Escaping the fatal conceit

Right up front: I'm asking all of you - ALL of you - to leave comments on this post. Let's start a conversation. Sound good? Awesome, thanks.

In my last post (please read it?) I tried to touch on what I see as ground zero for our culture's dysfunction when it comes to health and fitness. I tried to be concise. You all know how hard that is for me :)

Josh Leeger leapt on the subject like a ravenous wolf - read his post here - and asks the inevitable question: how do we fix this?

This is where you come in. Sound off below. Because I have absolutely no idea.... but that won't stop me from trying! Here's my numbered list of ways to escape the fatal conceit:

1. Be highly skeptical of any health/fitness advice that is delivered via numbered or bulleted lists.

2. Don't get all your health/fitness advice from just one source.

3. Seek journeymen for coaches. Anyone who insists they are a "master" has made a conscious choice to stop developing. There's always more to learn and you want to work with people who walk their talk. The one man I know who deserves the title of Master more than any other gets mad if you call him anything other than "George." That's the irony: those who deserve accolades and titles don't really care about such things.

4. (Yin) Learn the fundamentals of logic. Once you understand contraposition, you'll be able to filter most bogus claims. Here's an example:

Statement: Consumption of saturated fat leads to heart disease.

Contraposition: No heart disease means no consumption of saturated fat.

...all you need to do is look at France or Switzerland to recognize the contrapositive is false. Which means the original statement is flawed. Here's one for you to try at home: 

Statement: TEH CARBZ MAKE YOU FAT!!!

5. (Yang) Play. Josh is right on the money here. Be creative. Be exploratory.  Challenge conventions.

Meet your new coach.As a serious coach of serious athletes I've studied sport psychology. I utilize subtle motivational techniques, like yelling "OMG - DINOSAURS!  RUN!!!" Or, the ever popular, "The floor is LAVA. Don't touch it!" Get your imagination going. Do things that scare you a little. Push your boundaries.

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Okay, your turn. Comment away. Comment on comments. Comment on your comment's comments.

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