The weather here is cooling down in the evening, although there are less rainy nights (not including the past week for some reason). I’ve been watching far too much college football, even for me, but this past and current season is the best my University team (Michigan) has been in decades. I’m a contrarian, and unfortunately I don’t enjoy many standard popular things like Marvel movies, wine, and politics, but I am frothing at the mouth each Saturday for my U of Michigan Football game.
It’s fun to be a part of a huge tribal group sometimes. Life is simple. It’s a battle of trying to keep your ego in check when the team is winning like it is now (could we be the best… EVER?), and the paranoia that the team is secretly garbage. When the team is losing it’s all about rationalizations, praying things will be better, and wishing the worst on rivals like Ohio State. Such positive entertainment right? It’s currently one of my vices and I have to admit that I love it.
I plateaued a bit the past few weeks. My training, working, nutrition, and general life felt a bit stagnant. Nothing major or terrible, I feel a lot of gratitude lately, but I need to freshen things up a bit. I joined a co-working space here in Mexico City (Haab Condesa) for the next few months. I used to like occasionally going to co-working spots, but I forgot that I stopped due to the pandemic (and some of the initial post-pandemic restrictions were worse than being closed). I finished a kettlebell training program that I bought, and am starting something called “functional bodybuilding” by Marcus Filly https://functional-bodybuilding.com/getting-started-with-persist/. I actually tried a FBB program when it was in its infancy years ago, but it seems really professional, organized, and perfect for me right now.
For a general recharge I’m finally reading a book I’ve been saving, and loving it. “The Motivation Hacker” by Nick Winter. It’s kind of like something in the vein of the famous “Atomic Habits”, but more of a personal application by the author. There are so many self-help books now that give you a mini-biography of some famous person, and then rationalize how what that person did correlates to some success principle. I like history and whatnot, but just tell me what to do! That’s what I like about “The Motivation Hacker”. Short, simple, actionable things and his results (and failures) trying to make change in his life.
With that I’m going to get this post published and out into the world. I’m revamping my routines a little bit, trying to get back to micro-sessions of Spanish and meditation that I’ve been letting slide in favor of distractions. I’m leaving you with a pic from where I’m currently working, “Cardinal Cafe” which has great coffee and a super rustic vibe that allows me to grind for hours. It’s not always castles in Italy. Wishing you all a great start to Fall!
Andrew Manser 