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Article: Money and Recreation

How should you invest your precious play pence?

 

£5.6 billion was spent on sporting goods in the UK in 20071.. That’s about £100 for every man, woman and child on these isles (doesn’t include dogs or hamsters). How many of these sporting goods made a real difference to their owner’s recreation?

 

I confess: I like to buy well designed, well made gear. Some of it has greatly enhanced my recreation. Some of it has probably saved my life. Some of it, on the other hand, hasn’t done either. Some of it hasn’t even made it outside yet. And what was wrong with the other one I had? Sure it had slightly fewer features, was last decade’s colour, was a bit tatty and weighed 3 more micrograms but it still worked fine.

 

How else could you invest money in your recreation?

  1. Skills / knowledge training. Expert tuition tends to build confidence as well as aptitude. A reasonable fear of incompetence is often the greatest bar to freedom out there. One day out with a suitably qualified professional (like me!) could arm you with technical skills, insight into potential hazards and a realistic assessment of your competence. This might give you the confidence to broaden the scope of your outdoor recreation for years to come. How many bits of shiny gear could do that?…
  2. Join the Association of Naturist and Luddite British Real Extreme Sports Enthusiasts (ANALBRESE). Free yourself from the seduction of marketing, fashion and sparkly gadgetism and experience chapping to parts of your body that you’d almost forgotten about.
  3. Subscribe to a nationally recognised body (e.g. British Mountaineering Council). The wealth of knowledge and support available for a few quid a year will pay for your investment many times over.
  4. Support overstretched mountain rescue teams / the RNLI.
  5. Coaching: Time with a life coach will help you identify and overcome the actual bars to your recreation. Often these are not the excuses we tend to fob ourselves off with. You may not be aware of the real obstacles. One client I coached was able to come up with a plan that, over the course of a year, dramatically reduced his work commitments and freed up many days each year to enjoy recreation. Obviously his work performance improved too.  

 

All the gear, no idea

 

The mountain rescue coordinator was impressed that the walker had managed to establish comms – phone reception was poor in their area. He began to ask questions to help the walker identify his position. The walker assured him that he knew exactly where he was and proceeded to read out a 8-figure grid reference from his GPS unit. The Coordinator then asked what the walker’s injury or predicament was. The walker said there were no injuries in the group. After further patient quizzing, which established that the party were extremely well equipped for a night out on the hill, the coordinator realised the problem: it had begun to get dark (which had some how caught the walker by surprise) and the walker was afraid to move. He was also afraid to spend the night out despite having all the gear necessary. He effectively wanted a free guiding service to arrive and lead him to his car.

 

 

Some questions to consider before spending / investing:

 

  • Over how long a period of time will this investment enhance my recreation?
  • How will this improve the quality of my play time?
  • By how much will this improve the quantity of my play time?
  • Do I need another?
  • What else towards my recreation could I do with this money?
  • In what ways will this help me identify, understand and overcome the fundamental blocks to my recreation?
  • Will the lilac one suit my complexion better than the pink one?
  • How can I invest in me as well as in things?

Money is good stuff: It can be exchanged for and invested in things that will enrich our recreation enormously. It can also be flung at folk who know how vulnerable we are to clearance offers, product placement and our delight in things new and shiny.

 

1. Mintel

Gorge

 


 
Associate Member of the European Coaching Institute Registered on the International Coaching Register Holder of the Achievement Specialists LCH Diploma in Life Coaching
 
 
Life Coaching for Adventure Juicy Freedom