Comfort Zone

Ahhh, the comfort zone.  The place where we all feel safe and cozy, where life is alright and nothing can harm us.  Smooth sailing right?  Well, if you are perfectly content with where you are and have no aspirations of becoming better at anything, then kick your feet up, grab your oversized bag of cheetos, and have at it.  But for the rest of us, the comfort zone is a very dangerous place.  It’s the place we become complacent, where we settle, where we accept our conditions and succumb to the norm.  Then years later we run through the “what ifs”, the “I wish I would’ve”, and the “damn, I should’ve.”  I can’t think of many things in life worse than regret.  Better to try and fail than never try at all.  Getting out of the comfort zone isn’t always easy either.  Often it takes bold decisions and even bolder actions in order to be BETTER.  Not only that, but it takes an inner fortitude to keep going when everyone says you shouldn’t.  Many people will sympathize with you when things go wrong (not necessarily a bad thing), but will also validate your excuses and NOT help you attain your goals.  Hence why so many people remain in the comfort zone.  

What do you want out of life?  Are you LIVING, or just existing?  I think we all have an unfinished list somewhere of things we want to accomplish, but for some reason have never done.  Whether it’s running a marathon, writing a book, or visiting an exotic land, I’ve yet to meet anyone who is done in life.  If you’re still breathing, you’re here for a reason, and are still capable of doing great things.  I encourage you all to get off of your La-Z-Boy, get uncomfortable, and set out to do something that scares you just a little bit.    

THE Fitness Ninja-Changing the world one pushup at a time.

Punch in the Face

From time to time I have been known to get on my proverbial soap box and rant just a little.  Earlier this week I read a story about a new “fad diet” that made me shake my head and say “What the %&*$ is wrong with people?!?!”  Seriously, people will do damn near anything to lose weight EXCEPT actually eating right and exercising.  So here’s the new genius weight loss plan:  for 10 days you put a feeding tube...yes a FEEDING TUBE...into your nose that goes down to your stomach and drips 800 calories of non-carbohydrate nutrients into your body.  I got news for you, your body has a feeding tube called the esophagus and if you eat 800 calories a day you’ll probably lose weight.  As a matter of fact, if I punch you in the face and you eat 800 calories a day, that will probably result in weight loss too (and I’ll do it a lot cheaper than the $1500 this procedure costs).  It is currently being marketed to brides-to-be for a quick solution to last minute weight loss to fit into their wedding dress.  So let’s see, you’ll plan a wedding for 6-12 months, invest thousands of dollars into venue, food, entertainment etc., invite family and all the friends you’ve ever had, but not have the foresight to know you need/want to drop some weight and get your lazy ass up off the couch to do something about it?!  It shouldn’t really be appalling anymore, but I guess it still baffles me that as advanced and educated our society seems to be, how in the hell does anyone think this is a good idea?  Truly makes me want to slap someone, shake them silly, and put them on a treadmill until they puke.  

The Cabbage Soup Diet, the Grapefruit Diet, the Baby Food Diet, HCG...you name it, people have tried it.  It’s no lie, these plans will most likely result in weight loss...and muscle loss, maybe some hair loss, a jacked up metabolism, and an UNHEALTHY body.  Everyone wants the quick fix, but seems to forget they took the long approach to get unhealthy.  Would it be too much to ask to put a little effort into changing some eating habits and perhaps moving a little?  It may sound crazy, but I think it works.

THE Fitness Ninja-Solving the world's problems one pushup at a time.

Comparison

Ok, so maybe comparison is allowed here.  However...

Comparison is the death of all joy. Think about it. You go car shopping, you find the vehicle that is just perfect for you, and it fits your budget. You drive happily off the lot, soaking in the new car smell, when you pull up to the red light. A car pulls up to your left, and it's that shiny Aston Martin you've been seeing around town. Meanwhile, passing through the intersection in front of you is a brand new Lamborghini, the one that costs more than your net worth (and probably more than the GDP of half the countries of the world!). Suddenly that super happy feeling you had just moments ago is gone.

We do this in all aspects of life, and I see it in the gym all the time. I've never met anyone who was totally satisfied with their physical appearance. "I wish I had her butt." "I wish I had arms like that guy." "If I could only have her abs." "If I could just run as fast as him." If you're a professional athlete, then yes, you may have to compare yourself to others in order to gain a competitive advantage. But for most of us, we spend our lives comparing our accomplishments to others, who in turn do the same. All the while never taking true pride in what we have attained, and feeling like nothing will ever be good enough. We all need to remember where we started, and have a realistic view of not only what we have accomplished, but of what's possible as well. All the training in the world will never make me as fast as Usain Bolt (I know, shocking revelation), but I can certainly improve my OWN speed, and compare it to the only person it really matters to...ME.

Live YOUR life. There's nothing wrong with not being satisfied in your current situation, but set your goals for YOU, not to match someone else.


THE Fitness Ninja-Solving the world's problems one pushup at a time.

Challenge

Every now and then in life, you have to get up, slap yourself around a little, and demand more of yourself. It's so easy for all of us to get stuck in a routine, and never really push for anything better. Yes we go to work, make a living, provide for our families, etc, but those are things we're SUPPOSED to do. What have you done lately that you weren't supposed to do (and I'm not talking about having one too many drinks and sleeping through half the weekend!). What have you done that wasn't required of you, but you did it anyway? And you did it for YOU, not anyone else. I believe we're all people pleasers by nature. We seek approval from family and friends, bosses and co-workers, and all too often we seek approval from people that could really could care less about us and our lives. What we don't focus on enough is the person staring back at us in the mirror.

How will you challenge yourself today? What will you do to make YOU better? See, by making yourself better, you truly can be better for all the people that really matter in your life. I issued a pushup challenge, not to see who could win, but to see who is willing to step outside their comfort zone and do something they probably wouldn't do otherwise. And furthermore, my hope is that it inspires even more people around them to push themselves in a positive direction. I absolutely love what I do and know I'm serving my God given purpose in this world. The better I am, the better I can be for all of you.

THE Fitness Ninja-Solving the world's problems one pushup at a time.