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Pavel Macek, StrongFirst Master Certified Instructor

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One day a man was walking along the beach when he

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.

Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?”

The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!”

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf.

Then, smiling at the man, he said…..“I made a difference for that one.”

–Loren Eisley

—

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”

–William James, American philosopher and psychologist

#itmatters #everythingmatters #philosophy #psychology #action

You got 3 seconds - how many cats you see? #cat

You got 3 seconds - how many cats you see?

#cat #cats #catlife #catlover #catlovers #catloversclub #catstagram #catsofinstagram #catsagram

“Virtue gives birth to tranquility, tranquility

“Virtue gives birth to tranquility, tranquility to leisure, leisure to disorder, disorder to ruin... and similarly from ruin, order is born, from order virtue, from virtue, glory and good fortune.”

― Niccolo Machiavelli, “History of Florence and of the Affairs of Italy”

#hardtimes #goodtimes #strongmen #weakmen #bestrong #havecourage #dontcomply #machiavelli #niccolomachiavelli

“People want things to go smoothly and try to av

“People want things to go smoothly and try to avoid anything that involves suffering. Put simply, paradise is good, hell is bad.

Actually, whether I am in heaven or hell I am living out my own life. Since both of them form the temporary scenery of my life, I am in no position to say I like paradise but don’t like hell. If I fall into hell, then I have to acknowledge where I am and be willing to serve out my time there.

We are going to feel uneasy as long as we live a life of trying to get into heaven and avoid hell. It is vital to cultivate the spirit of living willingly in either situation.

Ultimately, jijuyū zanmai [“freely receiving and functioning self”] is the one total act of living our whole life in a way that holds life most precious.

I composed a short verse about this basic attitude:

Heaven or hell, love or hate,
No matter where I turn I meet myself.
Holding life precious is
Just living with all intensity
Holding life precious.”

–Kosho Uchiyama Roshi, “Opening the Hand of Thought: Foundations of Zen Buddhist Practice”, 2014

Image: Heaven and Hell by RedXen, #deviantart

#happiness #heaven #hell #love #hate #goodtimes #badtimes #enjoy #enjoylife #zen #zenbuddhism #zazen #stoicism #dailystoic

#teaching #learning #strongfirst #bestrongfirst

#teaching #learning #strongfirst #bestrongfirst

One of my favorite drills from the StrongFirst#RES

One of my favorite drills from the StrongFirst#RESILIENT curriculum: Floor 360° Neck Roll

“You will have to keep your body semi- bridged unless your neck strength is truly freaky. Do not confuse this drill with the true wrestler’s bridge that hyperextends and hyperflexes the neck; keep your head almost in line with your body! Do not think this will make the exercise easier; just the other way around! One more time: keep your body tensed and semi-bridged!

Carefully spot yourself with your hands at all times; breaking your neck is not on the agenda. You will find that your shoulders are also helping by unloading your neck as they roll on the ground.”

–Pavel, in: Beyond Bodybuilding

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The next StrongFirst RESILIENT: Paris, France May 28-29, 2022 by @strongfirst_france - see the link in the bio!

#neck #neckstrength #necktraining #strong #strongfirst #antifragile #resilient #pavel #pavelmacek #paveltsatsouline #bestrongfirst

Todd: Mr. Keating! They made everybody sign it. M

Todd: Mr. Keating! They made everybody sign it.

Mr. Nolan: Quiet, Mr. Anderson.

Todd: You gotta believe me. It's true.

Keating: I do believe you, Todd.

Mr. Nolan: Leave, Mr. Keating.
Todd: But it wasn't his fault!

Mr. Nolan: Sit down, Mr. Anderson! One more outburst from you or anyone else, and you're out of this school! Leave, Mr. Keating.

Mr. Nolan: I said leave, Mr. Keating.

[Todd stands on his desk]
Todd: O Captain! My Captain!

Mr. Nolan: Sit down, Mr. Anderson! Do you hear me? Sit down! Sit down! This is your final warning, Anderson. How dare you! Do you hear me?

[Knox stands on his desk and other students slowly start to follow]
Knox: O Captain! My Captain!

Mr. Nolan: Mr. Overstreet, I warn you! Sit down! Sit down! Sit down. All of you. I want you seated. Sit down. Leave, Mr. Keating. All of you, down. I want you seated. Do you hear me? Sit down!

Keating: Thank you, boys. Thank you.

#ocaptainmycaptain #deadpoetssociety #standup #dontcomply #iwillnotcomply

“Hope is a state of mind, not of the world. Hope

“Hope is a state of mind, not of the world. Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously heading for success, but rather an ability to work for something because it is good.”

–Václav Havel (*5 October 1936)

#havel #vaclavhavel

“You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to

“You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.”―Jon Kabat-Zinn

#up #down #upanddown #waves #rollercoaster #stoicism #dailystoic #philosophymatters #fun #havefun

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