I work with a lot of Type A personalities; you combine this personality trait with a ton of numbers and monitoring and the first few months can be a whirlwind of poop, emails, texts, and headaches. Type As like control. They like easy fast problems, like organizing someone else’s desk the way they want it. Yet, the body is naturally in chaos and you can’t organize it just so. Plus, most of these problems and mental nonsense are deep seated and took years/decades to develop. You can’t fit the human body in some color coded tupper ware or the perfect trapper keeper. It is too variable.
Thus, the first time a Type A sees a high blood glucose value, disregulated hormonal profile, an anerobic dominance, or a loss in performance they freak out inside. Something is wrong with me. I better go to the doctor. I have to figure all this out tomorrow or I will die. I might have cancer. DO I have cancer? I have cancer.
Then they get on myfitnesspal and log their fanny off. Everything becomes a number and they forget that this is a process to be enjoyed. Yea counting stuff is good, but just having a plan and writing stuff down on paper or a google doc is good enough. You don’t have to go all Steve Jobs on everyone and find every app for everything ever. People don’t like to be incessantly asked questions. They want to give you the appropriate homework/directions, then you get the job done and come back and ask for more.
Imagine if I texted Davis every day. HEY! How is my form on the third clean? Can I eat more muffins today after my deadlifts?
He’d cut my balls off and rightfully so. Now I can’t go around cutting off any Type A genitals but that is not to say I don’t just want to shake them and yell ,”Stop it – You’re Bat Shit Crazy – you are creating the very problem you are trying to solve.”
Then they see the light and we sip chai tea out of recycled mugs.
Except that would never happen because they have to see it for themselves.
They have to become the Watcher – not the MicroManager.
And then they have to create a gap in their thought processes.
Oh I am being crazy again. I probably shouldn’t say this out loud. Or maybe I should try to answer this question myself instead of sending an unneeded email to five people.
You Type As might be asking how do I know you so well - because I am one. I see your matching palm pilot ass coming a mile away and let me tell you that letting go will be the hardest thing you ever do in your life. Maybe your dad never got off your case about being successful. Maybe your mom was anal about the laundry and all your pencils being labeled, or maybe you are just naturally off your rocker. It’s ok, but what are you going to do about it. Blame everyone else for not being as organized and punctual as you want them to be or learn again and again to just go with the flow.
Get the information and clarification you need. Give people room to respond and give yourself the space, patience, and time to get some real work done. Please.
By: Ben House FDN, Ph. Candidate
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