Full disclosure, I’m not a great golfer. I’m not even a good golfer, as I evaluate my game not by my score but by the number of balls end the day with. If you’ve played at all you know that if you don’t have a great short game you don’t have game. While this is absolutely valid in the game of golf, sadly fitness has taken on the same perspective. It’s all about the short cut, the quick fix, the hack, the cheat.
Think about it, how is health and fitness marketed these days? What kind of ads do we see on social media, print media and the like? With our attention spans getting shorter and shorter, this approach feeds perfectly into that mindset. The problem is that these “results” are short lived. Life is long and evolving, so we must have systems, strategies and plans in place for the long haul that will help us be as vital as we can for a long as we can.
Don’t get me wrong; I AM the MTV generation, so I know a thing or two about remote controls and short attention spans, but we need to change the paradigm. We need to reframe and re-educate ourselves on what it means to have a health, movement, and fitness practice for life. We’ve lost our way with the larger purpose and we need to find our way back.
I spend the lion share of my time with my clients helping to do this…and I LOVE IT! To clarify, I love talking reps, sets, and exercise selection till the cows come home, but in the end I’m the most fulfilled as a coach when I get to help navigate the game of LIFE with my clients. Helping to be a sounding board, supporting and challenging them when appropriate to bring resonance with their values and actions. To me, that’s the long game, and it’s the one worth playing.
