by Craig Harper
Most people are either mathematics types or literature types but it's not often that you meet someone who enjoys both. In the world of Academia I am something of an oddity; I love both.
So you can imagine my geeky excitement when I discovered that there is a drama (Numbers) on television in which all kinds of major crimes are solved by a mathematics professor and his trusty calculator. Forget guns, fast cars and testosterone; these bad guys are being brought undone by algorithms and algebra. Gotta love that.
So I got to wondering about what would happen if we de-emotionalised the personal development process and approached the success journey from a strictly numerical and mathematical perspective. Would we be more likely to achieve our goals if we measured, quantified and analysed (at least some of) our life, and explored some of our typical habits and behavioural patterns (I love patterns) statistically and mathematically?
It could be interesting, and if nothing else it gives me a (semi) legitimate way to weave some maths into my blog!
Here a few random (but interesting) equations to consider as we continue down the road of creating the 'best us' we can.
1. In most western countries (Australia, US, Canada, England, etc.) the average 'active' health club membership is 15%. This means that 85 out of every 100 paid-up members are not currently using the facilities at all. The truth is that club owners know that they can sell memberships to way more people than the centre can accommodate because they know that (many) people will make the decision (to join), hand over their money, come a few times and never return. Club owners know that people will make decisions about their health, their body and their exercise regime that they will never follow through on; in fact in a way, they rely on it. Some people fork over a hundred bucks a month on direct debit for years for memberships they never use. That's some good maths for the club owner right there; a lazy hundred per month for jam, nada, donuts, zippo. Here's an equation:
Q. If 100 people join a gym for a year and they each go three times in that year what is the outcome? A. A whole bunch of fat, unfit people and a gym owner with a house on the beach.
2. If you expend five hundred calories per day more than you consume, you'll lose about one pound of body-fat per week. Conversely if you consume 3,500 calories per week over what you need, you'll gain an extra pound of lard for your troubles. Remember, if you put more calories in you than you need, the only thing you body can do is store that additional energy on your butt.. or legs... or tummy ...or wherever your body pleases!
Keeping in mind that fat is stored energy (calories).
Forget the diet books, the weight loss pills and the hypnotherapy, simply get your maths right and you'll be leaner and lighter in no time. People make weight loss harder than it needs to be. If you can add, subtract, multiply, divide and read nutritional information labels... you can lose weight.
*Note: People with endocrine problems or other significant medical issues may be the exception.
3. The average Australian watches about twenty hours of television per week (the figure is similar in the States, Britain, Canada, etc.). The number one excuse most people make for not doing 'stuff' (exercising, studying, reading, anything on their to-do list) is... they don't have the time.
The truth is we don't make the time. It ain't about time; it's about us. Imagine if we reduced our TV time by fifty percent (or.. gasp....one hundred percent) and invested that time into activities and behaviours which were consistent with our values and personal development goals. Perhaps we'd be less frustrated, more fulfilled, happier, healthier and more pleasant to be around!
4. Still on the time thing... research tells us that as little as four, thirty minute exercise sessions per week can create significant physiological change; won't get you in the Olympic team but will make you healthier, leaner, lighter and stronger. When we convert those four, thirty minute sessions into a percentage of our total time in a week (168 hours) it comes out at 1.19%.... Mmmm... maybe getting in shape is not a time issue after all.
5. If you count to fifty (slowly and silently) before you react badly, lose your temper or crack the sads... you're much less likely to do stuff you'll regret... and much more likely to create positive outcomes.
6. If you increase the speed of your daily one hour walk from 2.5mph (4.02kph) to 4mph (6.44kph) you will expend an extra 54,750 calories per year without even increasing your exercise time. That extra calorie expenditure equates to an additional fat loss of 15.6lbs. Cool.
*Note: the figures will vary slightly depending on your weight, the walking surface and the gradient but.... you get what I'm saying.
7. If we all made one significant change-our-life-for-the-better decision per week, some of us would make 52 decisions more than we did last year. We'd also be 216% happier. I made that last figure up.
8. If some of us talked fifty percent less and listened fifty percent more, there's a fair chance our relationships (professional and personal) would be one hundred percent healthier and more rewarding.
Most people are either mathematics types or literature types but it's not often that you meet someone who enjoys both. In the world of Academia I am something of an oddity; I love both.
So you can imagine my geeky excitement when I discovered that there is a drama (Numbers) on television in which all kinds of major crimes are solved by a mathematics professor and his trusty calculator. Forget guns, fast cars and testosterone; these bad guys are being brought undone by algorithms and algebra. Gotta love that.
So I got to wondering about what would happen if we de-emotionalised the personal development process and approached the success journey from a strictly numerical and mathematical perspective. Would we be more likely to achieve our goals if we measured, quantified and analysed (at least some of) our life, and explored some of our typical habits and behavioural patterns (I love patterns) statistically and mathematically?
It could be interesting, and if nothing else it gives me a (semi) legitimate way to weave some maths into my blog!
Here a few random (but interesting) equations to consider as we continue down the road of creating the 'best us' we can.
1. In most western countries (Australia, US, Canada, England, etc.) the average 'active' health club membership is 15%. This means that 85 out of every 100 paid-up members are not currently using the facilities at all. The truth is that club owners know that they can sell memberships to way more people than the centre can accommodate because they know that (many) people will make the decision (to join), hand over their money, come a few times and never return. Club owners know that people will make decisions about their health, their body and their exercise regime that they will never follow through on; in fact in a way, they rely on it. Some people fork over a hundred bucks a month on direct debit for years for memberships they never use. That's some good maths for the club owner right there; a lazy hundred per month for jam, nada, donuts, zippo. Here's an equation:
Q. If 100 people join a gym for a year and they each go three times in that year what is the outcome? A. A whole bunch of fat, unfit people and a gym owner with a house on the beach.
2. If you expend five hundred calories per day more than you consume, you'll lose about one pound of body-fat per week. Conversely if you consume 3,500 calories per week over what you need, you'll gain an extra pound of lard for your troubles. Remember, if you put more calories in you than you need, the only thing you body can do is store that additional energy on your butt.. or legs... or tummy ...or wherever your body pleases!
Keeping in mind that fat is stored energy (calories).
Forget the diet books, the weight loss pills and the hypnotherapy, simply get your maths right and you'll be leaner and lighter in no time. People make weight loss harder than it needs to be. If you can add, subtract, multiply, divide and read nutritional information labels... you can lose weight.
*Note: People with endocrine problems or other significant medical issues may be the exception.
3. The average Australian watches about twenty hours of television per week (the figure is similar in the States, Britain, Canada, etc.). The number one excuse most people make for not doing 'stuff' (exercising, studying, reading, anything on their to-do list) is... they don't have the time.
The truth is we don't make the time. It ain't about time; it's about us. Imagine if we reduced our TV time by fifty percent (or.. gasp....one hundred percent) and invested that time into activities and behaviours which were consistent with our values and personal development goals. Perhaps we'd be less frustrated, more fulfilled, happier, healthier and more pleasant to be around!
4. Still on the time thing... research tells us that as little as four, thirty minute exercise sessions per week can create significant physiological change; won't get you in the Olympic team but will make you healthier, leaner, lighter and stronger. When we convert those four, thirty minute sessions into a percentage of our total time in a week (168 hours) it comes out at 1.19%.... Mmmm... maybe getting in shape is not a time issue after all.
5. If you count to fifty (slowly and silently) before you react badly, lose your temper or crack the sads... you're much less likely to do stuff you'll regret... and much more likely to create positive outcomes.
6. If you increase the speed of your daily one hour walk from 2.5mph (4.02kph) to 4mph (6.44kph) you will expend an extra 54,750 calories per year without even increasing your exercise time. That extra calorie expenditure equates to an additional fat loss of 15.6lbs. Cool.
*Note: the figures will vary slightly depending on your weight, the walking surface and the gradient but.... you get what I'm saying.
7. If we all made one significant change-our-life-for-the-better decision per week, some of us would make 52 decisions more than we did last year. We'd also be 216% happier. I made that last figure up.
8. If some of us talked fifty percent less and listened fifty percent more, there's a fair chance our relationships (professional and personal) would be one hundred percent healthier and more rewarding.
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