Doing something different.

Yes, of course, all of us do.

I have a morning routine, that I stick to. A workout routine- Pre-workout meal, certain warm-ups that I follow, post workout meal, post workout shower, post workout reading, post workout stretching. A bedtime routine, etc……

My point is we all have routines. These are our comfort zones.

Whenever we want to make a change in our life.

Most people that come to me want to lose weight, since I am a personal trainer. Well, you’re going to have to clean up your diet and start working out. Oh, but I can’t go without _________ (insert bad food item here).

I’m not saying you can’t have _______ ever again. You just can’t eat it on a regular basis.

Some people want business change. Life change. Family change. Relationship change.

Imagine with me—– a huge Circle on a chalkboard or dry erase board. And then to the right of that is another smaller circle. Side by side. A big circle and little circle.

Inside the big circle is everything that you are comfortable doing—- Your morning ‘get ready’ routine, your work routine, your drive routine, etc……..

Inside the small circle is where the magic happens. That is outside your comfort zone. Things you do that might make you uncomfortable, or maybe you even fear doing them. But these are things that will bring about the biggest changes in you.

For weight loss, maybe’s it’s stop drinking soda and only drinking water. For a small business maybe it’s getting out from behind the computer and getting out and networking. For a single person maybe it’s asking that someone out on a date.

Maybe you want to learn a new skill. Or apply for a new position at work, but it will require learning a new software program.

If you want to change you got to jump into the small circle. And get comfortable being there.

And the fact of the matter is it takes work. Hard work and commitment.

You can’t just wishfully want something and then magically it happens.

You want to climb Mount Everest? That’s going to take months, maybe even years of training to do that.

What is your life worth to you? Are you where you want to be right now in your life? If you are then awesome for you!

But most people are not where they want to be. Myself included.

Everyday I work on climbing my Mount Everest. I have a bunch of them.

Of course some days are harder, that is always going to be the case.

Getting to where you want to be in life is a challenge. It’s the challenge of life. Are you going to sit on your ass and not reach for goals because you are afraid of stepping outside your comfort zone, or are you going to change? And make a difference in your life and probably the lives of other people.

I don’t care how old you are! What race, religion, creed, your height, weight, education, or favorite TV show is. You can change now!

You just have to be willing to accept the fact that you can. and that it is going to require hard work.

HArd Work in the forms of mental, emotional, physical, spiritual. There will be obstacles. Do you see them as roadblocks or just a temporary setback?

What separates the people that reach their potential and the ones that don’t: The ones that do have the courage to say they want to change and they take massive action outside of their comfort zone and they get it done. The others just sit comfortably, going through life, letting circumstances arise and then reacting to those circumstances.

Hard workers create their own circumstances.

It wasn’t until my late 20’s that I decided to change my life.

I sometimes used to say to myself I wish I could go back with the PRESENT ME and replace the PAST ME. I wonder where I would be NOW.

But I realize that would be stupid. I can’t change the past. Because my first quarter century or so on this earth was the best education of my life. I learned that things aren’t just given, they have to be earned. When I was little (elementary-high school) I thought the only you needed to do to have a successful life was to go through your schooling then go to high school, then go off to college, earn your degree, get an awesome high paying job, then get married, have kids, and live happily ever after. That’s what I saw with my dad. He had an awesome job, Vice President of his division, as long as I remember he was making $100 k and when he retired over $200k. So i just magically thought that would be me to. But then I got out of college and got a job doing collections making $23,000 a year. Dead end. And super fearful for my future.

So at 28 or 29 I decided to change. Get out of my comfort zone. Do things that great people do. I opened up my training business, and since have opened up 2 more, with a couple more on the horizon.

Everyday is a day to get better, I know this. Everyday I am climbing my Mount Everest. They say it’s 29,029 feet tall. If that’s the case I’d say I’ve only climbed about 2000 feet. There is so much more I want to do and accomplish. And I won’t stop until I reach the Summit!

That is going to require MASSIVE ACTION outside of my comfort zone. Every single day!