From the recent practice survey we conducted at Brookline Tai Chi and experiments I’ve been running in online learning, it’s become clearer and clearer to me that most people need some external motivation when they are learning a new skill. That’s not a judgment about willpower and motivation, it actually says more about the way we are wired for survival. In Z Health, we always talk about the way that the nervous system is at once the most plastic system – it can adapt to lots of different changes – and also the most stable.
Check out this post from the Trainerfly blog. I talk to teachers and trainers all the time who want move beyond their live events, but the number of steps it takes, and the technology required to make it work seem overwhelming. Hopefully, I’ve made a little dent in that perception!
Be sure to mouse over for the original title text from the comic (Thanks, Nate!).
I’ve been reading/watching a lot of BJ Fogg’s work lately. He studies the persuasive power of technology for positive behavior change. You’ll recognize my interest here if you read some of my recent posts on game design mechanics and the potential to integrate technology into real world learning. (Check out his Youtube channel for some shorter videos that explain facets of his work “in 60 seconds”) Here’s Dr. Fogg on simplicity:
Background: Recently, TechCrunch featured an article about the playdeck they use at SCVNGR that outlines the mechanics of gameplay. The article cites at TED talk by game designer Jane McGonigal, which I talk about here. I was a little disappointed with McGonigal’s conclusion, because she basically offered up the solution as specially-themed video games to leverage the power of game mechanics, or “gameplay superpowers”, to do good in the real world and incite behavior change.
Jane McGonigal gives a fascinating talk about the “superpowers” cultivated by the game-playing masses (more than 500 million with another billion coming up in the next decade!). Obviously we all have the image of the gamer locked in his mother’s basement, endlessly pawing away at an electronic reward system, like a hamster. McGonigal’s takeaway is a little different though. She emphasizes the motivation, inspiration, and social purpose built into game play.
It’s the end of the year and it’s time to get out of old habits and mindsets. So, here’s my prediction for the best business model for independent fitness and wellness pros, for the next DECADE. Yeah, I think it’s going to take a few years to unfold, but the groundwork has been laid: No more brick-and-mortar businesses. Trust me, I know what it’s like to cut a $10,000 rent check each month.
I’m working strictly on a hunch here, but I think there’s a connection between the sentiment I tried to express here about not getting lost in the bells and whistles of technology, and this article about “hybrid businesses”. One Foot in the Virtual World, One Foot in the Real World According to the author, Glenn Kelman, a hybrid business has “one foot in the virtual world and one foot in the real world.
