OH! Magazine - Australian Version May 2017 | Page 25

(PERFORMANCE COACHING)
THE ‘SAID’ PRINCIPLE
GREG
SELLAR
Greg Sellar provides this reality check to help you be your best.
ou know the type. ‘I go to the gym
four times a week’, he says. You
look him up and down and make a mental
note that you’ve known Barry for 25
years, and despite his training at the gym
four times a week, not much has changed.
He doesn’t look thinner or more muscular;
from your point of view, the only thing
that’s having a good workout is Barry’s
wallet!
Y
There’s a fitness principle called the
‘SAID Principle’, which stands for
‘specific
adaptations
to
imposed
demand’. Translated, this means if you
continue to go to the gym and you don’t
change what you do, you’ll eventually
stop receiving the benefits you actually
go to the gym for. It’s the law of
diminishing returns; and in the long
term, it’s a waste of your time and a
wasted effort if you don’t change your
routine now.
To leave your own SAID Principle, you
need to create some kind of overload. You
have to extend and push the possibilities
in order to experience positive change.
Just like in Barry’s training, in order to
reap the benefits in life you need to hack
the status quo.
Aristotle once said, ‘We are what we
repeatedly do’, which is a perfect
summary of where most of us are. Our
lives aren’t necessarily ‘bad’, but for
many of us, they are merely ‘comfortable’.
This is not a problem either, unless you
feel like you want more.
As we grow older, when we learn a new
skill, such as a new language, a musical
instrument or how to dance, there are
extraordinary consequences for your
brain and mindset.
We all know the benefits of continuing to
move as we get older, but researchers in
2013 wanted to see what cognitive
benefits there were for older adults when
they stopped doing what they normally
do, and start taking on new challenges.
The
research
tested
sustained
engagement in learning new skills among
those people who had lived most of their
lives set in their ways. These activities
were designed to activate memory and
reasoning over a period of three months,
moving them out of their own SAID
Principle. And, after doing everything
from learning photography to designing
and sewing quilts (and with the tasks
getting more complex over the time
period), universally, subjects showed
improvements in memory function and
analysing speeds. The socialisation
aspect of the organised field trips, was
also found to greatly improve cognitive
function in the control group. This
message suggests:
New skills + friends = cognitive strength.
So ask yourself:
•
•
•
•
What is your SAID Principle?
What adaptations have you made to
accommodate your current life?
What are some of the things that
have become so routine that they’ve
lost much of their meaning?
What new challenges could you
create for yourself to help you remain
creative and alive in both mind and
body?
These are big questions to ask and
answer. Have a go and see what you come
up with.
For more inspiration and tips to hack the
status quo visit www.gregsellar.com
YOU CAN CONTACT GREG VIA:
Web: gregsellar.com
Facebook: greg.sellar
Twitter: @gregsellar
Instagram: @gregsellar
OH! MAGAZINE ( MAY 2017 )
25