I Don’t Know ANYTHING… So Why Are You Listening to Me?5

Posted In Life

I don’t know ANYTHING… so why are you listening to me?

Do any of you ever feel that way?

You don’t necessarily have to feel that way about your knowledge of the fitness industry. You could feel that way about cars, computer, gardening, music, chess, underwater basketweaving… whatever! I don’t feel this way all the time, of course. Just after I spend time with really, really smart people who know a lot more than I do.

For example, yesterday I had my first visit with a new chiropractor, Tim Rogers. His reputation preceded him and I was super excited about working with him. Not only did he live up to his reputation, but he blew me away even more than I expected. He was discussing everything from organ function and hormones, to posture, nerve function, movement patterns, and much more. Lucky for me I understood somewhere between 10 and 20% of what he said. =)

After our talk the only thing I wanted was to curl up in a corner and suck my thumb and watch cartoons. (OK, so maybe that’s a normal Tuesday afternoon for me anyway… don’t judge!)

I am pretty sure this was the face I was making while Tim was talking…

But seriously, I am also attending an amazing workshop this weekend called Diagnosis Fitness at my 2^nd home, IFAST in Indianapolis. At this workshop, Mike Robertson and Bill Hartman will be teaching a small group of us the ins and outs of their extremely thorough assessment process. We will also learn how to write programs based on what we have found during an assessment. I have no doubt that after spending this weekend with these guys and all of the other super brilliant attendees, I will again realize that I am just barely scratching the surface of what there is to know about training. And this is after almost 9 years of learning from my great friend, business partner, and mentor Jim Laird.

To me, that’s the beauty and the beast of it all. The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know sh*t. Lucky for me I only get down on myself about this ~2% of the time. The other 98% of the time it just whets my appetite for more knowledge (and yes, that IS how you spell “whet” in case you were wondering).

How much time do you spend outside that circle? How’s it workin for ya?

These situations also really take me out of my comfort zone, which is, naturally, uncomfortable for me… but also very important I think. In fact, every time I take a moment to actually sit back and realize how very short my time on this planet is, I think, “Screw it! Why not? Why the hell would I want to spend my life ‘comfortable’ instead of taking risks and pushing my limits and doing things that scare the crap out of me? Isn’t that what it’s all about?”

How about you? Have you done something or spent time with someone recently who made you feel like a complete beginner or even a fraud in your field of expertise? How did you deal with it? Did it make you want to quit or make you want to be better? Are you seeking situations that take you out of your comfort zone? If not, then why not?