Change the station

One topic that seems to be hot lately on the blogs is the concept of changing your life.  I commend those bloggers for laying out their foundations for a better life, inside and out, but I think we need to go beyond the basics.

First, let me ask you WHY you want to change your life?  What isnt that you dont like?  Making a change literally takes 2 seconds.  Sticking to the change takes a lifetime.  I know a dude who has quit smoking more times then I can count.  He has even taken some expensive medicine to aid him in stopping.  Today?  He smokes more then a pack a day which is double what he smoked before his last attempt to quit. 

I know a dude who lost 30 pounds when something happened that threatened his life.  Today he has put 40 back on.

I share those stories because changing something about your life is about choices.  You can choose to continue doing whatever it is you want to not do, or you can chose to stop.  Pretty simple.  However, sticking to it is a DECISION.  No one is holding a gun to your head so you have to have the ability to stick to your changes.  You have to have the mental toughness to buck up and stick to it.  The challenge becomes a war inside of YOU, a war that NO ONE else can help you with.  You have to FIGHT these demons yourself. 

The battle will be bloody, it will leave you broken and beaten inside, but it must be waged and won if you want to make a change.

I ain't no angel
I still got a few more dances with the devil
I’m cleaning up my act little by little
I’m getting there
I can finally stand the man in the mirror I see
I ain’t as good as I’m gonna get
But I’m better than I used to be

I can give you ideas like writing down goals and making pacts and doing this or that, but I dont think you need that to change.  I think you quite simply need to look inside yourself, decide on that SPOT that you are changing the station, then do it and never, ever look back.  It's that simple, or that hard.  Never, ever look back and keep moving forward.  Run, walk, crawl, scratch, bleed, but keep moving forward away from what ever it is you want to change.

I want to change the fact that I am too damn fat!  LOL!  So, 4 weeks ago I started the Warrior Diet.  Talk about needing self control: you FAST all day long.  When you are used to eating, not eating becomes a physical and mental challenge.  When you are used to having an hour lunch break where you eat a big salad and half a pound or better of meat, having a small yogurt and 5 grams of leucine becomes a challenge.  When you have to train your weights and cardio on an empty stomach, your last meal being 6 pm the night before and here you are 23 hours later with nothing in your gut but a hard boiled egg, yogurt, 1 scoop of protein, and 15 grams of leucine, you learn something about yourself.  Do it, or dont.  Succeed or fail.  It is black and white.

That is what I tell my son.  I tell him that the choices he makes are black and white, right or wrong.  He makes the decisions every day, every minute.  Will he make the right choice, or will he be pushing the floor for 100?  He seems to do more pushups during his workouts now and less and less outside of the gym. 

I am looking to make a career change this year.  I want 2012 to be the last year I work my current job.  It is going to be a tough road, but I am going head first, bull horns out.  I need to do this to be a better person for my family, and so I can finally stand the man in the mirror myself.  I am not reaching out for help, I am doing it on my own.  I will succeed or fail at this on my own.  It will be easy to fall backwards and do the same ole' same ole'...the safe bet, the sure thing.  Moving forward into the unknown will be TOUGH.  Bring it on...

It is Saturday.  My son has to hit the pitching machine today for a few hours, then we will hit the deadlift bar for a little workout in the Garage of Pain.  I suggest you all do the same and MOVE FORWARD.  As always, remember this:

THERE ARE NO SECRETS.

Do yourself a solid today and stand the man in the mirror.