate in it within it's orbit.  The resistance comes in many forms - passive resistance, mockery, isolation and, ultimately, simple refusal to change.

As the challenger to the status quo, it's easy to eventually give into this. Who wants to keep dragging people, kicking and screaming towards a new outcome?  The effort involved is exhausting, especially if there are one or two saboteurs simply torpedoing every move you make.

That thought process, however, has no agency.  It's simply a fiction I tell myself to hide from my responsibility to be an agent of change.  The powerful story that I need to speak about has a strong element of personal ownership and accountability.  As Peter Block might ask, "To this very thing I am complaining about, what is my contribution?"

Is my story going to be one of giving in to the power of the collective comfort zone?  Or is there simply another path that exists that gives no quarter or concern to the existing culture, and, instead, charts my own path?

This requires continuous leaps of faith from me. Leaping when I'm not sure others are with me or that the circumstances are ready.  No one is really ever ready - you can only be prepared.  To not know whether something will work or not work is exactly the time when you should do it.

When you're at the precipice and are leaping, don't blink.

One Drink to Remember and Another to Forget

The 2016 election had all the makings of a status quo rejection.  From the primaries forward, voters were rejecting anything that even hinted at establishment.  There was common ground between Bernie and Trump as they both railed against free trade agreements, greedy corporations and the loss of US jobs.  Voters in several swing states simply didn't see Clinton as a change agent and gave Trump squeaky victories in enough of them to provide him with an electoral college win.

Flash forward and the agenda has been revised.  Gone is the Trump talk of 'draining the swamp' and bringing back jobs.  Replacing that is the standard conservative agenda - repealing the ACA, tax cuts for the rich and famous and more boondoggle for corporations.  That's before we get to the breathtaking audacity of refusing to confirm a presidential nominee to the Supreme Court for more than a year so that Trump gets to pick the replacement.

The impact that this will have on working-class Americans will be felt for decades.  The bait-and-switch conducted by the ultimate con-artist turned politician.  I think this gets really ugly, really fast.

Can't You See?

It feels very surreal to watch the Trump transition team begin to set in motion the destruction of the commons.  From education to HUD to medicare, Trump is aligning with the free market forces.  We may be on the verge of a privatization effort of epic proportions.

The working class has been hoodwinked by the establishment and just don't know it yet.

Corporations

What are corporations?  In the simplest terms, these are legal entities formed for business relationships.  Corporations are not created by the external world, or by laws of nature.  They are not subject to the laws of thermodynamics.  They are creations of the human mind.  As such, they can be revised or destroyed.

Why not?

Back on the bike

Got back on the bike this past week.  Rode out from Portsmouth through Newcastle and back, with a stop at Nostimo's for lunch.  That was Thursday - K and I took the day off and enjoyed the good weather in the morning.  Rained like hell in the afternoon.

K went to Vermont on Friday afternoon.  I stayed home.  On Saturday, I went for a longer ride - 28 miles on the loop through Barrington and Lee and back up Route 4.  Christ, the hills on Route 4 are made for billy-goats.  It was good to sweat and hurt a bit to make the bike go.

Followed that ride up with a shorter loop on Sunday around the lake.  There's some disagreement between my bike odometer and Mapmyride.com about the distance.  My bike tells me it's about 15 miles and the GPS software says about 13.5.  I'm thinking that what the mapping software misses is all the hills, adding a small percentage to the distance.

In any event, maintaining the commitment to biking is my priority for the coming week.  Monday will be a recovery day, and I'll use the lake loop on Tuesday and Thursday.  We'll see how I feel at the end of the week before I schedule a weekend ride.