INSIGHT
(what we need)

Transformative growth only happens when you go beyond insight into new capacity by designing in discomfort.

What keeps us stuck in life is comfort and familiarity. Though these homey attributes allow us to relax into our sense of self and snuggle into a cozy oblivion, staying there too long (especially in front of escapist Netflix shows which I’m often guilty of) will eventually morph into lethargy and languishing. On the adventurous end, chasing comforting variety (new places, people, things) can give us a sense of newness from novel perspectives. However, this smorgasbord guise can lead to a hamster wheel of feel-good change rather than capacity shifting transformation. But I’m not touting constant transformation either — stories of continuous unforeseen traumatic events or addicted distorted bliss tell us how disabling that can be. Building a new capacity in oneself needs to be progressive and integrated. 

Biology hints at a fine balancing act we can emulate through behavior. Our muscles, bones, tissues, blood cells and brain can all grow back reinforced once damaged. Nassim Taleb’s seminal work (Anti-Fragile: when things gain from disorder) expounds on this observable phenomenon in various aspects of life. Some things benefit from shocks: thriving and growing when exposed to volatility, randomness, stress, risk and uncertainty. From the stock markets, culture, recipes, bacterial resistance, equatorial rain forests to our complex, seemingly fragile bodies and natures. 

So how might we apply this principle? There’s no ultimate secret or absolute prescription: only a willingness and practiced acuity to perceive when we float too long in automatic pilot. Be it static comfort or continuous compulsion or constant anxiety: the key is to acknowledge that very individual energetic imprint and shift from there. The tricky part is we are notoriously biased or defensive when it comes to our growth. And much of that wiring is ineffable or invisible.

When thrown in unfamiliar territory, humans get anxious. That’s why we don’t stray too far from our current environments (physical, social, material) or skill levels (profession, status, pedigree). It’s who we believe ourselves to be and continuously reinforce on what works or what is validating. We develop an identity as “home”. To reach a new level of understanding that is significantly different or to arrive at a new level of “fitness” – that requires a recoding. And a LOT of repetition. To do that, one has to be comfortable with discomfort in the form of failure (I’m not doing it right), loss (I’m no longer who I thought I was) or pain (I want to curl up in a ball, this sucks).

“But just follow what feels authentic and good!” much of the wellness industry often touts. That’s absolutely true when it comes to times when healing is necessary. When we need to settle, rest, repair and rejuvenate all all levels of self. The industry highlights this need because most of the (paying) burnt out customers of wellness need the pendulum to swing the other way. But if are to be the true homeostatic creatures that we are, shaping continuously to our environments: there are times where we need to break down (catabolism) in order to build back up (anabolism). Understanding this inevitability is freeing: because then we can choose when and how to intentionally break ourselves down. And not let life do that for us (because it will). In other words, when you engineer predictable, progressive low-grade (positive) stressors in life, then the negative stressors won’t pull you down as hard. As the old proverb goes, “Ask not for a lighter burden but broader shoulders.” This is how humans become gritty, adaptable, and resilient – but we must do it with enough bounce (aka. don’t forget joy)! 

INSPIRATION
(what we want)

Weightlessness: an applied philosophy of mental and physical unburdening through engineered prescriptions of low-grade stress.

A 12-week mind-body peak performance program designed to transform your body, unburden your mind, and integrate timeless principles to regain passion and purpose.

• Broken up into 3 phases, the program works with a tribe of individuals wanting to level up their game and experience more ‘weightless’ moments in life.

• Working with foundations of strength, flexibility, mindfulness and nutrition, each participant is given a personalized prescription of how to work through their gaps. 

• Each phase of the program (4 weeks each) is accompanied by an immersive community experience designed to witness progression, test your edges and spark personal growth: fasting, standing meditation, and cold exposure.

• A process that works on engineering stress in order to help people better weather the storms of life with more presence, power, resilience and grace.

• The program also demystifies the concept of “energy” from a fluid esoteric construct into a felt phenomenon that can be harnessed and cultivated for healing and power.

• With universal principles, this ‘meta fitness system’ equips participants with the tools to own the system for themselves rather than relying on static prescriptions or dogmatic gurus to progress. 

INNOVATION
(what we wish for)

Grey Swan Events: slightly predictable monthly events that pull you out of your comfort zone, shake up your world, and bulletproof you for an uncertain future.

An annual experiential learning membership that engineers an unknown, useful skill that you need to practice over the course of a year. 

• A play off of the word “black swan events” (popularized by the brilliant author, economist and professor, Nassim Nicholas Taleb)– a grey swan event is possible and known, and potentially significant.

• Skills are all useful but challenging to learn (based on a previously filled profile of your existing skills, talents, and preferences). 

• Participants gather online or at physical meeting points to experience this skill on a monthly basis and accumulate 12 days (or 100 hours total) of skill-based training over the course of a year.

• Examples of events include skill-based progressive learning around: surviving, triage, performance, coding, rescue, balancing, dexterity, healing and cooking. 

• Each participant also has an identified “Resistance Lever” (learning fear or handicap) which is determined within the first few events and applied with extra intensity or increased stakes as the events continue. 

• Swan Coaches are there to ensure the learning is challenging but safe.