BooneThink

William Bridges wrote the book, Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change. It was published in 1991 by Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. I found it to be very interesting and helpful in understanding the challenges faced by the ASEP leadership. In many ways, the information is common knowledge. Here, I’m reminded of a Chinese proverb, “The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names.” This is the beginning point of so many changes in our lives. And, yes, this is why I know and state however often I can and whenever I can that “exercise science” is not “exercise physiology.” This is also why I’ve written about change within exercise physiology by the ASEP leadership.

Bridges states that “It isn’t the changes that do you in, it’s the transitions [1, p. 3]. By trnsitions, he means the “…psychological process people go through to come to terms with the new situation [1, p. 3]. Here is the point. The views that others have about ASEP that are less than positive result from their emotional and/or psychological difficulties coming to terms with ASEP.

Until exercise physiologists come to think of the American Society of Exercise Physiologists as their professional organization, change happens slowly. Of course if the psychological considerations are simply too big to deal with, change will not work at all. Fortunately, this isn’t the case with the ASEP organization. Change is taking place, but slower than expected.

This is why exercise physiologists must deal with the transition from exercise science to exercise physiology. It must be consciously acknowledged and psychologically accepted. Change is ASEP. The transition is the “letting go” of the old reality of exercise physiology and its identity with sports medicine. The key word here is “letting go.” Doing so allows for the new identity to take hold.

Failing to let go of the old reality for the new reality undermines the work of everyone who has made the transition. Ending the old way of thinking allows for the first step in thinking as an ASEP exercise physiologist. It’s important to understand this thinking. So, why not end yesterday’s thinking for the new ASEP thinking?