Hello, Kia ora, Guten Tag, Czesc!
My name is Marcin, and as you can tell by the greetings, I am somewhat of a “non”- or multi-country person. I am not sure if that particularly strengthens or weakens my current identity struggles, but I can tell you that right now (it is December 2023), I do not really know who I am.
Technically, I should be simple though:
I love me some outdoors goodness, lots of fitness, sports and new-age/modern activities (e.g. esports, pickleball & frisbee golfs), my ponies and puppies, silly cooking experiments, goofy movies and videos on the internet that make me laugh for no reason (budger budger budger mushroom anyone?), and finally, my outrageously bestest friend, my wife Joanne.
Otherwise, I usually tell people that I am:
Born in Poland, schooled and raised in Germany, studied and worked in Germany, Spain, Canada, Australia, and now live in New Zealand. All of my life I was really only interested in sports, although I was kind of good at school and studying/learning stuff – albeit ignoring the fact that I got progressively worse since!
Somehow though, nothing after this does make that much sense anymore (at least for me!).
I have dedicated most of my life to helping people with their health. Inevitably, my sports background drove me into the direction of elite sports, human performance and generally maximising human capabilities (much more than just physical!). I have done 15+ years of everything possible in this area: from being a fitness or health coach in the average gym, prehab/rehab clinician at physiotherapy clinics, performance coach at sports (or esports) clubs, research across multi-institutional and multi-country projects, and heaps of volunteering in all sorts of for profit or not-for-profit organisations. Up to this time, I thought I was doing a good job of being a health and wellbeing professional; but my current career steps (or the lack of), as well as the health status of the wider population is whispering to me that this is not the case.
I think my biggest concern about my life so far, in-retrospect, is that I have been part of the health and wellbeing epidemic problem. Yes, even though I did everything I could to wield all the knowledge, tools, skills, and principles for types of audiences and ages. With the aim to help everyone with their health and wellbeing, so that we could improve our societal and population situation.
To be frank though – nothing has changed.
It has only, and truly, gotten worse; and thus I somehow think that I have not really done the best job of moving the needle (albeit I do encourage myself more often nowadays that I did help a few hundred individuals over my career so far). It is disheartening to see that although we have the knowledge, the tools, and the extraordinary individuals (educated, qualified and experienced) to prevent or deal with most of our health and wellbeing issues, we simply chose not do that.
Well, now I want to try to figure out for myself, as well as help you to understand and learn that intellectually, knowledge and data based, we have the solutions for pretty much most health and wellbeing problems (yes, this includes our chaotic workplace habits as well). Yet, based from what you just read above, I am convinced that just sharing that itself, “trying to educate” or so, is not going to do anything – I might even presently think it will simply add even more to the existing problems.
I told recently one of my best friends, Dr Georgios Mavropalias, that:
We have KPI’ed everything in our lives.
The smart watch tracking your daily heart rate, steps & “sweats” or whatever?
KPI, right away.
The fitness app (e.g. Strava) to make yourself look cool with lots of km’s walked, ran or ridden?
Straight to KPI.
That “goal” you set for yourself for XYZ hours of exercise/meditation/journaling every week?
KPI.
The scheduled phone call to your parents on the weekend?
Believe it or not, KPI.
To-do list that includes morning routine, “me”-time, and bed routine?
Also KPI.
(I really really hope at least 1 person gets the reference here)
Alright, alright, I am pushing this a bit, I admit!
As a bonus, a quote from Dr Georgios himself:
“[…], and to add to this Marcin, a good day nowadays is [only] understood as a productive day”.
All this is particularly true for fitness, health and wellbeing. Additionally this has recently become even worse for the niche field of workplace wellbeing, or how I prefer to call “mental work and thinking process support”. I shudder every time I see companies trying to “assess” that as well (whether that is through some sort of automatic software that scans work done, or more rudimentary processes like time sheets; yes, you read that correctly! Time sheets, in 2023!!!). Yikes :(.
Somehow I think that there always has been something missing here.
The poetry, the pure idealisation and the willingness to ignore outcomes or rewards of exercise, training, or any sort of mental/emotional or even spiritual practice?
How come that even ancient civilisations where able to just celebrate what our human bodies (physical AND mental) are able to do?
How come they could already see the significance: as the Hippocratic philosophy states “healthy mind in a healthy body” being a “main component” of our lives (1)?
What if various philosophies or spiritual practices can in connection with modern and “cutting-edge” wellbeing data (actual useful and proven principles to be “well” throughout each day!) lead to a bit more applicable and appropriate tools and recommendations?
Thus, I want to try to infuse my writing with some thoughts, insights and discussions about Zen Buddhism, and various teachings, koans, or principles from it.
Disclaimer: I am much a beginner, and no master/sensei/teacher or anything myself. I do not even want to claim “practitioner” yet – that is how careful I am about this!
Nevertheless, I know that many people I coached, talked to or just have casual exchanges with, would agree that we truly are messing up our daily lives. Everyone is apparently “busy” all the time, has deadlines, is stressed, does stuff “because they have to”, is likely over scheduled, sees ‘exercise/meditation/insert your thing’ as just another chore, “to do” or “tick off” item on their list, and we are simply overloaded.
Why Zen Buddhism? I honestly cannot directly tell you why.
It seems like with the boom of “mindfulness” practices I always was confused by the rather platonic, boring and often useless, recommendations of “just be mindful”, or even to practices being simplified and thrown at our feet (e.g. journaling – like ok, but how can this be actually done?). Maybe, through an existing bias of having read, seen and heard so much about “being more Zen” (i.e. apparently I am supposed to just chill-out more, relax my professional interests, and just “focus on the things I can control”), or maybe through some sort of randomness: but I did get exposed to a collection of readings, lectures, practices and others aspects of Zen Buddhism.
Plus, I now continue to do so regularly – to learn and practice more of it for myself. So far, I can at least tell you that none of the “magical” aspects popularised and simplified about “being Zen” or “being mindful” are like even a thing. Or at least I have not found them yet.
All of this has me rather pondering, especially in relation to our hectic, fast-paced, technology-driven and generally “outcome first” lives:
What if we could do life “significantly different”?
(Wow, look at the scientist in me, trying to warp a popular word from the science world to my own will, muahaha.)
Thereupon, I were wondering:
What if we help ourselves to either just enjoy what we do more, get deeper into our challenges, or simply just think more while doing, more or less, nothing.
As you may read in my welcome article, being “intellectual”, or just thinking is quite frowned upon nowadays – often considered a waste of time and productivity! These are serious problems that we are facing, and that is for all facets of our wellbeing: physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual. Somehow I believe that the latter, spiritual health, could be the binding element for all the others. Or at least I am willing to open myself to this possibility, and take you on this journey with me.
That is what I want to write about – at least for me it makes sense. It is partly (or mainly?!) a journey for myself, but I also think that there is much to learn in the areas of self-discovery of wellbeing for other people. I truly hope it does for you too!
Whatever you read from me, please try to comment, restack or something else. I will read and engage with you on everything! Yes, I promise, because that has been so far in my life something I have been missing greatly on all other platforms (and this used to be much better on old school internet forums). And I have been an internet geek since at least 1999.
Looking forward to chatting with you, having a (slow) written exchange, or just having you as fellow reader along for this journey!
Once more: Welcome to Be Smart. Work Less. Play More. !
All the kindest greetings from the “end of the world” here in Aotearoa,
Marcin
If you read all this way, thanks so much and may you find some space today to just dwell in your breath, focus in the now, and just do.
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References
Feel free to checkout references for all my articles in this document.
