Wheres the Results?

Where are my results?

Who has the right formula?

It can feel like everyone around you is getting results quickly and succeeding in their pursuits. Maybe you need to try their diet? Maybe you need to read their book on how to be successful? Maybe you need to try a different path or formula?

What we tend to forget is what’s called the ‘Survivorship Bias’.

I came across this concept while reading Nassim Taleb’s book “Fooled by Randomness”. He states,

“… the survivorship bias implies the highest performing realisation will be the most visible …”

In other words, we tend to only focus on and see examples that were successful, the ones that ‘made it’ (because they’re the most visible) while simultaneously ignoring all of the other examples that failed, that didn’t ‘make it’ (because they’re less visible).

So at the end of the day, you’re going to see and read (on the many different internet platforms) about people who achieved results/success but you won’t see or read much about all of the other people who didn’t – the vast majority.

This makes it seem like everyone other than you is getting these quick results and successes.

It may also encourage you to follow someone who is promoting a method or way of doing something that worked for them while at the same time failing to realise the huge number of other people who have probably done something similar without the same result.

So rather than bouncing between ‘successful’ people’s fast tracks to success and hoping for one of them to deliver quick results, I think there is a more realistic (but less sexy) way of approaching things.

The Psychology of Money

‍

Reading a book called ‘the psychology of money’ was my attempt to branch out a little bit from all of the health and fitness information that I consume.

Funnily enough I drew some pretty important parallels between some of the main takeaways from this book and our health and fitness pursuits.

My main takeaway: The power of compounding over the long haul and being immune to the ups and downs is where the money lies.

In the context of the book, the author talks about how one of the most powerful tools financially is being in investments that allow the power of compounding to take place and having the longevity (immune to the ups and downs of the market) for this to pay-off in the long term.

Taking big risks in more volatile options may pay off for some in the short term (and as per the concept of survivorship bias – you’ll definitely be seeing/hearing about it), but over the long term you’ll be much better situated avoiding these ups and downs and relying on the power of compounding and longevity.

How does this relate to health and fitness?

If the power lies in being able to be in something for the long haul (enough time to let the power of compounding take place) then we need to be incorporating behaviours and strategies that may be small, but they’re do-able on a long term basis and don’t have you riding the ups and downs of behaviours that promise you quick success.

Thanks to the survivorship bias, you will continually read about and see these people who have been lucky in their risk taking – it will be alluring to do the same.

However, if we can understand that this bias exists and know that the key is in a long haul approach where our small daily/weekly/yearly behaviours compound, then this will give us our best chances of success, whatever that may be for you.

What would this long haul approach look like?

• It would be ignoring the ‘magic formulas’ and other gimmicks for quick health and fitness progress even though you may perceive the person promoting it as ‘successful’. If it’s a claim to achieve a health and fitness outcome in a small amount of time, then it’s probably worth ignoring.

• Ignoring individuals who claim to have the answer. There are lots of very intelligent individuals that we can learn from, but anyone who claims they have the outright answer or ‘the way’ is probably not someone who you want to take advice from.

• Understanding the small behaviours that when carried out over the long term they compound and give you a massive return and a higher chance of reaching your end goal. These are behaviours that you can weave into your daily life and create some consistency with, becoming a part of your lifestyle.

• Celebrate your streaks, celebrate how you’re feeling, celebrate the progress you’ve made since last year, celebrate the things you have learnt. Because it is a long haul approach, you need to be able to celebrate the much smaller wins on the way to your end goal.

I have clients who may not have reached their end goal yet, but they’re still able to celebrate all the smaller wins along the way. These are things like not having to see the chiropractor anymore, doing movements and lifting weights they never thought they’d physically be able to do, moving through life with fewer injuries and less pain, feeling mentally better and learning ways they can train better and take greater care of their health.

You still have to be able to make sure you’re moving in the right direction to your end goal, but that need not be your only focus nor detract from all the good stuff that is happening along the way.

In Summary

‍

• The long haul, thanks to the power of compounding is where the money lies.

• Our perspective on what’s happening around us is most likely skewed thanks to the survivorship bias. Let’s not get caught up in it all and instead focus on the small, do-able behaviours we can effectively implement on a daily basis.

‍