BRIGHT SPOTS FRIDAY!
We had a coaches meeting last weekend. The purpose of these get-togethers is twofold: we want to loop the coaches in by covering gym happenings and getting feedback and ideas on what is good at Nevermore and what we need to improve; but primarily, we’re there to simulate a small class so we can work to develop better coaching techniques and acumen.
We contribute cues that work for each of us, whether they’re verbal or visual or tactile. We incorporate best practices on how to teach movements using simple progressions. We share ideas on organizing the flow of the class while making it fun. If you’ve been with us for any length of time, I imagine you’ve reaped some benefits from these practicals. We added a layer this time around and challenged everyone to focus on coaching mid-WOD…to slow things down and try to SEE more. See movements that are a bit off. Identify flaws in individuals’ range of motion. Spot the subtleties that can make a big difference, especially with some of our more experienced athletes. The TEACHING is usually the easy part. The SEEING and the fixing are what make good coaches great coaches.It got me thinking that this concept of slowing things down and REALLY seeing has a big crossover in making not just better coaches and better athletes, but better people…and likely happier people.
First we need to slow it down. If you’ve been in a class with me you’ve probably heard me say at one time or another, “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.” The Navy Seals first used this mantra as a way to gain the most efficiencies in a given situation. To minimize wasted or excessive effort. It sounds paradoxical, but if you think about it, it makes sense. You’ve likely also heard me say, “Efficiency wins!”…usually towards the end of a workout when things get dicey. In my life outside the gym, I try to remind myself that rushing isn’t going to do me any good because as long as I am alive, something will need to be done. I may as well relax as I complete the task. Because even when I do complete it, something is waiting to pull me onward to rush to the next place.
By slowing down, I can then spot the LITTLE things. Things most people are oblivious to or overwhelmed by. I read recently that it helps to see the world like an ARTIST…”Look at that tree like you’re a painter and trying to understand its essence. Observe that interaction with your parents like you were a stand-up comedian looking for material. An artist must be present. An artist must notice.”
Marcus Aurelius saw beauty in these things, like the way that “baking bread splits in places and those cracks, while not intended in the baker’s art, catch our eye and serve to stir our appetite,” or of the “stalks of ripe grain bending low, the frowning brow of the lion, the foam dripping from the boar’s mouth.”
I challenge you to SEE…what might seem small but is truly important, what could be beautiful if you slow down, what has the power to create more happiness or contentment in your day-to-day. Answer me this: What could you pay more attention to in life?
What is your Bright Spot this week?…