W.I.N. Wednesday: Uncertainty, Risk and Action
Reading Austin Kleon’s recent blog led me to a great article in The Atlantic titled Two Errors Our Minds Make When Trying to Grasp the Pandemic by Arthur C. Brooks. One of those errors is confusing uncertainty with risk. He explains, “Uncertainty involves unknown possible outcomes and thus unknowable probabilities. Risk involves known possible outcomes and probabilities that we can estimate.” Our problem, Brooks says, is that we try to turn uncertainty into risk by “gorging ourselves on available information.”
He offers the following advice to counter that:
“Start by acknowledging that you do not know what is going to happen in this crisis. Next, distinguish between what can and can’t be known right now, and thus recognize that gorging on all the available information will not really resolve your knowledge deficit—you won’t be able to turn uncertainty into risk by spending more hours watching CNN, because the certainty you seek is not attainable. Finally, resolve that while you don’t know what will happen next week or next month, you do know that you are alive and well right now, and refuse to waste the gift of this day. (One more practical suggestion: Limit your consumption of news to half an hour in the morning, and stay off social media except to talk to friends. No cheating!)”
Great advice.
Use this day to increase your skills through purposeful and deliberate practice. Use this day to learn a new skill or enhance your knowledge of a topic through one of the hundreds of online courses available through a variety of platforms.
Use this day to read or reread a non-fiction book and instead of just reading it, study it. Spend time reflecting on how to apply the insights, and how this information connects to other information you already know. Share your insights with a co-worker or other interested party and debate what you are learning.
Use this day to study health related information and then take action on what you are learning. The co-morbidity factors that lead to increased risk from COVID-19 are hypertension, obesity, Type 2 diabetes and smoking / vaping. All of these are within our control through lifestyle choices such as what and when we eat, activity levels, getting adequate sleep and the use of stress management techniques.
It bothers me when I hear people talk about the “COVID 15” as an expectation that people are going to automatically gain at least 15 pounds during the pandemic restrictions. That is a choice, not a foregone conclusion. You can make the choice to challenge yourself to come out of the pandemic lockdown healthier than before it started.
This all ties back to what I have written about before: Simple versus Easy. Simple is a lack of complexity while Easy is a lack of effort. These strategies and suggestions are Simple, they are not Easy. They require commitment and effort every day.
I know many of you are frustrated by the fact the gyms are closed and they may be among the last businesses to reopen. Below are links to two recent interviews I did for the Excellence in Training Academy, a membership site I have for law enforcement trainers. One is with strength coach Josh Bryant talking about body weight training and the other is with Dave Schmitz discussing resistance band training. Normally the interviews I do for the Excellence in Training Academy are only accessible in the Member’s Area. I am making an exception with these two interviews as I believe this information is of value to everyone and should be shared.
Josh Bryant – Tactical Fitness Through Bodyweight Training
Dave Schmitz – Functional Training With Resistance Bands
Note: If you would like to join the Excellence in Training Academy, and gain access to over 230 interviews and 20 webinars (with new content added weekly) simply go to https://excellenceintrainingacademy.com. Use the code eitmonthfree to get the first month’s Individual, or Training Unit membership free.
Take care.
Brian Willis
www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com
Maximizing human potential through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?
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