A lot has been written about the concept of mentors and mentoring.  In my view, a mentor is someone who has more knowledge and experience than you in a particular area AND they share that with you over time.  What is key is that the two of you build a relationship around the sharing, teaching and learning of that knowledge and experience.  And that is basically the process of mentoring. There is a willingness to teach and a willingness to learn.  Knowledge, experience, and wisdom are transferred.

When we are just starting out in some endeavour (like a fitness challenge, for example), we really can benefit from the experience of a mentor – someone who has been there before us.  If you are new to the fitness world, or if you are ramping up your fitness activities to a new level, find a mentor.  Invite them to be your mentor, to purposefully share what they know with you.  Learn from them.  This may last a few weeks, or it could last years.

And once you have gained some knowledge and experience in your activity, you yourself are now farther down the road than a person who is just starting out.  It’s your turn now to share what you have learned and are learning on your fitness journey.  You move into a position where you can be a mentor.

From what I have seen, the mentoring process improves the likelihood that a new, inexperienced participant will become established in their area of endeavour.  That is what I think we should be after: leveraging our experience, knowledge, and enthusiasm – our wisdom – with teachable people so they learn, grow and become successful.  At the same time, we continue to learn and grow as we ourselves are mentored.  Mentoring is a win-win situation.