Inspector Gadget

Building a Performance Longevity Toolkit

"We become what we behold. We shape our tools and then our tools shape us."

- Father John Culkin

So far in this series of introductory articles to the Check Engine Light we've covered some of the basic concepts used in this framework for maintaining performance longevity. We've covered the fundamentals of our Performance Longevity Dashboard, a system we can use to condense important information about our health and performance into something tangible and actionable . Additionally, we covered the M3 Model, which consists of MIND, MVMT, and MTTR. Each of these three represents a category from which we can select indicators to put on our Performance Longevity Dashboard. For additional review of each of these components check out this series of articles starting HERE.

It isn't enough though to only have a series of indicators that tell us what's going on under the hood is it? Seeing the blinking light on your dashboard is fine and dandy. Now you know that there might be a problem that needs your attention. But what now? Knowing is half the battle (as the old G.I. Joe saying goes). The other half is being able to do something about the problem. That's where tools come in.

Once we identify an issue the first hurdle we come to is limits in our own understanding. If I pull over on the side of the road to investigate the warning light on my dashboard for all intents and purposes I'm beginning an investigation. When I pop the hood to take a closer look at what's going on under there if I don't understand what it is I'm looking at then all the tools in the world won't make much of a difference. If not that's when we can potentially outsource some of the burden to elsewhere. That can include subject matter experts that we already know and trust or other sources of information like YouTube or even the old school car manual (Books?! Gasp!).

Regardless of whether or not we possess sophisticated technical knowledge we all need some toolkit that helps is minimally perform maintenance as well as handle basic malfunctions that might occur. Every vehicle comes equipped with a tire iron and a jack for this very reason. Changing a flat and getting back on the road is the lowest hanging fruit when it comes to fixing a vehicle.

If nothing else, can you get back on the road and get to the next level of care? A good question to be asked for the care of our own health as well.

R3

Industrialized culture, American culture in particular, has a neophilic gadget obsession. To this end that which is new is often conflated with that which is innovative and so it can behoove us to have criteria by which we select appropriate tools for our toolkit. If not we may fall prey as scores before us to the wailing of the QVC and Instagram advertisement Sirens.

I'll be honest, I truly wish I'd thought of the framework that we'll discuss next but I didn't. The origin belongs to my good friend Mickey Schuch of Carry Trainer. Mick is one of the best teachers I know. He specializes in holistic personal defense education and also roasts a damn fine coffee bean (Ignus Lux Coffee). Check him out on all the places where people are checked out.

The R3 Model stands for the three Rs Mick uses when he teaches people about systems and gear they choose for personal defense, a market with at least as much bogus nonsense as the world of health and fitness. The three Rs are as follows: Robust, Reliable, Repeatable. I first heard Mick talk about these a few years back and it just made sense to me. Since then, I've expanded on it in my own way with lots of success. Thanks, Mick.

Robust. What is robustness? I'm sure if you think about it for a minute you can think of some specific tools you already have or know about that are robust. What do they all have in common? They are hard to break. Tools that are robust stand tests of time, use, and environment. You might even say the most robust tools can withstand stressors in the widest variety of environments and conditions.

Reliable. Think of a person in your life that is reliable. How do you know they are reliable? You probably have history. They consistently came through for you time and time again. Reliability is built on consistency for tools too. Does a tools perform the way it's supposed to? Can you count on this thing to produce a consistent outcome that you can see, feel, and measure?

Repeatable. When we talk about repeatability it can seem like there's a bit of an overlap with reliability. But repeatability is about the user. Do I have a standard of operation that allows me to properly use this tool? In scientific experiments a repeatable procedure means that I can take the same set of conditions and produce a comparable outcome. When we select tools for our Performance Longevity Toolkit we should ask ourselves - do I really know how to use this thing well enough to produce a consistent result? If not, what kind of investment am I willing to give?

On face value these may seem obvious. That's the thing about good ideas. The only seem obvious once they've been expressed to us. Of course we want tools that don't break. Of course we want tools that work consistently. Of course we want tools that we know how to use. Duh, duh, and duh. But more often than not, especially when we get outside of our domain of expertise, we invest in tools that do not serve us for the very reasons that were stated above. Many, many times in my career have clients asked me about some form of gadgetry that would not withstand their lifestyle, the didn't know how to use exactly, and they weren't even sure what problem it was solving for them.

Don't take me for a hater here. I'm not. We all fall prey to biases and ignorance when we start to travel too far from things we know about. That why sometimes we must outsource our information. But be sure to have a framework to measure it against. It will save you time, money, and headaches.

Proximal to Distal

Another overlapping framework that can help with tools is thinking of layers of your tools as proximal to distal. Proximal tools are close by you. They're available at arms reach. Usually these are the tools you rely on the most to solve the problems you get to most. I have lacrosse balls in my dresser drawer, on my office desk, and in my carry on bag as a way to deal with basic soft tissue problems. Do lacrosse balls solve all my tissue problems? No. But they are cheap, portable, and produce the desired outcome the vast majority of the time. Not only that, a lacrosse ball will encourage me to start taking a swing at the problem. Minimally, I'll know what doesn't work when I talk to somebody with better information.

The most proximal tools we have don't have to be our only tools though. We can have more sophisticated tools that get used a bit less but are still helpful. That's a pretty intuitive process if you think about it. I'm sure everybody reading this has some tools that they keep in a kitchen drawer like a knife, a screwdrivers, duck tape. Stuff that's handy. Then you might have some things in your garage or your shed that you use less and serve more specialized functions. The same goes for organizing tools that you use for your health. First pick tools that solve most of the problems you bump into then go for the distal fancy stuff later.

Inspector Gadget

Building a toolkit for Performance Longevity takes time and iteration. It's not different than any other set of tools you have ever put together. Some work for your needs, some don't. That can change over time. Of course there are exceptions and sometimes we get an awesome tool that might inspire us to take a new course of action. That's awesome! Just be conscious of where that thing fits into the big picture over time.

In the arena of health and performance there are some insanely fancy gadgets that use pneumatic pressure gradients to simulate specific force curves in motion and talking AI wall units with special pulleys that track your eyelash count. All that's fine. However, insanely strong, fit, healthy people have been built in backyards with nothing more than hunks of rusty iron and concrete. Some with even less. Austerity isn't necessarily better, but it does display and important point. Nice tools are - nice. But understand why your are including a certain tool into your kit. Will this thing really contribute to your health in a meaningful way? Or is it just neat to have?

Choose your tools well.

Thanks for reading,

Rob

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