The ultimate paradox in self-development is the interplay between pushing forward and hanging back. The forces of expansion and contraction are essential to life, part of the natural processes in our life cycles. In ecology, scientists will refer to the process of succession, where the species in a community changes over a long period of time. While we always look at our progression as being positive or negative, upwards or secondary growth is transient, inevitably undone by

Take the most popular song of 2014 - a deep, soulful cry against intolerance by religious institution - and pair it up with an equally soulful performance by Russia's finest ballet dancer and you are left with an almost perfectly complete expression of Hozier's idea. There is strength, grace, and athleticism as the powerful Sergei Polunin takes flight. It is interesting to note that Sergei had a short gymnastics background before entering ballet. #ballet #movement #mobility #

Before I list the challenges for this week, I'd like to encourage you to keep going with any of your previous challenges if you feel their benefit. Once these become habitual, you won't have to think about them. Our Friday Challenges for the week: 1. Reconnect with one friend every day. Reach out to someone from the past and just say hello, no need to ask them too many interview questions or require a long response back. Touch base. Dig your wells before you're thirsty. 2. Dr

Sometimes we need to set ourselves in motion or have a running start to spur on more change. The Friday Challenge will consist of week-long challenges that will get you into gear. Try one, try all, or come up with your own. If you're feeling good about it, keep the challenge going for more weeks, months or years. 1. Caffeine free: Abstain from caffeine for a week and see how you feel. 2. Move for a couple of minutes every hour. If you're at your desk, stand up and go for a st

Rickson Gracie is the son of Helio Gracie, founder of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The Gracie Jiu=Jitsu style changed the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, showing the world that proper leverage and submissions were what won fights, as many fights eventually ended up on the ground. Here are a couple clips from the documentary Choke, where Rickson gets ready for the Vale Tudo freestyle fighting tournament in Tokyo. He embodies the Movement Mindset style of movement, flow, mental preparatio

The first Wednesday post for 2015 is a simple way of breaking down habit formation. You may have just started on your New Year's Resolutions or are contemplating how to start. One way to look at it is through the lens of conditioning. First, you have to understand that a habit is the culmination of a series of repeated actions, reinforced either postively or negatively. This is the key: a habit is shaped by incentives and punishments (postive and negative reinforcement, resp

Michael Phelps: The most decorated swimmer of all time and possibly one of the most talented Olympians to have competed. Warm-up for the last 14 years: 800/600/400/200 - swim, kick, pull, drill, followed by some 25m. Pretty sure this is no different from any young club swimmer in any country. What's different is his ability to mentally prepare and pursue excellence in the rudimentary drills. #movementpreparation #motivation

The Burning Platform is a metaphor used in organizations to describe a particular situation where the risk of action is less than the risk of maintaining status quo. The term was derived from a real life story: The BBC released some clips of the story from the perspective of family members who unfortunately, did not survive. However, Andy Mochan was able to survive the disaster and his story has led us to rethink our strategies surrounding risk. In 1988 the Piper Alpha oil ri