Simplicity is Key

I recently picked up golf. Fist off Mike, why would you do such a masochistic thing to yourself? Well, I wanted to pick up a hobby that I could do far into old age that was cognitively engaging, had exercise baked into it, was social, got me outdoors and connected with nature, and was a great excuse for me to spend two to four hours with my children and future grandchildren on a regular occasion. There we go, golf hits three of my pillars; Exercise, Social, and Spiritual. Boom. Now back to what I was saying.

I had a really great golf lesson the other day. What made this golf lesson unique wasn’t a specific technique that I picked up or enlightenment on a major swing error I need to correct. In fact, by the end of the golf lesson I wasn’t even hitting the ball particularly better than when I started. So why was the lesson the best lesson I have ever had?

The lesson was so good because I was taught how to interpret my shots. I was taught that the flight of the golf ball is driven primarily by two factors, the swing path and the angle of the club face at impact relative to that swing path. That’s it… two major factors. Two. I can focus on two things. It sure as shit beats the cognitive load of the eighteen and a half things I was trying (and failing) to focus on all at once with each golf shot prior to my introduction to the two-factor model. This lesson gave me a tangible and simple mental model of how to approach my golf swing. 

For example, if the trajectory of my golf ball starts left to right AND the ball curves to the right (a “push slice” which I am really really good at) then I am swinging inside to out for my club path and my club face is wide open relative to that path at contact. I can now understand what happened and change my swing accordingly. 

Similarly, if my ball trajectory starts right to left AND the ball has a slight curve to the right (a nice tight “fade”) then my club path was slightly out to in and my club face was slightly open relative to that path. I can now understand what I did right and have a better chance at repeating it.

This lesson gifted me a simple model of a golf swing which allows me to accurately evaluate my swing, determine the specific factors involved, and make meaningful interventions that actually lead to a better golf shot. Simple and directly actionable, I love it. 

Now the tie-in to medicine. That mental model I got from the golf lesson is the same gift that I want to give to my patients when it comes to their health. Starting the journey into the longevity medicine field is like drinking through a firehose. It is overwhelming how many different biometrics, lab tests, and interventions are out there. Like me trying to hold the eighteen and a half golf thoughts in my head every swing, it is bewildering to try and develop an actual viable lifestyle that takes all of the new and ever-changing longevity medicine factors into account. Instead, a simple mental model that gets at the heart of what you need to be doing and why you need to be doing it is a better place to start. It gives a simple and directly actionable model which you can use to assess and change your own lifestyle. It is empowering you as the patient to be the captain of your ship, for you to get your own fish instead of being reliant of someone else giving you fish. It is essential so that you can continue to build and improve your healthspan and lifespan long after our patient doctor relationship has ended. 

I just hope our health mental model outpaces my golf shot mental model when it comes to outcome improvements… because otherwise we are in trouble.