Bridge or Mahjong anyone ?

Board games are having a resurgence.

I don’t know about you, but my friends are learning Mahjong and Bridge with greater fervour than Year 12 students in swotvac.

Degustation dinners are out. Board games with a side of Prosecco are in.

And with this newfound desire for connection comes something else.

Competition.

I am seeing a side of my friends I never witnessed while we were busy raising children, building careers and navigating adulthood together.

They want to win.

Not politely.

Not casually.

Properly.

I’ve watched normally delightful women become ruthless strategists over a Bridge table. Suddenly there are tactics, alliances, accusations of distraction and lengthy post-game analyses.

As you all know, I like to bring everything back to lifting heavy weights, so naturally it got me thinking.

How do we bring this energy into the gym?

By the third round of Mahjong, the desire to win only seems to grow. By the third set in the gym, most of us are simply trying to get through.

Why?

I think it’s because of the reward.

In a board game, the payoff is immediate.

You make a clever move. You score points. You win the hand.

The feedback is instant.

The gym doesn’t work like that.

You don’t complete a workout and immediately gain stronger bones.

You don’t do a set of lunges and suddenly improve your balance.

You don’t prioritise protein for one day and wake up noticeably stronger.

The rewards are coming, but they’re delayed.

And unfortunately, delayed rewards are far less exciting than immediate ones.

Particularly in a world where we can have groceries delivered in an hour, watch any movie we want instantly and track a parcel’s progress down to the very street.

Health is stubbornly old-fashioned.

It refuses to provide instant gratification.

Instead, it rewards consistency.

Slowly.

Quietly.

Almost imperceptibly.

Until one day you realise you’re carrying your own luggage up hotel stairs without thinking about it.

Getting off the floor with ease.

Keeping up on a hike.

Playing with grandchildren.

Travelling independently.

Recovering more quickly after a fall or illness.

Living life on your terms.

The funny thing is that the most valuable things in life often take the longest to earn.

Financial security.

Strong relationships.

Business success.

And health.

None are built overnight.

They are the result of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of small decisions made consistently over time.

One workout won’t change your life.

One hundred might.

One healthy meal won’t transform your health.

Years of them absolutely will.

One good night’s sleep won’t solve everything.

Making sleep a priority for months can.

This is particularly true during menopause and beyond.

The women who thrive aren’t necessarily the most talented, athletic or genetically gifted.

They’re the women who keep showing up.

The women who understand that today’s workout is not about winning today.

It’s about investing in tomorrow.

And the day after that.

And the decade after that.

So while my Mahjong skills remain questionable and my Bridge game is still developing, I’ve learnt something valuable from watching my friends fiercely pursue victory around a card table.

The best outcomes are rarely immediate.

The biggest wins are often the slowest.

When it comes to your health, strength and wellbeing, I’ll take longevity over quick victories every time.

Pardon the Bridge pun, but that’s a convention worth playing.