2022 – Feb 09 – Too much noise

Mindset and headspace thoughts

As I have mentioned many times, my blog is about my personal journey and how my life and triathlon hobby intersect. There is a lot of noise in the world today. Noise, like courage, does not always have value. Yes, I said it! This tends to be a difficult concept and I have been learning this more and more. I like the following thought:

I think the above is a very simple concept. I feel that it is part of the human condition to try and make it more complex. For me that happens in the battle of rendering an accurate representation of reality and that of perception. It’s a strange but real struggle. It seems that human nature is to drive toward and be attracted to resistance. It is through resistance and developing resiliency where growth most often occurs. The challenge is understanding when deconstruction and/or re-calibration is required first.

It is a too realistic fact that many influencer types, creatives and disrupters all create noise. Many tools are used. The acceleration of this noise using social media platforms often distracts the receiver from the objective of these types is simply ‘attention’. Value doesn’t matter as thy learn to leverage algorithms and emotional engagement. Truth, fact, fiction, misinformation, disinformation – it doesn’t matter! The economy of scale is larger and more than accessible via these platforms. Come her little fishy – bite me! Bam, they have your attention and into the rabbit hole you, we, I go! Often to deep dark hard to remove self from places. So, the various types of noise do not all have value. Lastly, I have been training to use the following quote to help filter the noise:

“Exile is worse than death!”

So this phrase (in the pic above) really poked me this week. Self-isolation is often the only thing I observe folks using as a coping mechanism. I am not exempt. I suppose as I like to get lost in my triathlon training – we refer to it as on a lonely island. I see a lot of folks being noisy about this or that and yet I don’t see cancelations leading to exile, rather just attention, which is often the sole goal of the person generating noise. While at the spiral jetty, I stooped down and took a moment to draw this in the sand and another thought entered my head – peace, be still. Or in other words, be present and appreciate, nay revel in this family time and the beauty around you. I am grateful for inner whisperings and being still enough to feel and witness them. We needed a family outing and Sunday impromptu adventure was the quietest and most still our family has been in some time.

Concerning the tweet content from Author Ryan Holiday:

This is something worth sharing as I have asserted to do be this way, albeit imperfectly. I don’t believe in the work/life/balance fallacy. For me life and balance first, then work supports those two. When work no longer supports my position, then it will take courage to change. Until then, this serves as a poignant reminder thanks Ryan H!

I have heard it from someone I esteem as a friend “never dilute the most powerful word in the English language. No.” The aptitude to wield its use appropriately is often perceived as difficult, I disagree. Two letters, one syllable and a bit of courage.

The more I think about this in the light of noise, I think of the previously shared concept of buddhism –
“Notice what takes your attention, acknowledge it, and then let it go.” There will be times when certain internal or external conversations appear – aka noise. It doesn’t mean I have to engage in what I perceive to be noise or a distraction, but I MUST acknowledge it, classify it as unnecessary to me, and then let it go! It’s in the acknowledgement where reason is applied. In that application, the ability to confront it, then acknowledge and discard, or classify it as necessary and deal with it. This process allows me to absorb what is useful. The challenge with absorption, is that my brain has a saturation limit. (click here for full post).

7 Stoic DON’Ts:

• 1. Don’t be overheard complaining…even to yourself
• 2. Don’t speak more than you listen
• 3. Don’t tie your identity to your possessions
• 4. Don’t compare yourself to others
• 5. Don’t suffer imagined troubles
• 6. Don’t judge others
• 7. Don’t be all about business

Triathlon related updates

So I have gotten a few rides in. I am starting to feel my legs come around:

• Evening Swim
  On December 5, 2024 8:42 pm went 0.91 km during 00:18:51 hours burning 280 calories.
• Afternoon Mountain Bike Ride
  On October 21, 2024 2:23 pm went 16.81 km during 01:14:24 hours burning 831 calories.
• Afternoon gravel Bike Ride
  On October 20, 2024 3:55 pm went 16.91 km during 01:06:36 hours burning 681 calories.
• Morning GRavel ride. Had a bit of a gap and I took it. more video than pix today tho. Cheers!
  On October 10, 2024 9:30 am went 17.06 km during 01:14:52 hours climbing 18.00 meters burning 680 calories.
• Quick gravel ride before a busy evening of things
  On October 8, 2024 2:57 pm went 16.66 km during 00:59:23 hours burning 760 calories.

The above feed demonstrates how things are starting to pile in. I am approx 34 or so weeks out. I am starting the next bit like I was getting ready for a 70.3 in May in St. George. Where I am not doing that this year, as the race isn’t available, I will have time to adjust. The good thing thus far is how I am feeling. I am not slamming it in. I am trying to listen to my body. I am trying to notice the z2 – z5 efforts. I am trying to not care so much about the data but allow for its recognition. It will matter later as the volume ramps up more and more.

Now I need to figure out when and how to sprinkle in the runs and figure out the swimming situation. It’s been less than 32 degrees and I have become soft about low temps since all the kids showed up.

I used to send the above pic to folks who complained. Well here’s some karma to myself. I am eating crow. My wife made fun of me the other day. Oh how she loves me.

Family Matters

A good portion of recent noise was this last year in managing approx 60k out of pocket in overall medical expenses. And at the end of this week we have a follow up surgery – not a follow up visit, surgery to help correct Juniper’s eyes. While we trust the ophthalmologist and its the absolute right thing to do for Juniper. The cost associated is a respecter of no person, and insurance is a painintheass.

I recently took the girls sledding and they loved it. It took them a bit to get into it. Pulling them off the hill tho was an exercise in patience and negotiations. Juniper’s school wanted to have a day out sledding and it was worthwhile. Now, there weren’t a ton of folks, thanks to Covid impacts. however, a few of Juniper’s friends were there. She and Astrid interact like oil and water. Some days they love it and other days, not so much. For sledding, they loved it tho. I didn’t take pictures as I just took it all in as it was going down.

We also took a trip out to the Spiral Jetty on Sunday because we needed family time. It was a risk, and it paid off. When I asked if they had a good time, they all responded ‘YES!’. Even little Lucas exclaimed YA!