Active vs Reactive Livin'

In the most recent podcast I have listened to, the Tim Ferriss podcast, (of which I am starting at the beginning), there were several great ideas and gems of knowledge that popped up. I wanted to reflect on a couple of them.

In this episode (episode #2), Tim Ferriss interviews Josh Waitzkin. Here's his bio from Tim's web page:

Josh Waitzkin was the basis for the book and movie Searching for Bobby Fischer. Considered a chess prodigy, he has perfected learning strategies that can be applied to anything, including his other loves of Brazilian jiu-jitsu (he’s a black belt under phenom Marcelo Garcia) and Tai Chi Push Hands (he’s a world champion). These days, he spends his time coaching the world’s top performers, whether Mark Messier, Cal Ripken Jr., or hedge fund managers.  I initially met Josh through his incredible book, The Art of Learning, which I loved so much that I helped produce the audio-book (download here, at Audible or DRM-free Gumroad).

In this podcast, Waitzkin dropped lots knowledge and you can tell there's more where that came from. One of my favorite ideas he discussed was about how he advises people to end their work day or training with extreme focus. Whatever it is you do, finish your day by doing it really well and with extreme focus. The idea is that when you come back and start up again, you will carry that focus over. So many of us, myself included, look at the end of the the day and think, "I just need to make it a little bit longer". Then we phone it in for the last bit. I know I do that sometimes in the last class of my day. I get them going, then I ease off the gas for the last part of the day, just trying to survive it. But that's not good enough. If I want to start my day off being more productive and with better focus, I need to end my day that way. So, yesterday I tried it. The last class of the day I didn't check my email, I didn't try to get other things done while the kids worked, or anything like that. I got them started, focused them on what they needed to get done on their art project that day, and then walked the room. I worked with kids, making suggestions and discussing their work. I refocused kids not working. I talked with some students having a tough day. I disciplined a kid I told repeatedly to stop throwing the markers. I stayed on them for better or worse. It felt good. It felt good to end the day with that focus. Focus doesn't necessarily mean getting a bunch done. It means doing it well, whatever it is.

I thought of this idea of active vs reactive and how I need to apply it to coaching and training. I think far too often I let my cross country practices taper off at the end. I think it would be smart to end with everyone coming back together and doing some sprints, strides, or and other work with focus as a group so that the next practice starts off really well. Same idea could be used for basketball, making sure you hit the last few shots you take despite being tired and ready to go home. I think I could use this in my own training as well. Instead of getting done with lifting and heading to the bikes to cool down, I could head to the mats to put in core work, refocusing my efforts and finishing strong. I could put in some sprints. There's a lot of areas I could use this for. Now, it will be up to me to look for more opportunities to use these ideas.

The other idea I really liked that Tim and Josh discussed, was living actively vs. reactively. The example Waitzkin gave to represent this idea deals with our obsessions and addictions with email. Waitzkin discussed the fact that most of us check our email after any type of break we take. After we sleep and get up, we check email. We take a bathroom break, then check email. We go to lunch, then come back and check email. Workout, check email. Waitzkin discussed how this is a reactive way to live. We always come off a break and then get things done based on the new information we have received form some external source. We react to the email. If you're like me, this is very true. And whats more, it feels good. It feels like I am accomplishing something if I get back from lunch and bang out some tasks pertaining to my inbox. I am reacting to someone's requests or information, though. I am not doing what I really think is important or want to do. Instead, I could be more active. After going to lunch or a waking up, I could focus on something I want to do or think about. Waitzkin says he tells people to focus on a topic or question as they go to bed. Upon waking up, they should journal about it, work on it, etc., before reacting to anything else. In this way we can work on the things we truly want to and think are important. This email idea is just one small sample, I think, of how you could use this in life. Think of all the situations on a daily or yearly basis in which you were reactive instead of active or proactive. I can think of many for myself.

Sometimes on the weekend my wife and I don't get enough done. We are both waiting for the other to explain their plans for the weekend in terms of house projects, errands, ideas for fun etc. We don't want to step on the other person's toes, so we don't say anything. Then we both get frustrated because nothing gets done or the wrong things get done. Its because we were both living reactively, with neither being active. If one of us took an active role an breached the subject off the bat, our weekends might seem longer and more productive. We might have more time for the fun stuff. Maybe if I take an active role, she will also take one and we will work together actively.

I think I might be able to apply this idea to coaching, as well. I often plan out the cross country season workouts ahead of time and then react to how things are going. I think that is actually a good way to coach, but not in all areas. For example, last season I knew my kids were getting sore and injured during the middle of the season, but I waited too long to react to it. This next season I can be more active ahead of time, knowing this is coming, and work on preventing the injuries instead of reacting to them. Instead of reacting to a lack of something or a problem, I need to be more active in preventing the issues.

None of these ideas are very specific and I am sure I can come up with more as I work through them. The idea, though, is to recognize when these opportunities arise. I need to recognize when I am living in a reactive state of mind vs trying to live actively, whether it be in coaching, my own training, in my classroom, in my job, or at home. How can I live more proactively and less reactively? I will try to keep this blog updated if I find any breakthroughs.