Plateaus and Paradigm Shifts

I was reading a fascinating article on memory training, Secrets of a Mind-Gamer, when I came across a quote which really stuck in my brain:

There are no limits. There are plateaus, and you must not stay there; you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. - Bruce Lee

Like many people, I think that Bruce Lee was an amazing person. He had his flaws, like every other human being, but the feats he was able to accomplish in martial arts are still legendary, nearly 40 years after his death.

What really struck home about this quote is that it directly contradicts my usual thinking. I enjoy new challenges like picking up a new instrument or learning a foreign language. At first I dedicate myself to my new endeavor almost to the point of obsession. The problem is that I almost always give up once I hit that plateau. Many times I stop when I reach the first bit of resistance.  

I often feel limited and stuck, with no possibility of progress. I wonder how I could change my outlook from seeing only limitations and failures to viewing them as challenges and opportunities for growth. How can I possibly gain the attitude of "if it kills me, it kills me"? This paradigm shift is definitely not easy, but I'm certain that it is vital.

Instead of likening stagnations of progress to plateaus, perhaps we should think of them as steps. After all, plateaus stand tallest in the landscape, while steps are a vehicle to keep climbing. I'm sure that some of those steps will be higher and more frightening than others. There will not always be a guard rail. The danger of faltering and tumbling down the slope is always present. However, by consistently giving up halfway, I am depriving myself of some amazing views.

My Purple Hoodie

I have several items of clothing that mean a lot to me, but at this point of my life, there is one which trumps them all: A simple purple hoodie with a zipper front.

My mother gave it to me when I was having a really difficult time. I needed something to wear and requested a sweatshirt. She apologized when she could only find this hoodie, but it was a real comfort to me. She  chose the purple one, my favorite color. I still wear it quite often at home. It reminds me that I have people who care about me, even when I'm a burden to them.

Cable TV and the Olympics Rant

I haven't had TV for years.

When I moved in with my sister Sarah in 2006, she didn't have cable television and wasn't willing to pay for it. If I wanted it, it would have to come out of my pocket. Since my budget was rather tight, I decided to go without. To be honest, I went through a sort of withdrawal period. But after a couple of months, I found that I only missed a few things.

There wasn't much in the way of streaming video at the time, so I used NetFlix quite a bit and downloaded fansubbed episodes of anime through bittorrent. It's not that I stopped watching shows; I just changed the method of delivery.

Over time, most television programming has become available online. This works great for me, because I can pick and choose. For example, I watch Castle online. When NetFlix increased their prices, I switched to streaming-only, but their selection stinks so I dropped them completely. I haven't felt deprived whatsoever. Most of what I want to watch isn't on American TV anyway. Also, it's somewhat surprising how much quality content is being generated for YouTube now.

So the Olympics finally roll around. Honestly, I don't really care about the Olympics, but I'd like to watch some of the gymnastics.

So I go to NBC's website and get this:

Say what?!

I can watch English subtitled anime a week (or sooner) after its release in Japan online for free, but I can't watch the Olympics? Absurd. I'm certainly fine with watching ads. I understand that people are trying to make money off of this. I would even be willing to pay a fee to watch the content. 

I find it more than annoying and somewhat ironic that I am forced to have a conventional TV provider to watch world wide games over the world wide web. I'm certainly not going to go sign up for overpriced cable TV just to watch gymnastics. Yet another nail in the coffin for conventional TV in my book. 

The age of purely offline television has passed, IOC and NBC. Get used to it.

Well that's okay. I'm sure I'll be able to find it re-posted on another site if I want to anyway. YouTube may take the videos down, but there are a whole lot of sites that don't.