The View from Sports Center

When A Stroke is Good for You

Finally some good news for an unforgiving habit: golf. If you love to play golf, you have a good chance of living five years longer than someone who doesn't play golf. In a recent study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports*, golfers who played regularly and walked the course had a 40 percent lower death rate. And, the better you play, the lower your mortality.

Hmmm....guess I better get back out on the course. Soon.

* B. Farahmand, G. Broman, U. de Faire, D. Vågerö, A. Ahlbom. Golf: a game of life and death - reduced mortality in Swedish golf players. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, Published article online: 28-May-2008

Time to Play

Goals matter.

But, alone, they're not enough.

What matters most about a goal is what you learn from the process of trying to reach it. The plan to get what you want or where you want to be changes, sometimes from day to day, and, as a result, you change. If your plan includes others, you learn from them; they from you. If not, you learn from you.

Tonight, I will plant myself in the back row of one of my favorite movie theaters, The Alamo Drafthouse, to watch, "The Dark Knight" and, no doubt, learn a lot. I'll learn if my preparation and planning to achieve this goal paid off or if I need to revise my plan. Will I come home feeling good and excited about revising my goal list and creating some new things to accomplish or will the Painster bump me from my seat and force me to revise my plan?

Either way, it's a win and the only way to win is to play.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

Mind the Crap Gap

If you want to know what a person believes, watch his or her actions. People do what they intend to do. Consciously or not.

One of the behavioral red flags I used to teach my students to watch for was this phrase (or something similar) from clients: "I'll do whatever you say. I just want don't want to hurt anymore." That's code for, "I'll pretty much do what I want and grumble about it later."

Now, people are not sabotaging themselves on purpose. They likely really do want to get well. They just have a huge gap between what they think and what they do. I call it the Crap Gap.

Some of us have a Crap Gap the size of a small river stream while others, it's the size of the Grand Canyon. Either way, to get what you want out of life, which means getting what you need out of your body, you have to close the Crap Gap. You have to be honest and live authentically.

How do you do it? How do you close the Crap Gap?

Well, it doesn't help a bit to lecture people about how important exercise is, how much better they'll feel, or how if they don't get moving, they'll shorten their life. I did this a lot (sorry folks) and was really good at telling people what they ought to do. And, people would nod their heads, and say "Uh-huh" or "I understand" and then do little to nothing of what I said. Finally, I learned how to do it right; how to change behavior. But, most of modern medicine (and I include all ancillary care in there as well) still functions in the "lecture" mode. Result? People just keep doing what they have been doing: living in the Crap Gap.

You change the cycle by using behavioral strategies and being honest. Give written instructions with clear objectives and hold people accountable. You need action; not words. Remember that keeping a small promise is a lot easier than keeping a big promise and keeping promises, especially to your self, is what closes the Gap.

There's a phrase Londoners use as you get on the train. It's "Mind the Gap." It's to help you avoid falling in the sometimes significant gap between the train and the station platform. Keeping your promises is what helps you "mind the crap gap."

Make today count.
Doug Kelsey

reference: Conn et al. Meta-analysis of patient education interventions to increase physical activity among chronically ill adults. Patient Education and Counseling, 2008; 70 (2): 157

Ready....Fire.....Aim

This is brilliant. Click "Just Do It" to find out.

Brain Magic

My brain needed some magic today. I found it here.

Three Words Worth Banning

I slid into a hornet's nest of frustration and anger the other night. It was ugly. A true Jekyll & Hyde moment.  One minute, I was patiently installing the worst operating system in the universe, Windows, seemingly under control, then the next, a Niagara Falls of negativity and profanity came spewing from me like projectile vomit. For those of you who live in the dual worlds of Mac vs. Wintel, you know what I mean. For those of you who have only known Windows, well, it's like only having an outhouse. You appreciate the outhouse, but once you have indoor plumbing, you'll never want an outhouse again.

Once I cooled off, which took a good 24 hours and even Elle knew not to venture too close for fear of losing a limb, I gained some perspective. I remembered about the power of words.

With my clients, I often would listen to their language and help them discover the subtle ways they were undermining their own progress by the language they chose. And, the operative word is chose. We choose what we say which rises from what we think and from what we believe. Listen to your words for a day and you'll discover a lot about what you believe about your self, your future, your possibilities. Words become things.

There are certain words that I listen for; words that should be banned from use. Here they are:

1. But. This is usually preceded by, "Yeah." It serves to undermine and diminish what the other person has said. Just don't know use it. If you're tempted, stop, listen to the other person and try something like, "I understand. How do you feel about (and insert your concern here)?" This keeps the conversation going and maintains a connection. If you're wondering why your conversations seem one sided it's likely because you're But heavy.
2. Never. Never is an emotional veneer. It removes risk and protects you from feeling the prospect of failure. One of the first times I heard never used in medicine was with a young woman, a patient of mine, who had been strangled and suffered severe loss of blood to her brain. She was comatose; unresponsive. Every physician uttered the same words - "She'll never go home. She'll never do ....." Doctors (and other clinicians as well) sometimes hide behind "never" because it's easier than facing their own uncertainty and admitting they don't know; being wrong. The family didn't believe it. Well, one day, she woke up. Started talking. Eventually, she went back to school. So much for never.
3. Should. There are two circumstances that the word "should" shows up. The first is when you're not sure but feel an obligation. "I really should start walking" or, "I should be better by now."  When you use "should", you place yourself in a subtly negative mental state. The mind, in keeping with its elegantly efficient design, begins searching for evidence in your day to day life to support the idea that you "should be better". So, instead of focusing on what you need to do so you WILL be better, you focus on what you do not have or cannot do. And, although the cycle is painfully uncomfortable, it becomes increasingly difficult to break. The second circumstance of "should" is when you tell someone else what to do. "You know what you should do?" or, "Well, this is what I think you should do." Instead of telling someone what he or she should or shouldn't do, ask questions. Re-frame your strong opinion, which could be completely without substance, into a question about how the other person feels. "So, how would you feel about doing (insert your opinion here)?" feels completely different than, "Well, what you should do is (insert your opinion here.)"

Now, I would like to tell you that I have perfected the use of words to craft my present and future circumstances and have seamless, bubbly conversations but, well, that would be a lie. I work on my word choice everyday and am always stunned at the subtle infusion of negativity in my mind and in my words. My most recent effort is something very simple. Each morning, no matter how I feel, I say, "Something great is happening today." I felt silly the first few times as if someone was going to quiz me later to prove that it actually happened. But with a little persistence, it's not so silly and I spend the day looking for something great. Yesterday, I went for a jog on the Newton. It was for just 90 seconds but it felt great. There you have it. Something great.

Make your words count.
Doug Kelsey

Does Aging Mean Doing Less?

If you're a regular reader of The View, you know I am rebuilding a battered, bruised and busted up body, head, and heart from a skiing accident. Some people I talk to seem to conclude, without actually asking me, that I will never set foot on a ski slope again. Nope. I will ski again. I love to. But, not until I'm ready.

The thought pattern is not unusual. It's sort of a mixture of "You're getting older and have a busted up body. Be smart. Slow down. Take it easy. Don't take any risks." It's consistent with this recent Reuters news article on Baby Boomers. Bottom line: Baby Boomers need to do less as they age so they won't get hurt.

Here's my take on all of this. You don't need to do less as you age. But, what you do need to do is pursue excellent joint health, great flexibility, awesome balance and coordination, superior strength and endurance, emotional wisdom, and mental agility.  If your body moves with fluid, elegant motion and you have sufficient strength and endurance for the task, and your wise (or, in other words you're fit), you can do all sorts of things.

Stuff happens. Accidents happen. But, I don't think you should give up the things you love for fear of doing too much as you age. Keep pursuing the things you love but prepare your mind and body for it.

And, while you're at it, make today count.

Doug Kelsey

How About Leaving First?

Are You a Good Dancer?

These are a special pair of shoes that a parent wears while dancing with his or her child - from Finland.

It's one of those things that you stumble onto while doing something else (like working on Chapter 14 :-) and some part of your brain suddenly chugs into gear clicking and clacking away. Helping people overcome an injury, at least for some part of the process, is a lot like letting your kid stand on your feet while you dance. You need some regular sorts of movements, walk straight ahead, back, sideways, so you can once in a while throw in something unexpected. That's when kids laugh, right? They don't laugh much as you just plod along foot after foot. No. They laugh when you swirl, or surge, or hop, or take a huge, gigantic step.

And now that I think about it, isn't surprise one of the better things in life?

Are you working in enough surprising moments? Daily? Weekly? Monthly?

Win-Lose