Weekly musings, 3/27/17: perspective

Weekly musings, 3/27/17
I was chatting with a long time client last week, when she said to me, “the first time you walked around me, many years ago, I wondered what I was doing wrong. All of the other trainers I worked with in the past always stayed in front of me. After I thought about it, I realized you were just getting another vantage point to check my form.”

If we only look at thing from one perspective, the perspective becomes narrow. We don’t get all of the information and we miss things. (I miss things regardless, but at least changing my perspective helps me miss less). From a coaching standpoint, I am frequently amazed when clients are struggling with a movement, if I change my where I’m standing in relation to the client, how it often gives me an idea of what to cue or where to go. 

In a 2007 article* in “Simply Psychology,” author Saul McLeod writes, “Each perspective has its strength and weaknesses, and brings something different to our approach of human behavior.” This is the interesting thing about perspectives- each will tell us something different and inform our decision of what to say or do. When I coach, my goal is to help my client move in an efficient way that enables him or her to maximize strength and mobility and meet goals. If I only look at movement from one angle, I can’t do that. The same is true in other facets of life as well. Change your perspective occasionally and see what happens. 

*Article here: https://www.simplypsychology.org/perspective.html