Friday Thoughts 95
Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Thoughts, where I share what’s been on my mind and my feed this week. Enjoy!
Seacoast Cancer 5k
Join a crew of GAINERS who are walking or running the Seacoast Cancer 5k in memory of Kendra Chevalier, a GAIN member who passed away earlier this year. If you sign up — be sure to join Team Cupcake, and put your name on the whiteboard in the gym so we know who will be there on the morning of the 14th.
FALL SWEATSHIRT PREORDER
We have 3 new sweatshirts available to keep you warm in style this fall.
Classic logo gray hoody
Finally making my black hoody I always wear available after years of promise
Property of GAIN ATHLETIC DEPT.
Put on your name on the preorder list at the gym. Hoody’s are $50 and the Athletic Dept. crewneck is $45.
Technical Problems and Adaptive Challenges — is protein and creatine becoming mainstream good? Are we still missing the point?
There are two categories of problems you’ll face in life.
The first is a technical problem. These have a known solution. You just need the right steps, manual, or expert. Flying a plane is technical. Fixing a broken AirBike is technical — Google the part, follow the instructions, done.
Adaptive challenges are different. They don’t get solved with a manual. They demand change — in mindset, values, or habits. An athlete with performance anxiety won’t fix it with another book or podcast. The work is internal.
Running a business is the same. The internet is full of “10 tips to get more clients.” If advice alone worked, everyone would be crushing it. The real challenge isn’t more hacks — it’s shifting behavior, beliefs, and identity.
Here’s the trap: we’re famous for treating adaptive challenges like technical problems. We think if we just had more info, more data, more hacks, we’d finally change. But technical fixes don’t work on adaptive problems.
Take fitness. Protein and creatine are everywhere now — in ads, articles, grocery stores. At first, I thought: finally, people are getting the info! But underneath, the adaptive challenge remains: how do we actually stay healthy and fit as a nation?
Protein is great. Creatine is great. More info is fine. But solving an adaptive problem takes more than tips. It takes deep change.
Get to work!
If you want to learn more about these types of problems and how to best overcome them: Immunity to Change by Robert Kegan.
I save this to show the kids
And maybe you’ll like it too.
Jack3D
I was one of the lucky ones to ride the wave of the original Jack3D. Me and my friends would take a couple scoops before working out at 7pm. Oh to be young.
Thanks for reading, see you next time!
—Justin Miner