Much like most of the general population, I'm at a point in my life where I have all that I need to survive. SURVIVE, meaning - I have a place to live, food available to buy/eat, water all around me, money flowing into my bank account via some way or another, clothes on my back, a mind that can learn new tricks, a body that will obey what I command it to do, and the freedom to share whatever I want with the world. That's really all we're trying to get here anyways, right?

I often wonder what more a person could need, but, to my dismay, people continue to come to me with all of their problems. It's as if they expect me to have the answers for them. "I have a headache," "I don't feel like working out," "I'm tired," "I hate my job," "I'm broke," "I'm too busy," " are some examples of the problems I'm expected to have the answers to. I often talk to myself in my head in these situations, "Well, I'm a nice and happy-go-lucky guy, sincere, in pretty good shape, a personal trainer, seem to have all the answers figured out for myself... of course they would ask me, who else would they ask?" But then I get to thinking that maybe there's something more to their issues that they are just not realizing yet.

That is, any problems you think you are having at this moment in your life are probably the result of focusing too much of your attention on those problems instead of focusing on what you can do to solve them. I've figured out that staying stagnant in one place in your mind for too long without adding any extra knowledge or variety is a sure way to get bored of the same old shit, and then you tell everyone like me about it.  So, let's all save our breath and energy and avoid having a conversation about how shitty your day is going because quite frankly, unless we are close in relation or working on something together, I have my own issues to deal with.

Often times I imagine a life where people only talk to each other about the greater things in life. You know, the places they've been, the sights they've seen, the awesome people they've met, the lives they've changed for the better... I've made it a habit to keep negative thoughts to myself (or at least limited to my close relationships) because I don't know one person whom I've had a conversation with in the past about my feeling tired that actually seemed to give a damn about my tiredness. They either go along with my boring story and say they're tired as well, or they completely blow it off without comment, and my body and I go about our tired day together without resolve. That's just one common example I hear, but I've figured out through my own experimentation that I just needed to go to bed earlier the night before. A simple shift in the way I thought about my situation turned out to be the answer I was looking for.

That's the real key to your locked solution box: think of a different approach. Einstein said it best when he said, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Relating this to fitness, a muscle will not grow or get stronger without added stress. Take a moment to think about this, it's a very simple concept. Do 10 repetitions of any exercise, and see if you can't push yourself to do four more at the end of the set. If you can't push past 10 today, that's okay, try again tomorrow. However, once you hit 12 repetitions, you bet your happy ass the weight should go up next time so you can continue this cycle of forward progress. See what I did there? Turn that frown upside down and do what you know is best for yourself by pushing past your 'limitations' because we are all here to grow and evolve, not to stay at the same level of thinking as a past version of yourself pulling down everyone else around you.

If you think for yourself, and not against yourself through the opinions of other people, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with what you are able to do when you choose a different approach to solve your problems. If you're feeling like you are unable to do something due to your current circumstances, change your thinking to act into new circumstances and do what you want to do. Nobody ever got anywhere in life without first becoming the master of the ability to change their mind... rant over.