Stop Reading Your Own Sh*t

No matter how good your stuff is, you’ve got to get your head out of your bubble and look around. It’s dangerous. I’m warning you.

You’ve got a passion for something, albeit music, fitness, nutrition, literature, whatever. You’re in it. You practice it, you read about it, you hang out with other people that enjoy the same things, and now you’ve got a bubble. This bubble isn’t all bad, but we all need perspective.

As you could have guessed, I’m telling you this because I’m really telling myself the same thing. I coach, practice, write about, and discuss my bubble. I’m the world’s greatest offender of this. And, it looks like constant reinforcement of my own ideas. How could I ever be wrong if all the content, people, and ideas around me are in constant support of what I do?

With diversity and exposure, there’s at least an opportunity to grow. And, I realized I need to do this when I saw an article from a man (who I obviously don’t know) that’s a savvy, knowledgeable, veteran strength and conditioning coach. What struck me about this was that I knew that if I continued on the same path I’d never have an opportunity to meet this guy or learn from this guy simply because my bubble doesn’t include him.

Sometimes violinists need to listen to some punk rock for inspiration. And, sometimes CrossFitters could grab some incredible lessons from working with a track coach. If all you read is Kafka, you’ll have a pretty dim perspective of literature. The examples go on and on.

It’s important to note that you’ve found something to be passionate about, but keep your eyes and ears up. It may just strengthen your passion in ways you never could have imagined.

 

Logan Gelbrich

@functionalcoach