M5:D21 (D429) Expanding your influence

What's on my mind today?
One way to learn even more about a subject is to teach someone else what you already know. By doing this you confirm that you have the knowledge firmly implanted in your brain and you reaffirm some of the information you may have forgotten. Teaching someone else a technique or process requires you to essentially relearn every aspect of that technique or process. While doing this, you get better at whatever it is you are teaching.

So how do you expand your influence in an area? One obvious way is to start teaching the subject to other people. Expanding your influence doesn’t have to mean taking over the world. It can simply mean pushing yourself harder, further, faster, more frequently. To expand your influence in the fitness arena find someone to mentor. Find someone who knows less than you about the subject and begin teaching them everything you know. This process will accomplish several things for you.

Increased knowledge

The process of expanding your influence will also expand your knowledge at the same time. You will learn more about how to get fit and stay fit by mentoring someone else. Your goal as a mentor should be to teach your pupil enough that they can be self-sufficient in due time. In order to do this you must be able to answer their questions clearly and succinct. This will enable your pupil to become self-sufficient and you will accomplish that goal.

Increased confidence

By expanding your influence through mentoring, you will be increasing your own confidence level. You will learn that you really do know what to do and how to do it. You will find that you understand the principles for success better than you thought.

Increased execution

As you expand your influence, you will be forced to “practice what you preach.” This will increase your execution level. You will no longer have an excuse to skip a workout or eat poorly because there will be another person holding you directly accountable at all times. How would it look to teach your pupil the importance of consistent exercise and yet you are skipping workouts? Obviously you are going to be more consistent due to that positive pressure.

Conclusion

I believe that expanding your influence is an important part of increasing your positive pressure for accountability. You will have a person who is counting on you to walk the walk not just talk the talk. It is a step that should be taken by everyone seeking to grow in their knowledge of how to stay fit.