Stop Being Content and Become Great

Stop Being Content and Become Great

Posted by DClaiborne on April 7, 2010, 2:41pm

PUNCH BEING CONTENT IN THE MOUTH

That’s right. If you don’t and that content feeling starts to take you over then you have already failed. It is as simple as that. Do you follow the same mundane routine day in and day out never noticing the results or what is going on around you? If you don’t have the passion and motivation to set and more importantly reach goals then you are never going to succeed in anything you try to do. This goes for everything… not just in the gym.

No matter what happens in life or in your training, if you live outside your comfort zone then nothing can knock you off your game. Sure things might knock you back a step or two, but you are the type of person in which problems and other negative things just bounce right off of because you are used to being outside your comfort level.

Far too many people I know fit into this “comfort zone”. Why? Because it is easy. They go to the same job day in and day out never thinking about getting promoted, never asking for a raise, and never looking for something better out there. They eat the same places, do the same workouts, and get the same crappy results they have become accustomed to.

But what happens when something knocks them out of their comfort zone? Do they take it in stride and bounce back because they are used to it? Nope… They freak out, slip into a depression, and realize for the most part they are screwed.

I knew a strength coach who was one of the better coaches at the collegiate level. He had been at the same school for over 10 years and became content. He had all his programs in place and had no cares in the world… Until a coaching change got him fired. He had no backup plan. He started scrambling around to find anything and ended up coaching at one of those “Speed & Agility” centers for a few bucks an hour because he spent too long in his comfort zone. What if he checked out the job field every year or two to see if there was a way to advance? Do you think he still would have had to deal with 2nd graders running around screaming at his new place of employment?

I set goals for everything I do because it is human nature to slip back into a comfort zone. I try to fight and resist this by trying to always achieve or go beyond any goal that I set. Any time I train I try to smash my goals because every time I look in the mirror I see that 150lb kid who had no confidence. I see that kid who was fast, not to be a better athlete, but because he was scared and afraid to face anyone on the field or in life. Being afraid of becoming that person again is my biggest motivator.

I have people tell me all the time things I don't see... how strong or big I have become. How much I have changed, etc. but I don't see it. Granted I don't think I ever want to see it either. I figure that if I ever see it and start listening to what other people say then that is one step back into that comfort zone and the first step to failure.

My athlete's will never follow the same workout program more than 2 weeks in a row (if even that long). Why is this? Not because of “muscle confusion“, or whatever term some P90X wannabe is spouting out this month. It is because I don't want them to be content with the program and their results. If they come in knowing that they will be squatting the next 6 weeks content starts to creep in. "I can go easy this week because I'm tired and really push it next." What happens next week then? Do they push it or did they realize they got away with slacking a little last week and just continue that mindset? I personally don't want to find out.

At Genesis I only want athlete’s that live outside that comfort zone. They don't listen to what other people say, but instead are determined to write their own story. On one wall I have a goal board hanging and require every athlete, member, employee, and intern to have something on there. If you aren't going to put a goal on a board and look at it every time you train then do you really have what it takes to achieve something?

Anytime someone comes in asking about training the first thing I tell them is I don't care what are you like now. If you are an all world 12-year letterman, or haven’t ever gotten off the bench, I don’t care. What I do care about is what you are like a week from now, a month from now, 6 months from now, and a year from now. If you plan on just coming in for a good workout and don’t care about smashing goals then you aren’t the person Genesis was built for or that I want to work with. You are the type of person who holds back the people who do plan on getting better and living outside their comfort zone.

If you don’t already have some goals figured out then do it today. Post them somewhere, tell a friend, or even post them below. Put them somewhere that you will see and look at many times throughout the day. This is the first step for getting out of the zone and achieving greatness.

D
http://www.dclaiborne.com/
http://www.genesis-ap.com/