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Happy Mothers Day
Today marks a big day for all you mothers out there. I hope you all have a wonderful day with your loved ones! On a day where we should give an ode to women, I am reminded of a story from the book Gates of Fire written by the great Steven Pressfield. This book tells the tale of the 300 Spartan warriors who were chosen to defend the pass of Thermopylae. (The movie 300 was inspired by this story). Towards the end of the book, King Leonidas shares why he specifically chose those 300 men. "I will never tell the city why I appointed these three hundred. I will never tell the Three Hundred themselves. But I now tell you. I chose them not for their own valor, lady, but for that of their women." The King knew that these women were the backbone of Spartan culture. Their men may not come home but he knew that these strong women would be able to keep everyone together and raise strong children to uphold the standards of their culture. I like this idea and believe that it still rings true today! News & Notes I am beyond excited to take a few days off at the end of the week and head to one of my favorite cities: Boston. I have this weird affinity for the American Revolution and this town was the epicenter for that movement. I love walking the old streets, taking the historical tours, and feeling the history that occurred on those very grounds that I am walking on. I admire the courage of the forefathers to speak out in the face of tyranny! Just a reminder for all you readers, the Early Bird special for training camps is still available but will expire on May 13th. These camps are designed for kids between the ages of 8-12 and will take place from 9-11 am for five weeks this summer. More information and savings available here: Early Bird Registration! Fitness Tip of the Week I listened to a podcast episode with Ethan Suplee (link here), who, if you don't know, is best known for his role in Remember the Titans as the overweight high school student athlete. At one point in his life, he was 550 pounds. At another point in his life, he was 200 pounds. He bounced back and forth between gaining and losing hundreds of pounds until he finally settled in around his current weight of 270 pounds. The one thing that he realized after all the years of fluctuations is that the scale weight did not effect his happiness. The scale weight was not a reflection of how he felt about himself. He realized that these fluctuations will continue if he didn't address the mental health issues that led him down this path towards obesity. It was interesting listening to this and thinking about the podcast episode I did last week regarding drug abuse (watch it here). The best way we can sustain change is if we enrich and individuals environment with positive actions and positive people and in some cases like Ethan's, treat the co-occurring psychological issues that are also going on. Enrich the environment and treat the brain, a winning strategy! What I've Been Reading... Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything About Race, Gender, and Identity—and Why This Harms Everybody by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay This is a great book that focuses on a potentially touchy subject: Social Justice. The stance the authors take is that there is great way to advance society and the way to do that is through respect for evidence, reason, and remain open for debate. At the end of the day, progress doesn't have to be a zero sum game. For society to advance as a whole, one step forward for one group doesn't mean another group has to take a step back. Progress for one doesn't have to be a detriment to others. We don't have to blow up every institution and start from scratch. We just have to be a little bit better in our areas of weakness and be a vector for good. Quote of the Week "The easiest way to solve a problem is to deny it exists" -- Isaac Asimov I hope you all have an awesome week! Chris Fluck
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