Rules and Rubrics

I love making up rules.

For example, my basic three rules are:  1. Don’t be a jerk.  2. Use your good judgment.  3. No sangria ever, under any circumstances.

My rules for biking are:  1. It has to be fun.  2. I don’t have to go far or fast.  3. I can stop any time I want.

In the car, the rule is that the driver gets veto power over the music.  Reading is allowed by the rules during breakfast and lunch, but not at dinner.  The person who makes dinner, by rule, does not have to do the dishes.

In addition to rules, I like to use rubrics.  Rubrics help me define what a good job is.  The rubric for housework, for example, is that a good job has been done if things are better than when I started.

Finally, I have reached the fitness part of the story.  I suggest that when it comes to workouts, we use both rules and rubrics.  For rules, I offer these:  1. Let’s be safe.  2. Let’s have fun.  For rubrics, let’s try these:  1. Show up.  2. Do something.  3. Get sweaty.

We can make it a lot more complicated, but let’s start here.