Intention and focus are a cornerstone of exercise prescription. I do my best to choose tasks for people to do because they lack that foundation. A big part of success here is shutting up and listening. Once I've gotten the raw data, pushing someone with a challenge means they have to be present to do the work: not on their phone, not talking about the weekend, not speeding through it without an understanding of the goal. The pathway becomes clear when everyone is on the same page about this therapeutic alliances we work to cultivate.
Great points Nate! What you’ve described gets to the heart of what makes care meaningful. Attention and intention aren’t just helpful—they’re essential to clinical reasoning and therapeutic progress. When we listen fully and guide with clarity, we’re not just prescribing tasks—we’re inviting someone into a shared process that requires presence. And in a distracted world, that kind of presence becomes both therapeutic and transformative.
“The mind and the world fit together like the blades of a pair of scissors. The fit between the blades determines whether the scissors cut properly… Understanding the world in which operators find themselves is vital if we are to understand their actions.” Prof. Herbert Simon
That, and more importantly, 'Be still and know that I am God...' Psalm 46:10
A lucid analysis of the war we fight within ourselves and with a culture that feeds on our soul. It reminds me again of the importance of taking the admonition of Psalm one to heart.
Intention and focus are a cornerstone of exercise prescription. I do my best to choose tasks for people to do because they lack that foundation. A big part of success here is shutting up and listening. Once I've gotten the raw data, pushing someone with a challenge means they have to be present to do the work: not on their phone, not talking about the weekend, not speeding through it without an understanding of the goal. The pathway becomes clear when everyone is on the same page about this therapeutic alliances we work to cultivate.
Great points Nate! What you’ve described gets to the heart of what makes care meaningful. Attention and intention aren’t just helpful—they’re essential to clinical reasoning and therapeutic progress. When we listen fully and guide with clarity, we’re not just prescribing tasks—we’re inviting someone into a shared process that requires presence. And in a distracted world, that kind of presence becomes both therapeutic and transformative.
“The mind and the world fit together like the blades of a pair of scissors. The fit between the blades determines whether the scissors cut properly… Understanding the world in which operators find themselves is vital if we are to understand their actions.” Prof. Herbert Simon
That, and more importantly, 'Be still and know that I am God...' Psalm 46:10
A lucid analysis of the war we fight within ourselves and with a culture that feeds on our soul. It reminds me again of the importance of taking the admonition of Psalm one to heart.