Attention - Service - WorkThe doctor of the future will give no medication, but will interest his patient in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease. Was riffing on this in my head recently and after a few iterations, here's what I came up with. “The coach of the future will not be closed- or single-minded, but will engage with their athletes through a keen coach’s eye, receptive communication, and the thoughtful use of contemporary quantitative measures.” I'm open to revisions, so if you have any thoughts, please let me know. On Attention: What we think about shapes what we see. What we see shapes what we look for. Don't say "don't." Focus on the "do." Yes, I know what I did there. It was intentional. To make a point. We all know that it is unwise to tell someone who's upset or stressed not to be upset or stressed. Some of us know that it is useless to tell someone doing a bridge to not use their hamstrings (tell them to drive into the ground). Our minds just don’t work that way. Because if you say it, “it” will immediately jump to the front of the line. Top of mind. Locus of attention. Especially if you tell someone NOT to do something. The kids. Think about kids. “Don’t touch the stove!” On the other hand, if you don’t say it (and tell them what to focus on instead), it is more likely to stay hidden. From consciousness. Not top of mind. So focus on the do. “If all you did was look for things to appreciate, you would live a joyously spectacular life.” On Service: Thinking about modern use of social media reminds me of the contrast between being Transactional and being Transformational. Straight from Joe Ehrmann's book, InSideOut Coaching. One of a number of books that were recommended to many of us by Coach Mike Boyle. Essentially, the difference is this: Transactional - A one way street. I coach, you comply. This isn't necessarily negative, just a transaction. Instruction, action. Service, payment. versus Transformational - A two way street. Symbiotic growth. Incorporates soft skills and connection. Prime example: Patch Adams. Growth and connection. And its relationship with today's social media? Performative and Transformative. Many great accounts exist. One's that truly do help us grow. Unfortunately, many more are performative. Really just nothing more than production. Austin Kleon says showing your work is important. I agree with him. Showing your work often allows others to grow themselves. But...Showing yourself? That's different. Merely a call for a pat on the back. Meh. Current social media algorithms tell you to document yourself. That’s what gets views apparently. But documenting yourself without any substance behind it, without any actual work being done is simply performance for performance's sake. Jersey shore and Kim Kardashian-like. At least in Big Brother they’re actually playing a game. Are we optimizing for attention or service? Because what does it actually do to the performer? To the one doing work, the work is getting done. Growth. With documentation and service as byproducts. But to the one merely performing, what does that leave the performer with? Transactional (Performative) social media asks? What can I get from your attention? Transformational (Transformative) social media asks? What can I do with your attention? On Doing the Work: There’s “writing” the noun. And there’s “writing” the verb. The article or book. And all the stuff that goes into creating the article or book – the idea, the layout, the research, the act of putting pen to paper. Or typing. “To all viewers, but yourself, what matters is the product: the finished artwork. To you, and you alone, what matters is the process: the experience of shaping the artwork.” - Ted Orland This used to be true. But today's society is in a rush to produce. The focus is on volume, timely volume. To get ahead of the next person. And as a result, "the writing," - the noun, or the product: the finished artwork - is all that seems to matter. The product. AI seems to be doing a lot of the work, allowing much of the process to be bypassed altogether. So what are we left with? A lack of accumulated time spent doing the work and subsequently, a lack of expertise. You don’t learn to swim by reading about water. And you don't learn to ride bike by watching YouTube. The same can be said for the use of data in the rehab and return to sport settings. Just do. Knowledge gained through experience is often difficult to put into words. "We can know more than we can tell." (Michael Polanyi) There are many things we can explain theoretically. But there are things we can only know and become experts at by doing them. Expertise isn’t accumulated information. It’s what becomes visible after enough time spent doing the work. So do the work. “Ambition becomes a superpower when you stop expecting achievement to satisfy you and learn to love the pursuit itself.”  Comments are closed.
|