AYADOAW?

Years ago, while living in Europe, I signed up for a weekend bus trip to a famous ski resort in the Alps.  It was to be a fantastic ski adventure with a group of friends and none of us had to drive.  But when I called my best friend at the time, he said he'd have to miss it because it was Super Bowl weekend.  Not being a huge football fan, it hadn't occurred to me that this was the "big" weekend.  I appealed to my friend, painting a picture of fresh snow, alpine peaks, fast skiing, cold beer, and camaraderie.  No luck.  How could anyone miss the Super Bowl...even if we were living in Europe, where you'd have to go to an American bar to watch, since the only football anyone cares about over there is soccer?

I was at a loss for words, bummed that my friend would miss out on an epic trip and that I'd miss out on skiing with him.  But then, without thinking, I blurted out: Are you a Doer or a Watcher?  

I don't know where the words came from, but it worked.

My friend came on the trip and if you ask him who won the Super Bowl that year, I doubt he'd know who it was.  But if you ask him about the ski trip I guarantee he'll tell you all about it: about the all-night bus ride, the cool hotel we stayed at, and especially the last run of the last day, where we decided to take one more chairlift ride to the top, and then raced at breakneck speed the entire 3,000 vertical feet to the waiting bus (and the last ones on the bus, much to the chagrin of the waiting group!).  Yeah, he missed an exciting football game on TV, but instead of watching other people "do" something, he was "doing", he was living, he was starring in his own far more memorable adventure.

As I've noted before in my blog and videos, I'm often outside in the snow all alone, or with very few people around.  Gorgeous blue sky days after a fresh snowfall, with hills all around and only a handful of "doers" taking advantage, and more often than not, the doers are younger kids, still excited to grab a sled or a tube or a snurfer (!) and hike up a hill to come right back down. Fresh air, fun, exercise. Not yet so immersed in digital culture that they've forgotten the joy of playing outside in the snow rather than hanging out inside (sedentary) and watching football or a movie on TV ....watching other people live, or playing video games...watching other digital people live!

So, Are you a Doer or a Watcher?