Summer Reflection #34: Undignified Highlights
Another day spent enjoying the Olympics, but it wasn't without moving, as we also made the trip to the gym, where my wife did a class and I did some stretching and some weights. I have never been able to do the splits, but I used to be much closer than I am able now, so I have decided to add some more flexibility training into my workout.
But it was funny, because not that long ago I was at work tying up my shoelace, and a colleague asked "how can you do that without bending your knees?" I hadn't really thought about it before because it feels really tight in my opinion, but it seems that compared to some others, I am in "okay" shape for my age.
And, in a similar train of thought, we were watching the gymnastics men the other day and there has been a lot of talk in the media (and from my wife) about their bodies, which are fantastic. However, the interesting thing about it is that while all the girls salivate at them on the screen, meeting them in real life is a different story, because they are pretty much all very short. Of course they have to be to be able to do the incredible things they do, but the "too short" conversation comes up often for them, at least it did for the gymnastics guys I knew when younger. The other funny thing was that my wife estimated Simone Biles height to be similar to her own, as my wife is very short herself. But Biles is over 10 centimeters (4 inches) shorter than my wife.
The screen adds 10 centimeters.
Maybe that is why in porn...
But, watching those guys and gals flipping all over the place and spinning at incredible speeds fills me with awe, that humans can actually do that. Smallsteps was watching too and was trying to do some spins on the floor in her socks, thinking she did a comparable job. But there are always lessons involved when watching these kinds of sports, because there are inevitably wobbles and falls, and some smashed the ground very hard. Yet, even after meeting the ground heavily, and the disappointment of thousands of hours of training going to waste, they would get back up, rechalk their hands and finish their routine.
It is amazing.
There are so many little pieces of inspiration from the Olympics, where there are peripheral situations that take place, where athletes help one another, or some background story makes their participation at all a miracle. A lot of what inspires me isn't in the winning of gold, it is in the getting up after failure, or dignity in defeat.
Is the world losing dignity?
Maybe all of the time communicating throug screens rather than face to face, where there is less consequence for digital behaviors, is leading to us not caring as much about what others think. That is the mantra though, isn't it? "Don't care what others think" - which opens up the door for behaving like a dick, doesn't it? When people are predominantly thinking about what pleases themselves with little regard for others, it doesn't create the environment for a strong community, but rather the opposite.
These athletes at the Olympics and in most competitive sports, don't spend their time training and playing against people who don't challenge them. They spend their time in environments that force them to improve, that help them be their best. Yet, the online environment we have created doesn't promote improvement, it encourages staying the same, isolating, loving yourself the way you are today, without having any will to improve for tomorrow.
I will never again be nearly as fit or as flexible as any of the athletes at the Olympics, but based on what I am today, tomorrow I can do something better. It is a huge fallacy that wanting to improve means not liking yourself as you are and in my opinion, the opposite is true. Not wanting to improve as a person means not caring enough about oneself, not being worth it. It doesn't mean we need look for perfection in all that we do, but even as we degrade as we age, we can still get better at something.
But, if we isolate behind screens - who will know we aren't improving?
Dignity isn't held for an audience.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
Do you have data on this? I would have assumed the opposite, that people who spend a lot of time online are miserable because they're continually comparing their lives to others...
Is comparing life to others promoting improvement?
Isolation makes us miserable, which is why it is a punishment in prison.
No, sorry, I think you misunderstood, I was asking if you have data on online environments encouraging people stay the same and removing the will to improve. I'd like to dive in deeper to where you got this from.
No worries if you don't have anything, just curious if this was something you saw recently.
Observationally. Similar to how the data is just starting to be built on the damage smart phones and social media has on kids (something that I have been talking about for 15 years), the data will arrive. There are heaps of little pieces that point to certain outcomes (like isolation and lack of social connection for depression), but there is a meta in play.
Want to improve and will to improve are different, right? I might want to be a ninja warrior, but I don't have the will to do the training required.
Of course we are losing. Some behaviours, which would be considered absurd few years ago, have now been normalized due to social media, and thus people influence each other by this way. Particularly, the Gen Z.
Absurd behaviors is a good way to look at it. Like streams of selfies...
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My favorite part of the olympics is watching the competition, but I think some of the special interest stories are just as inspiring, if not more.
With regard to the online environment being counter to improving, I tend to agree. All my old socials are dormate and have no intention of ever using them actively again. They are cesspools. However, blogging here has allowed me to do alot of introspection, and although small, make improvements to my on challenges with isolation.
The competition is good, as it drives people to be their best. The etymology of the word compete is interesting
"strive in common, strive after something in company with or together,"
That means that it isn't against another person, it is with the other person for a common goal. Like the sprinters who train together to see who can be the fastest over 100m.
Most social platforms don't even encourage creating on them for most people now, unless looking to monetize. They are all about consumption, not creativity.
That is interesting. So in fact competition is almost the opposite of the way most view it.
Where do you think Hive sits in that consumption vs. creativity spectrum of socials?
Back in the dark ages, I wanted to compete in the toughest running challenges I could find. And there are some major ones out there.
100+ miles out of Death Vally
24 hours running around a track
a marathon a day
My knees don't share this ambition. But I do still try to keep active with walks and using my elliptical. It's not as much as I would like but it's not nothing.
These Olympic athletes are amazing to watch, and a good deal of them are so young and still competing under such pressure.
One of my friends runs a company out of Sweden that does those insane running competitions. He has gone from a very fit pro ice hockey player, to a very fit distance runner - the difference in body is extreme.
The elliptical would be hard enough for me!
And just think - kids of the same age at home in many families aren't even able to do their own laundry.
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That's funny because I was watching the individual finals today and I was thinking how much taller Simone is than most of the other girls. Her legs almost touched the ground on the lower uneven bar.
She's a short ass! Even by my standards.
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You don't have to be short to be able to do the stuff gymnasts do. The elite level ones ae usually tiny because they've probably been doing it since childhood and competition level gymnastics will stunt your growth as a lot of the energy and stuff that would normally be used for straight up growing gets diverted into musculoskeletal development instead.
Awww [dies of cuteness overdose]
Firstly, it's not a waste, they got to the freaking Olympics.
And unless you've broken/really hurt something (or your coach screams at you to stop because they can see that the injury you just picked up is worse than your adrenaline thinks it is), always finish.
that's what we always tell our kids and we're like grassroots level
I should have probably got some throwaway logins from bugmenot or somewhere for 9now as they
tried to force more signups by hidingput all the gymnastics on that.I was going to add a reference to basketball - you don't have to be tall... but it sure helps! I remember a story (I think from aus) about gymnastic twins where one quit young enough and grew 6 inches taller than the other.
Have you ever seen someone six foot on the balance beam?
Of course not - a waste for the Olympics :)
They also have a million other competitions throughout the year.
It is the "always finish" thing that I wanted to highlight.
Sounds legit. My daughter reckons the only reason she got taller than me was because of the stupid panpanic otherwise she probably would have stayed shorter. Similarly eldest is going to get surpassed in height by youngest (who quit gymnastics when he was between 8 and 10) probably soon.
Yep, the boys when we used to do switch comp XD None of our girls are that tall.
I've seen people's comments on meeting gymnasts, especially Simone Biles, and most of what they say is how muscular they are. She is like 4'8" pure muscle. I've seen the male gymnasts, and they look like miniature tanks. If I'm not mistaken, they are the overall fittest athletes because of what they do.
I think this is a bit extreme. They are regular people just like us. A lot of the NBA players have been shown to mess around in smaller basketball leagues. Phelps has been shown to kick back and relax when it is far from the competitions. They can't always go 80-100 percent in their training and games all the time. They will definitely kick it up a notch when a big event is coming up.
I think so. They have to do so many different kinds of movements and have to be flexible through every joint too.
yes, extreme - but when they are training they are training. Djokovic doesn't hit around with some kid on the weekend and consider it quality training, but it might be fun. They all kick back at times, but their training is serious business, for most of them at least.
Kneeling to tie your shoe lace may be fine since that’s the normal way it is being done but at the same time, I love how you did it without having to kneel
Sometimes, it is important to allow our bodies to stretch
It is really good
It been a while I engage in bodily exercise apart from the calories burnt during work at my workshop.
Hi my friend!
I hope the holidays and this summer are going well.
Reading you I thought a bit, you know I believe that improvement and the desire to evolve and try to always do better must be a mindset... at least I do everything to ensure that it is for me.
The modern world certainly doesn't help since we spend a lot of time sitting in front of a screen apparently in contact with millions of people but in reality in total solitude.
I also believe that we should not be influenced by other people's opinions, this does not mean that it should not be taken into account; if the opinion is constructive it must always be taken into consideration, this is obvious.
For me it is also obvious that people must be taken into consideration since everyone's needs are important, as far as I'm concerned you can never go too far alone.
I hug you!
Would you believe that if I decide to tie my shoe lace how you did yours, I would not be able to because my back aches
It’s really good to allow the body to stretch just like you did
Keep it up and I’m glad you’re learning something from the Olympics
I feel that the situation in Venezuela has taken away the pleasure and time to enjoy the Olympics.
It is so sad!
But it is always a worldwide celebration.
Greetings @tarazkp
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Totally agree mate! It is out of self-love (or love for others) that we put in the effort, even when it is uncomfortable or hard, to continue to improve that little bit each day to make ourselves better. It was missing for me for quite a few years when I was living carefree btwn wives.
Do you have a favorite gymnastics apparatus? I've always liked the bars. Uneven for the ladies, parallel for the men. Rings and floor are cool too!