[su_quote cite=”Grantland Rice”]For when the One Great Scorer comes to mark against your name, He writes – not that you won or lost – But how you played the Game.
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Keeping Score
Paul from Queensland, Australia had a problem. Bound to his desk as an office worker for eight hours a day, Paul was overweight and feeling sluggish. But one day, Paul decided he’d had enough. He started walking and logging his steps with a pedometer. Paul began to feel better. His clothes became looser. He’s since taken up cycling along with walking. In general, it’s clear Paul is happier and healthier. One of the many members of a website called 10000steps dot org, Paul shares his story about how walking 10,000 steps a day changed his life.
High protein, low carb. New York Times bestseller. Who cooks and who cleans up.
The sheer volume of ways we have created to keep score on ourselves and others is mind blowing. In recent years, nothing has gained as much attention in the health arena as the 10,000 steps a day “rule.”
I have a friend who insists on logging 25,000 steps a day on her Fitbit. Wearable tech devices like the Fitbit have become mainstream, holding accountable those who choose to wear them to reaching specific and measurable goals. I have to hand it to her — she rarely misses meeting her goal and the results are self-evident. She is lean and strong from walking as much as she does every day.
Where did walking 10,000 steps a day come from? According to an article on livescience.com titled The Truth About ‘10,000 Steps’ a Day, its origins can be traced back to 1960s Japan when a pedometer called the manpo-kei was marketed to the masses. The word manpo-kei translates to “10,000 steps meter.” The Japanese took to the idea and health benefits were noted. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Not everyone subscribes to the 10,000 steps a day regimen, though. An alternative exists, as this article from the BBC suggests. Rather than aiming for 10,000 steps a day, people who commit to taking three brisk ten-minute walks a day “actually did 30% more ‘moderate to vigorous physical activity’ than the 10,000-step group, even though they moved for less time.” Health benefits were noted.
No industry is immune from keeping score. The art world does it with gallery openings and print runs. Almost everyone is familiar with the number of likes they receive from their latest Facebook or Twitter post, keeping an invisible score about what kind of content tends to generate more engagement (spoiler alert — you can almost never go wrong with posting photos of food or family).
One of the most in-demand jobs these days is a data scientist, someone who gets paid really, really well to make sense of enormous amounts of data and present it to stakeholders so that they understand what it means for KPIs like marketing, sales, and efficacy. Basically, a data scientist is a glorified scorekeeper with a hefty six figure salary.
For sports fans, this time of year is electrifying. Major League Baseball is heating up as we head into the fall (Go Red Sox!). The start of both the college and NFL football seasons is days away (Go Ducks!). Countdowns and predictions are being made across the country about who will make the playoffs, who will be crowned MVP, who will be the best — and the worst.
As professional analysts alongside everyday fans sift and sort through data points related to both team and individual athletes’ potential, scorecards are filling up. Excitement and anticipation are mounting.
What are you measuring in your life?
What excites you about it?
How is it making a difference?
