Month: October 2023

Another of my teachers/coaches passed away last week. I graduated high school forty-two years ago, so it should not be surprising. Nevertheless, it stings. It is yet another teacher/coach that influenced my life and never received a well-deserved expression of gratitude.

In thirteen years of K-12 and 10 years of college (undergraduate through doctorate), I have had a lot of teachers. Even the worst of these (and there are few) deserve my grattitude.

There are fewer coaches (most of whom were teachers, as well), but none is less deserving. Sports, after all, have shaped my character as much, if not more, than academics. I realized yesterday, that only two of my wrestling coaches (I had only five from fourth through twelfth grade) are still living. Of my coaches (including football), only four have formally been thanked.

I cannot thank all the teachers who have influenced me. Some have passed. The names of some have been forgotten. Likely all have retired and would be hard to track down. I hope I show my grattitude by carrying their influence into the classroom and into my coaching. Several of my teachers get mentioned often—Mrs. Moore and Mrs. Moreland when it comes to writing, Ms. Romano when it comes to math (and when I see the number of students who have been led to believe that they “can’t do math” or that “math is hard”), Dr. Morse when I discuss anatomy, and Dr. Flynn when I teach exercise immunology. These are but a few, and I wish I could name them all. There are others, like Dave Goethals, who were mentors. My wrestlers in strength and conditioning learn of Coaches Kling and Colley through our “Russian conditioning.”

Thank your teachers and coaches while you can. If you are reading this and were my teacher or coach, know that I am grateful and that I acknowledge the tremendous influence you have on my life. I hope that my students/athletes are benefiting as branches on this tree of influence. I make the promise to my teachers and coaches that I will strive to honor your impact and….

Be (my) best today and be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

The round-about or traffic circle, as they are also called, is the epitome of society. I am frequently frustrated by the round-abouts that I must navigate on a near-daily basis. I joke that “there are two types of people in the world: those who can drive round-abouts and those who can’t.” I like to think that I am among the former. My interactions in round-abouts, however, often reveal my weaknesses in my “well-centered fitness” (e.g., Spiritual, Emotional, and Social wellness). I also think that how others approach the round-about reflects their world view and well-centeredness.

The round-about operates on the “zipper principle.” The zipper principle requires that drivers merge and permit merging to allow for the steady flow of traffic through the circle. This is (in my humble opinion) a very Spiritual principle (i.e., “ am not the center of the Universe”). One should slow down or speed up appropriately to permit drivers to enter and exit the round-about safely and effectively. (They should also signal their intentions.) Drivers who speed up to block someone from entering and those who stop at the entry point despite ample room to merge disrupt the flow of traffic.

Life is very much like the round-about. There are people whose selfish actions and/or insecurities impede upon the progress of others. We often intentionally or unintentionally block the success of others. Many of us get ourselves unnecessarily frustrated but the actions and ignorance of others—we judge and get angry. We accept the “us v. them” mentality and lose sight of the progress that can occur when we work together.

I don’t know if my frustration with round-about (i.e., drivers in round-abouts) is a product of my impatience or of my high expectations for society. Perhaps it is a lot of both. Perhaps the round-about is a two-way mirror that reflects upon me and on society.

I hope for a world in which we all look out for one another. I hope for a would that remembers what we learned in kindergarten—to share—and that seeks to be other-centered rather than self-centered. Round-abouts are one place where we can all (including me) improve upon our efforts to be other-centered. If we can’t master the round-about, we have no hope for a better world.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!!

“We make the world we live in and shape our own environment.”—Orison Swett Marden

Part of my mission statement is “to have a positive impact on the lives of others.” I am inspired by the writings of the likes of O.S. Marden and the quote above. To “be my best today and be better tomorrow” is a drive to shape my environment. It can be frustrating—often very frustrating (especially when others don’t agree with your vision for the world or see your desire to change as an insult to the environment they have created). Nevertheless, we try to press on. We seek to shape our environment as best we can with as little conflict as possible. Conflict, however, is inevitable. Still, led by our convictions, we press on.

I believe I have a responsibility to be a positive influence on “The Commons” (as I have written about several times). Unfortunately, we don’t always share the same vision for The Commons/World with those around us. Frequently, there is no vision. I like the translation of the proverb: “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (KJV). Of course, like most proverbs, it is open to interpretation, but one can read this as “where there is no vision, there is no growth.”

As an exercise physiologist, I know that there is no growth/adaptation without a proper stimulus. Growth is purposeful. We can’t grow with proper effort. (The Principle of Specificity states that the body makes specific adaptations to imposed demands.) We, likewise, can’t shape our world unless we have an idea of the world in which we want to live. If we lack vision, we get a world that others want—for better or worse.

I am often labeled as “a complainer.” I don’t prefer the adjective, but I accept the label because it says that I don’t accept the status quo and that I am trying to shape my environment. It also prompts me to seek better skills for motivating change and to grow Spiritually, Intellectually, Emotionally, and Socially. It reminds me to….

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!!

“Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect.”—Eleanor Roosevelt

This last week was the time in my Pathophysiology & Exercise course that I ask my students to read “The Tragedy of the Commons” by Garrett Hardin (1968). They are required to write a paper on their impressions and discuss the paper in class. The emphasis of Hardin’s essay is on population, but the concept can be applied to many interpretations of “the commons.” In our case, we apply it to health care—specifically, the concepts of universal health versus universal health care. I did a similar assignment in a geography course as a student at West Virginia University in the early ‘80s. It has shaped my worldview for nearly 45 years. I hope to make the same impression on my students. Time will tell. (I still have the paper I wrote on the “Commons.”)

The thread of the Commons is woven into all my personal philosophies—including “be your best today; be better tomorrow”, as well as “opportunity costs.” Central to my understanding of the Commons are freedom and responsibility. We cannot separate the two and successfully maintain the “Commons.” Eleanor Roosevelt states this quite well in the above quote.

We must consider the “Commons” in which we find ourselves (be that the physical environment, the health care system, natural resources, families, local communities, states/provinces, nations, the world, etc.). We must ask ourselves, “What is my cost to the commons?” “Am I doing everything I can to preserve the Commons?” “How is my attitude (i.e., grattitude) towards the Commons reflected in the little things?” (Believe it or not, the Commons frequently comes to mind in some of the most mundane daily occurrences, like driving the round-abouts/traffic circles in my community or in merging traffic.)

How do we define the “Commons”, and how do we choose to interact with it? How does our view of freedom and responsibility affect our impact on the “Commons”?

If you have never read “The Tragedy of the Commons”, I encourage you to do so (it is linked above). How can you apply it in your life to….

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

Hardin, Garrett. “The Tragedy of the Commons.” Science 162 (1968): 1243–1248

“If you just focus on the smallest details, you never get the big picture right.”—Leroy Hood

I came across an article this morning on the best body weight exercises for bigger biceps that suggested the “every man wants bigger biceps.” Perhaps, but bigger biceps without a bigger overall physique…? Indeed, most young men will immediately gravitate to bicep curls and the bench press when they go to the gym. In my humble opinion? A huge waste of time. I prefer focusing on the big lifts that tax the whole body (e.g., squat and deadlift variations) and subsequently build the smaller muscles (e.g., the biceps). I tell the athletes I work with that, if they double their biceps, they might add a few pounds of muscle mass. I then ask them what it looks like to double their quadriceps. If you want to get bigger, why focus on the small muscles? If you want to get better (Spiritually, Physically, Intellectually, Emotionally, and/or Socially), why focus (only) on the little things? Focus on what will be the most impactive.

Sometimes (dare I say “often”?) we spend a considerable amount of effort on a single detail among the dimensions of our well-centered fitness (the dimensions of SPIES, to use the acronym my friend, Jay, recently pointed out to me) and ignore the big picture (i.e., our overall well-centeredness or even the broader growth of the singular dimension. We might, for example, be so focused on one relationship that we fail at all the others. We easily lose sight of the big picture. The “big picture”, I believe, is the greater Purpose. “Be your best today” is a statement of wholeness, not of an isolated detail.

We all want “bigger biceps” but imagine what those “bigger biceps” will look like without developing the “whole body.” Work on the whole self. Be patient. The “biceps” will grow along with the rest.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!