How whiny billionaires help me handstand better
"Brainy What-Why-How"
Your weekly nibble of science-backed goodness to help you move better and feel unstoppable.
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What (the TL:DR)
If you could wave a magic wand and get rid of one thing in the world, what would it be? 🪄
For me, it would be the victim mindset.
It shows up everywhere — from learning handstands… to men with obscene amounts of money and power complaining that they’re under attack 🙄
And it's pathetic at best, harmful at worst.
Why (the geeky neurology)
The victim mindset comes from the brain being stuck in protection mode.
The brain starts hunting for:
someone to blame
something to defend
proof that it’s being wronged
Neurologically, a few key things are going on:
the prefrontal cortex (choice, reflection, accountability) goes quiet
the brain looks outward for things to blame instead of inward for adjustment
dopamine gets released through outrage, righteousness, and self-protection
That last part is important...
Blame feels good in the short term. It gives the nervous system RELIEF.... without requiring any change.
No new neural pathways need to be built. We just reuse the old ones.
Easy. Familiar. Stagnant.
How (apply it to your life)
We’ve all been here at some level. I know I have.
And we’re definitely seeing it play out right now in powerful men with enormous resources framing themselves as victims of regulation, criticism, accountability, or social change.
Let’s be clear:
That’s not oppression.
That’s fragility.
And honestly? I do not want to be anything like these whiny-baby billionaires and other grown men with nuclear-level power but the emotional intelligence of a toddler 😡
So when I’m in my own handstand training and my little amygdala tries to convince me that:
poor me, I'm so bendy, my body just isn’t built for this
wahwah, this is so hard, this drill doesn’t work for me
boohoo, I can't get it because my coach doesn’t get me
I think "Ew my brain is acting like a whiny billionaire right now" and I flip it:
What did I feel right before I lost balance?
What variable can I adjust to make this work?
What skill am I avoiding because it’s uncomfortable?
That shift brings control back to the prefrontal cortex and motor learning systems.
More importantly: It brings control back to ME instead of something external to me. It shows me I can keep doing this throughout my life.
Playing the victim avoids responsibility for learning.
Agency builds capacity. Even uncomfortable feedback becomes fuel for growth.
PS: I'll be around for in-person events this year and would love to meet you IRL! Check out where I'll be here
Self-pity is poison,
Adell 😘
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