Keeping Up With Trends

I've always laughed a bit when I read or hear coaches and trainers talk about the need to "keep up with the trends in the industry" because they're always changing. But here's the thing - trends may change, but what actually works doesn't change all that much. Which is why chasing trends is about the dumbest thing you can do. This doesn't mean it's completely useless. Only partly. But chasing trends just leads to chasing your tail, because eventually, you'll come back around to where you started and realize that you just wasted a lot of time. And this doesn't just go for exercise or training - it applies to damn near anything.
Admittedly, I did this to an extent even a few years ago. Because when you don't fully understand the "why," it becomes easy to get suckered in by bullshit and marketing. But now, if I see something that challenges the way I do things, I look at it, figure out why it supposedly works, where it can fit in with what I'm doing, or if I need to really change my paradigm. And usually, I don't. Because the basics have been around for a long time for a reason, and gimmicks aren't.