Ratios are interesting in that they simply compare two numbers against each as part of a whole. We intuitively grasp the concept of ratios until it gets unnecessarily complicated by an over-zealous maths teacher. But at the root we understand that 1:2 means something is twice as big as something else. So what about our lifestyle ratios?

For a warmup, what is your ratio of time spent watching sports versus doing sports? A rugby game is 80 minutes long. A soccer game, 90. A cricket game, a couple hours at least. Throw in the odd quick sports channel here and there, maybe 30min, and pretty soon you’re hitting 4-5 hours per week of just watching sport. For an even 1:1 ratio, you’d need to be pretty active. In fact, you’d be relatively fit on that amount of sport per week.

If your watching:doing ratio is skewed on the watching side, then it’s safe to say you watch more than you do. Which makes you more a spectator than a competitor. You’re bluffing yourself if you think otherwise because time is limited and there are other ratios to consider too.

Time with family:time at work. Already, you start each day out on a disadvantage being required to spend 8/24 of the available hours at work. At least. Usually. Weekends is where you get to close that deficit a little. Oh, you sometimes work on weekends…

At any rate, how you choose your time is your own prerogative. There’s no judgment here because every situation has a context that is subjectively justifiable. The main point is how do perceive yourself against the evidence of numbers?

If you think you’re pretty sporty, but you actually watch more sport than you do, then you could actually be way more sporty and live closer to the vision you have of yourself. Or, you could re-invest that time in the family gap instead of the telly. That way, both ratios improve. You just watch less and immediately become more of a competitor without upping your workouts.

Too many men fall prey to weekends of just watching sport. The sun could be shining, the waves cooking, the mountains beckoning… but an insert-your-favourite game somehow seems way more important right now than just getting out there and getting your heart rate up. And then we wonder why we get brushed with bad stereotyping?

It’s why we have re-runs, recorders and highlight packages. We can’t put the day on hold. Get out there and off your couch- seize the carp!

And yes, the occasional live game with the mates is worth the watch. This is not a binary, extreme wing revolution. It’s about balance, but you can only find a balance if you’re living true to both external (numbers) and internal (i think) evaluations of the “I am”.