Pursue “Ignorance” Over “Malevolence”
On the surface, the two words in the title infer a negative connotation but allow me to explain why I have chosen such potent words to introduce this article.
Dictionary Definitions:
“Ignorance” - lack of knowledge or information
“Malevolence” - the state or condition of being hostile.
Its no secret that in the pursuit of what you might be trying to achieve in your chosen sport or a particular fitness goals, you will have those bad days where you have set back and may fail from time to time, whether that be; not fitting a PR or a race DNF. As human, when we fail, are naturally instinct if to justify such failures by looking outwards and assigning blame rather than looking inwards. We are ALL guilty of it.
This behaviour generally makes us bitter and allows us to play victim against the circumstance which “may” have a occurred which resulted in our failures, thus making us malevolent. The issue though is that by taking this approach we forget how far we have come through all the hard work put in up until the point of failure as it disappears into the shadow of our rage and victimisation. Victims rarely learn from their mistakes.
Thus, the need for ignorance…………….
Its unlikely that most of us have all the answers or “how to guides” on how to get things done. Most of us put together a plan with the best knowledge we have using any fitness tools we have access to such as training plan, PTs, YouTube video etc, but find that these plans can often go awry.
As we grow personally whilst working toward our goal, our knowledge on the topic grows along with it. Sometimes without us even realising. This realisation might only come to pass when you are out with friends and one of them says “I’m really struggling with knee pain when I run” and suddenly you think, holy smokes, I might just have a solution for that!
But we can only learn as we go if we choose to be ignorant.
By being ignorant to your chosen goals, you have little choose but ask all and any questions. This will result in opening a line of communication with those who have more knowledge and experience than you and who can help build your knowledge on the topic. This ultimately allow you to create a better plan towards you goal better.
I understand that you may be thinking speaking to the right minds or accessing the information has a cost that you do not want to incur and most of the time you would be right. But in the eyes of INSPO, sport and fitness is all about community which is why all our training plans are free.
If you pursue ignorance over malevolence, you will also find that when failure or setbacks occur, they do not feel so hard hitting. In failure you will be able to step back, remember and review all the hard work you have put in, say to yourself “I was right there. What did I miss?” and the answer will find you. And, if does not, the likelihood is you have met experienced people along the way who would be happy to help you find the answer so you can go back, adapt what you need to and go again.
This is what sport and fitness is all about. Community lifting everybody up as they strive to do great things. Therefore, we can grow in failure rather than shrink down in pity.
INSPO Definitions:
“ignorance” – to allow oneself to be open to learning.
“malevolence” – to fall victim to circumstance beyond your control.
Inspired In Sport