Interdepence

Interdependence has a lot of relevance in a workout context.  As I’ll be talking about over the rest of the month, the different kinds of workouts we do are interdependent, as are the things we do outside of our workouts.

Today, though, I want to focus on how our workouts make us better community members.  When we get strong and fit, when we take care of our own health, we increase our ability to give back to the people around us.

 

We are soaking in a culture that wants us to believe in competition as a supreme virtue.  That same culture feeds us the idea that we can be “self-made.”  Let’s reality-check that a little.

 

Competition, maybe, has its place.  When it is used for good, it can spur us on to achieve more than we might otherwise.  However, I think we all get farther when we rely on cooperation.  When we work together to make sure we all succeed, not only do we all have success, we have a nicer environment in which to enjoy that success.

 

And we do need other people.  We are social animals.  When we were children, we needed parents or other caregivers to feed and tend us.  As adults, we thrive best when we are surrounded by family and friends who love us and whom we love in return.

 

In a workout context, what this means is that when we individually get stronger, we all get stronger.  When we encourage each other, we all do better.  And, sometimes, we are willing to do things for other people that we’re not willing to do for ourselves.  When my kids were small, I needed to be strong and healthy to be there for them.  As our parents age, we need to be strong and healthy to help them out, too.  We have to pay forward the gifts we have been given.

 

I know this is really abstract and high-level, but we need to know why we are lifting those heavy weights and sweating it out on the treadmill.  It’s to make the world better.