Are you using your platform to help them elevate their internal perceptions of themselves?
“Kid’s don’t really care what you know.
They care about how you make them feel.
You can use your knowledge and ‘status’ to bully them into conformity..
Or you can use what you know and your platform to make them feel valued and impact them positively in the process.”
-Ray Zingler on Twitter
I laugh when I think about the way I acted when I first started coaching and training people.
I would rant and rave all about max effort, dynamic effort, foot placement, hip hinges, and shin angles. I would try to project my knowledge on my clients thinking they gave a shit about what I was talking about.
They didn’t. At all.
Here I am thinking all this terminology and nuanced verbiage was going to “show them how much I knew” when in reality that isn’t even what they care about.
In Year 13, I am far less dumb than I was in Year 2, however my messaging and communication style is even more elementary than what it was over a decade ago.
It doesn’t mean my knowledge is unimportant, obviously it’s critical, but the knowledge should be the assumed part of the deal on my end.
I know that I must channel my efforts into the most critical component of my job which is how I make others feel.
This is where self-awareness is paramount.
I know that this whole gig is not actually about what I know and what is important to me, but about my clients, getting them results, and making them feel valued in the process.
That’s really the whole thing. It’s enhancing how they feel about themselves by how I do or don’t treat them.
What if me being intentional about treating them well, making them feel safe, and valued elevates the quality of their life in a way that increases their self-worth and then in turn inspires them to treat others the way they’ve been treated?
That’s the objective. That’s the why.
It’s not about squat depth and or power cleans. It’s about using the platform and squats to enhance the global experience and development of human beings.
And this isn’t by any means exclusive to my trade.
This is for any people who work with kids in any regard.
Of course YOU know science.
Of course YOU know soccer.
Of course YOU know the guitar.
Do you think they care about it like you do?
Probably not.
For this reason, you must use the platform of your titled means of impact to travel beyond the surface.
If you don’t you’ll be no different than anybody else misusing a platform.
