Monday, June 10, 2019

Thoughts, Musings and a Book Review

It is nice to be able to sit and write about things that have been percolating in my head.

The first, I have found myself reading more about logic and choices we make as humans.  None of it makes sense.  We are not logical.  We are emotional.  We know what we should do, but still find ourselves not doing it.  The key is most likely understanding and building in constraints.  I'm still building some ideas around that.  For instance, I find myself more genuinely a content person when I'm writing, yet it's the first thing I give up when time SEEMS crunched.  Yet it gives me a sense of peace and creativity.

Thoughts from work.

The best compliment at this point in time, "You seem to genuinely enjoy your work."  Years ago, it would have been, "You really are good at what you do."  Is that age or a different thought process.

A new patient told me a story about his wife.  She had never been to a chiropractor.  She was playing tennis and ran into net.  She could tell she did something to her neck.  It wasn't bad enough to stop playing or even have a thought about seeking help or telling anyone.  A few days later she started having some more pain, but also some mental confusion.  They went to the hospital.  She had a minor stroke.  The first question the MD asked was had you been to a chiropractor.  Lets say she had.  The chiropractor would have most likely been blamed for a cervical adjustment that resulted in this style stroke.  I'm not saying that some have, but the story lays out some potential wiggle room of ambiguity in the future.

I think foam rolling has value from a compression and blood flow idea.  It usually feels good and feeling good can't be denied as a positive outcome.  I usually ask people to get down on the floor 3-5x a day for about one minute followed up with a type of exercise.  (I've had people only do the exercise without the foam rolling and it never seemed to work as well)  I watch people when they first do it and for the most part the coordination of moving the body across that little ball or roller is quite unatheltic looking.  But, a few weeks later they are moving around on it like a professional roller.  I had an aha moment, maybe the benefit is up and down off the ground over and over and learning to coordinate body parts.  They would be a hard research to do.

Thoughts from life.

My problems are all my own.  They aren't from other people.  They may do things you don't like, but they still are all on me.  Don't give up your joy for anything.

Your life is a love story.  It doesn't mean that in a romantic way.  It means find stuff you love and protect it.  Have filters.  It doesn't mean a person or work, but it certainly can be.  Ideas, hobbies, time.  The old thought we all worship a God, so choose carefully.  If we look at the love story like a movie, is it a dud?  How can I make it more interesting?

Read only what interest you.  When it doesn't,  move on.  No guilt.

Thoughts from training.

The tongue is a muscle that doesn't have a bony connection.  The upper palate is the insertion for this muscle.  Having room for this muscle to rest and support the neck and airway seems to be a big deal.

I did an hour of step ups to help prepare for a bike race.  When I looked down (close view) it seemed hard.  When I let my eyes gaze at the horizon, (long view) it relaxed and seemed easy.  I don't really know what this means quite yet, but it seems to hold true.

The better you get at something, the more warm up, or body prep it seems to take to feel like you are ready in that endeavor.

Talking to a friend.  We both have come to the same conclusion.  There is a cycle that seems to repeat itself.  A fringe thing is shared with a few close friends.  It stems from a dissatisfaction with the current way of doing something.  The small group has fun, it separates itself from the pack.  People notice.  They gravitate to the new "cool thing."  The small group is now a large group.  Logistics and big group antics slowly shift the fringe into the thing it was fighting against.  Wash and Repeat.  How do you stop the cycle is a question we both didn't have an answer for.

It is all about consistent effort.  Effort.  Real effort.

Book Review

I recently finished the book "Range," by David Epstein.  He wrote the "Sports Gene." I really enjoyed it.  In a world that is becoming more and more specialized, the generalist is going to have more an more usefulness.  People that can bridge one field of study to another.  Many science, sport, music and research stories are studied.

There are two environments.  Wicked and Kind.  Wicked environments change.  Soccer pitch, with ball moving, people trying to stop you is an example.  Kind environments are always the same, a chess board, a golf game.  Kind environments lend itself to having some success with early specialization.  Wicked do not.  Sorry all you parents that picked a sport like hockey or soccer for your 6 year old.  Years of research have shown it doesn't work out.  Broader range for years, produces a more athletic, healthier, more creative player that has a bigger ceiling.  The myths of early specialization is being propagated by people that have a financial incentive to keep your child in a travel team or single sport.  "Among athletes that go on to become elite, broad early experience and delayed specialization is the norm."

Even musicians that have been told your to old to start that instrument to have any real success have example after example of this being false.

The takeaways, your not falling behind, by trying out different sports or careers.  In fact, it usually is the weird knowledge that comes from something out of your field that triggers breakthroughs or separates trains of thoughts for a more creative outlook.

Brain dump over....



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