28 Jan - 3 Feb 2019
While lots of the country managed to get some amount of snow, we only had a few sprinkles. That suited me, but it didn’t stop it being a pretty cold week. Kettlebell training at 6am on Saturday morning was rather chilly. I wore two pairs of socks (usually prefer to train in bare feet) and figured out a system of alternating wearing gloves and standing on them to keep feet and hands from freezing!
Best thing I’ve read
The best thing I read was actually a video that I accidentally came across by Thomas Frank. 7 Things Organized People Do That You (Probably) Don’t Do
Books I’m reading
I’m currently reading 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families—a version of the 7 Habits book but geared toward family. And I’m still reading Seveneves.
What did I learn this week?
Less what I learned this week, more about putting things into practice.
I missed a workout this week, due to a long day travelling to and from Manchester. However, more importantly, I didn’t miss twice!
A week in Stoicism
This week was focusing on the present moment, but in my research for my latest article on Will I was reading Meditations and was struck by this passage by Marcus Aurelius.
They cannot admire you for intellect. Granted-but there are many other qualities of which you cannot say “but that is not the way I am made”. So display those virtues which are wholly within your power - integrity, dignity, hard work, self-denial, contentment, frugality, kindness, independence, simplicity, discretion, magnanimity. Do you not see how many virtues you can already display without any excuse of lack of talent or aptitude? And yet you are still content to lag behind. Or does the fact that you have no inborn talent oblige you to grumble, to scrimp, to today, to blame your poor body, to suck up, to brag, to have your mind in such turmoil? No, by heaven, it does not! You could have got rid of this long ago, and only be charged—if charge there is—with being rather slow and dull of comprehension. And yet even this can be worked on—unless you ignore or welcome your stupidity.
weeknotes