Dooley Noted: 12/21/2015 I had the pleasure of watching Family Feud with my mother this morning. One of the questions was very telling. “Name something a baby learns to do without you teaching them.” My answer: “Everything.” My mom replied, “Not walking.” I said, “Ma, they absolutely, positively learn that without your help.” I see this all the time: parents loading their babies’ hips to encourage them to walk. … Read more
Dooley Noted: 12/20/2015 Breakups are never easy – especially when they are a few days before your favorite holiday. He is a wonderful human, and my love for him had burrowed through me. So when it ends, you feel physical pain and enormous loss. After all, you never know how much something matters to you until you lose it. So, how do you cope? How do you hold your … Read more
Dooley Noted: 12/19/2015 You trained for months for an event – and you didn’t reach your goal. You studied for weeks – and you performed poorly on the test. You gave every ounce of love and effort you have – and the relationship still didn’t work out. It’s difficult to recover when your try just isn’t good enough to get the results you wanted. But there is great success to … Read more
Dooley Noted: 12/18/2015 I am a long time student of relationships. Having watched a successful parental union for 37 of its 48 years, I’ve seen exactly what it takes to make a partnership work for the long haul. But a scientist must not measure experience on an n=1. So, since high school, I’m the one at the party always asking long-term couples how they make it work. An interesting concept … Read more
Dooley Noted: 12/16/2015 I have trusted with every ounce of my soul. I have felt an instinct when people were lying and still did whatever I could to believe them anyway. It’s not because I’m stupid. It’s not because I’m a glutton for punishment, either. And it sure as hell wasn’t to benefit the liar. I trust because it makes me feel good about me. I don’t want … Read more
Dooley Noted: 12/14/2015 As this meme makes its rounds again, I’m reminded of some things I’ve accomplished in my 37 years. I’ve overcome some hardships. I’ve done things that scared the daylights out of me. I’ve watched as walls came up in front of me. I’ve walked away from things as I ran towards others. I have a unique curriculum vitae. I’ve had some challenging relationships, from … Read more
Dooley Noted: 12/12/2015 Tonight, my training partner and I were kicked out of a commercial gym. While deadlifting, we didn’t lay down the weight softly enough. We were promptly warned by the manager. So, my training partner encouraged me (and himself) to slow down the eccentric phase to help the weight land more softly. Since we both lift a significant amount, it proved to be quite challenging to slow it … Read more
Dooley Noted: 12/11/2015 In a world of pharmaceutical commercials aimed at consumers, I am still one of those weird people who loves going to health appointments. I love learning about myself, and I enjoy interacting with other health professionals. Today, I went to the dentist. And I usually love it. But today, I was lectured and bullied more than educated. Both the dental hygienist and dentist attempted to motivate … Read more
Dooley Noted: 12/9/2015 I’m getting an influx of questions from friends and family, asking what I want for the holidays. I loathe stuff. I try to get rid of it when it accumulates. One of the most liberating moments of my life was when I had a very expensive car stolen. I had put stock in material things, and I wasn’t prepared to experience the loss felt when they vanished. … Read more
Dooley Noted: 12/8/2015 I remember when a single pull-up took every ounce of intensity I could muster. Now, pull-ups are so wired that my intensity is not dialed up until the later rep range. I get the question often: “How do I know how much intensity to use?” If intensity is a mixture of tension generation and velocity, then acceleration must exist on two axes. And that means there’s a dial … Read more