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Failure

This week I did a lot better in the weight room, finally making some progress after a period of stagnation. At the same time, I definitely failed some of the other goals that I had set over the past two weeks, and so overall I think this week was a failure, but I know that it matters more how I recover and respond to this failure than the fact that I failed on its own.

Personal Updates

Like I said above, I was feeling much stronger in the weight room this past week than I have since the start of the year. I am feeling much better with respect to my injuries than I have since initially being hurt, although there still are some lingering problems with my hip that materialize with certain movements. I was able to push press 265 this week, hoping to hit 275 this coming week. I squatted 405 for my top set and am hoping to push that up as well for this week's cycle. On bench, I finally got back to hitting 315 for reps which was a big hurdle to get over. This coming week will be a hybrid with me starting my on-campus lifts on Friday the 2nd if all goes well.

As I have said the past two weeks, this week I was supposed to try to limit my use of social media and specifically screen time. It is interesting how dependent I am on my phone even in the most random of situations. I found myself this week just scrolling through my camera roll or going into unused apps once I mentally told myself that I would not use certain social media apps. I think this is part of the process that I can then turn that unproductive time into some more productive apps such as reading up on current events or looking at articles on topics that I am not informed about. I think that a big problem for me is Youtube because the line is blurred between what is informative, what is purely entertainment, and what is just a complete waste of my time. I think this week I will actually try harder on these different areas, and hopefully next week I will have an update with some more success, but we shall see.

I also failed towards the end of this week with my daily challenges. These challenges consisted of pushups, pullups, calf raises, band clam shells, and meditation. I have been pretty solid on the meditation and the calf raises because those things are relatively easy and do not require commitment, whereas the pullups I have to go outside, pushups I have to get on the ground, and the clam shells I have to get the band. On Wednesday I took the day off from the pushups and pullups because my upper body was particularly sore and I did not want to push myself before a big bench day on Thursday. After that, I really fell off and did not do a good job at keeping track of the number of reps I was doing or marking it down on my calendar. I am not sure if it would be better for me to just try to stick to these goals more strictly or alter them to make it so that there is less friction and they are easier to adhere to.

Lastly, I got word this week that I should be able to live in the eating club this next school year, and it is looking like we will be able to have some semblance of normalcy for the fall semester with social gatherings and no limitations on meals which are some of the things that I have been missing the most during this last year or so. I am really looking forward to moving down to campus and getting settled in my room that will be my home for the next year. It has been a long time coming and there have been a lot of obstacles and diversions from the "plan" but it is finally seeming like it is coming together which is exciting.

Books/Other

This week book-wise I got through Rejection Proof, Deep Work, and the Rise of Superman. Deep Work, the Rise of Superman, and the Art of Learning all focused on the concept of flow which has made me add the book Flow to my list. The concept is discussed in a lot of the books and podcasts that I have consumed over this past year, so it will be nice to see the source material. I am happy that I was able to get back into reading and get into a rhythm with podcasts etc. I feel that I am learning a lot, and it gives me something to occupy my mind with while I am doing other tasks or helps me to get away from social media.

Podcast-wise, it has been the same old story. I have been keeping up with the Investor's Podcast main channel, and also their Bitcoin Fundamentals spinoff series which I feel has helped me to learn a lot about finance and really was the impetus for me reading a lot of these books. The other podcast that I have listened to consistently is the Daily Stoic due to recommendations from friends. I enjoy it as a sort of change of pace from the typical media that I consume because I do not really find myself reading a lot of history or direct philosophy and I resonate with the ideas. I also have been looking for some other episodes from the more science-based podcast about the body that my teammate put me on to.

Gratitude

For this week's gratitude post I will say that I am thankful for sports. I grew up in an athletic family and basically starting in pre-school I was on my way trying out different sports and playing outside. In a lot of the books I read or things that I learn about, I am learning just how important sports can be in development, and I do not think that I would be at the level I am at socially, intellectually, or physically if I had never played sports growing up. 

I am grateful for the opportunity to still be playing sports competitively and at a high level even into my 20s because I realize that it is only a fraction of the population that can say that. I am not sure if my time as a high-level athlete will be over come November, or if I will be at a level where continuing to play beyond college will be possible, but regardless, I know that I will be playing a few different sports for the rest of my life, or at least as long as my body holds up.  

In my free time over this past year, I have played tennis, basketball, golf, and other sports and found that it is a great way to exercise, release energy, and open up the mind in a way that just sitting around just can't access. I think that if I am to have children one day, I will be sure to try to find a sport or multiple sports that they enjoy because that has been such a huge part of my life and development, and has opened up so many opportunities that have made me the person that I am today.
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