Client check ins and making video messages is part of my Sunday routine. I take about an hour in the morning to send an audio voice-over of my client’s training program to both reflect on the week that they had and to prime them for what is to come.
It is a fantastic way to spend Sunday morning. It is something I thoroughly enjoy doing.
Well, this past Sunday, I got to enjoy it a bit more (I say sarcastically). After getting through ALL the feedback vids and burning an hour of time, I get a message from a client: ‘there is no audio, only video”.
Guess who forgot to turn on the microphone.
So what was going to take an hour, turned into a two hour experience after redoing each and every video.
What was painful at the time, I laugh at now and also take away some learning in that moment that is valuable to share.
Do things right the first time.
In this particular instance, no harm no foul. I was able to get what I needed done and only burned an hour of my time. And yeah, you bet I will not forget to turn on the mic again.
But zooming out from that particular anecdote, what if it was something with higher stakes? Something that could take hours, weeks, months, or years to undo because I was unaware or unwilling to do things right the first time, taking a shortcut?
That is a lot of wasted time and pain.
In some ways, this is like starting out down towards a path of health and wellness. There are a lot of shortcuts to take to get to the goals you want.
Extreme diets, skipping learning how to move well and just adding weight to the bar, high intensity all the time, etc.
Yeah, it will get you a quick result. Your goal will be hit. But the damage of not doing it right the first time around may linger. You might be sacrificing long term sustainability for a short term goal.
Health and wellness is high stakes. Not doing it right the first time around can take its toll, leading to injuries and movement issues that may take weeks, months, or years to undo.
This is not meant to be a scare tactic, but rather just perspective.
The good news? Shortcuts do not have to be taken. You can hit short term, immediate goals all while learning to do things correctly. It just takes a bit of patience and the right environment (so hint hint, hire a coach, especially if you are new to all things health and fitness). Investing that little bit of extra time, money, and effort up front to do things correctly the first time will pave a runway for a lifetime of success.
So don’t be like me. Make sure your mic is on and do it right the first time.
Thanks for reading. If you found value in my words, please share with a friend.
Chris Kaschalk