Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work. ”

-Vince Lombardi

Before the anti-marxists come down on me for presenting some socialistic ideals, i’d like to say that this recession has surfaced a problem that this country has been fighting for a long time. Deeply embedded in its roots and most apparent in Generation Y, “invidualism” has taken it’s toll on our collective experience in the world we live in. We all fight day in and day out, surrounded by 3 walled cubicles (actual or virtually implied), looking to get ahead in the world. This individualistic mentality, to hold the torch at the top of the mountain, has eroded our potential for progress. We look to outsource everything in order to hone in on the prize, whatever that may be. Our society has placed so much value on recognition, that it has prevented social mobility from moving upward.

As a species, we have survived, not on our own individual efforts, but on our ability to creatively think and execute plans as a group. In the times when our country has fought off hoards of british soldiers during the british revolution, we combined militia forces and waged guerilla warfare on the british. It certainly wouldn’t have been won by Paul Revere trying to showboat and pick off each of the opposing soliders one by one…especially with a slow loading musket rifle. The same is true with Kobe Bryant. Although Bryant is a stellar player, he is only as successful as the team that supports him.

The same holds true in the business world. Greed never accomplishes wealth, albeit in the short term, at best. I think the recession is a good thing. It should, ideally, be a way to slough off poor business practices, force others to improve their services, and put priorities into perspective for business and consumer alike. We have adapted over thousands of years to work creatively together to solve problems, what says we can’t do it again? Many people look to Obama to clean-up the political and economical mess, however it requires a group to get it done.

In the fitness world, we largely have a system based on trainers micro-managing active lifestyles. What if fitness professionals, instead of promising to blow-torch the fat off of the clients bones in 3 hours/week, we encourage accountability and group collaboration? Putting accountability onto the client is a solid way to get them to think about lifestyle change, instead of just blindly accepting a bunch of scientific facts that a fitness professional tells them. We often lose sight of our goals or don’t adhere to our behavior changes because we largely don’t understand completely the value of such behavior(s). I encourage everyone to listen to the internal dialogue you carry with you the next time you eat a doughnut or a large order of french fries. Have you ever really tuned in? The results could be enlightening…and not just the sugar rush.

Charlie Reid Uncategorized