Embracing The Opportunity In Grey Areas

Dealing with uncertainty can be a challenge.

It can present so many options that blur the line of right vs wrong or best vs worst.

This is the grey area.

I’m not sure who exactly coined the term but the grey area is when or where there aren’t necessarily black and white options.

This is a lot of my job, actually. When clients come to me for training I’m responsible for choosing exercises, variations and volumes they can manage and grow from. However, there’s not just one way to do that.

Want to squat? Well, there’s a barbell, a dumbbell, belt squat - the list goes on.

Each variation or piece of equipment also serves different purposes depending on other circumstances (like pain, lack of mobility, tendencies, goals, etc).

I have to take in, evaluate, and execute within the grey area roughly 90% of the time.

And it can be a lot.

But, it can also provide some of the best opportunities ever!

When you’re in the grey area you have to stay open-minded.

You have to be able to see what is or isn’t black and white, acknowledge those, and use them in your decision making when you’re in the grey area.

This is an incredible skill.

When we were climbing Mt. Hood, this concept was drilled in a little harder for me, too. (Can you tell I had a blast on the mountain? I promise these wont all be Hood related)

The days leading up were very warm which only helped open the bergshrund (aka melt the snow bridge). Now, this isn’t the only way up but it’s a great example because it’s one of the more common routes up the mountain.

Obviously, as the snow melted and a huge hole opened up, safety became a new concern with this so we went another way.

The mountain is a perfect example of the grey area.

Some things are definite. Some things are not.

The grey area provides you with options. It forces opportunities.

Black and whites direct those opportunities. Then you make the choice or something else changes.

Leverage and embrace the grey area. Stay open-minded and optimistic.

You never know how good it could get!

Start by shifting your perspective.​

Stay stoked 🤙🏼