It's Cool To Care
When did ‘not trying’ become cool?
“Too cool for school” was certainly the cool way to approach things when I was growing up. I’m sure it was similar for you.
The things we were told to ‘care’ about was more a signal of what to ‘rebel’ against than anything. At some point, the overall culture shifted from celebrating the rules and structures of society to breaking them with impunity and celebrating the ones who cared about breaking them.
The world of sports has been dramatic for this erosion of care. Growing up, it seemed every few months a brand new sports movie aimed at kids hit theatres, all with the same positive message; caring about the traditional values inherent in sports helped each hero in the story transcend their struggle.
But then all the happy stories vanished, replaced with jaded tales of sports destroying lives, communities, and all things negative highlighted.
‘This is the activity you care about, well you shouldn’t any more’
As society became more jaded towards itself, individuals in turn engrained that ‘lack of care’ as cool to themselves. No one takes responsibility for themselves?
Why bother eating healthy food, exercising for a healthy body, striving for physical excellence, or caring about athletic performance?
Haven’t you heard? Caring is for squares, not caring is what the cool kids are doing these days.
Why ‘caring’ matters in fitness!
This overall ‘what, you care, that’s lame!’ attitude produces such a tragedy in the gym and on the field. Adults now see these arenas as ‘maintenance’ only.
Where the ‘serious’ work of just making sure the body doesn’t completely break down happens. The ones who ‘care’ about exercise, what’s their problem anyways. They just make the rest of us look bad, so it must be something wrong with THEM.
Cope harder for your lack of care.
Here’s the harsh truth, if you don’t care then it means you don’t have the power of virtue on your side. When things start to get difficult, your lack of care materializes into quitting faster than you even have time to notice.
Now think about establishing consistency, without care it’s never happening for you. It’s a nice idea to think you can become a mechanized representation of a human being, moving without care, turned into a robot of motion without meaning, and untethered from any aim or direction, no purpose to what you do.
But when you actually CARE, things begin to open up in profound ways. (check out my article from a few weeks ago on ‘Opening Up’).
Care means a high internal standard for your conduct. Gone are the easy temptations to settle like everyone else around you. Settling is for people who quit.
Care provides excitement, challenge, and progression into the activity. You demand to get better precisely because you enjoy what you’re doing and see outcome as a realization of your care and discipline conjoined in action.
Care unlocks all the virtues you need, most importantly courage, in overcoming adversity and excelling through a challenge. You really gonna risk anything against fear in an activity you don’t care about?
It’s clear that you need to CARE if you want to get the most out of fitness and sports. Not caring simply won’t do.
How you can bring ‘care’ to your exercise?
There’s a million different answers to this question. But only a few that apply to you as an individual.
Here’s a quick guide on ways to lead yourself towards caring about fitness and sports as an adult. These questions form a great launching pad.
The most important part is to be HONEST in answering them and DETERMINED to act towards what’s revealed through the exercise. That’s the hardest part, but caring about things isn’t supposed to be easier. Not caring is a hallmark of the quitters, and that’s not you!
Quick Guide Questions For Care
Which exercises and sports am I participating in because other people told me I should? Do I enjoy them?
If I do enjoy them: How does my enjoyment in this activity create care about my performance in this activity?
What are ways I can increase my care level in this activity? (ie. signup for a competition and train hard, invite others to join me, etc…)
If I don’t enjoy them: What’s an activity or sport I’d like to try or have historically enjoyed? How can I start participating in them?
After experimentation and realization you enjoy the activity: What are ways I can increase my care level in this activity? (ie. signup for a competition and train hard, invite others to join me, etc…)
These are great questions to reflect on and act from in order to increase care and most importantly make you conscious of its importance in your exercise and fitness routines.
My hope is that you simply switch on the ‘caring’ switch after it’s likely been flipped ‘off’ for too long in this area of your life.
And I know that once it’s flipped on, it’s on for GOOD!
Happy Training Team!