"The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man's determination."

- Tommy Lasorda

Why is it that I am not surprised anymore?

• Joe has dropped 27 pounds in 60 days and gone from a 42 pant size to a 36.
• I watched 3 more women begin to do full, unassisted pull ups, in 2-3 months of training.
• Every single time we have a max effort day many of our members achieve a new personal record (PR).

And I’m not surprised in the slightest. Again and again our members are smashing through barriers, breaking into new PR’s and being forced to buy new clothing that will actually fit.

It’s now become the norm.

I want to challenge anyone who may not be achieving these massive results to really dig out what is holding you back.

I am known at times to be somewhat harsh in my writing. I often too brazenly throw reality into the faces of my readers without the soft touch of appropriate tact. I wrote this a while back and wanted to share it now.

See you in the gym.

-Alec

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Everyone should have a mirror close by. Not for the vanity one might assume. A mirror, I’ve found, is one of the most powerful tools mankind has ever created and is largely overlooked.

Let me explain.

When negative and potentially harmful events in life occur, from the mundane to the dramatic, everyone is presented with two initial choices.

1) Blame yourself or blame others
2) Focus on the good or focus on the bad

That’s the first step. When life gets difficult and things don’t go your way, what do you do? And here is the magical power of the simple mirror.

When your day gets away from you and you can’t make it the gym, do you blame your boss, your spouse, or your kids?

When your pants no longer fit who do you blame for the physical state you have gotten into?

When you look at your bank account and it’s not what you want, who do you blame?

When you look at your relationships and they are not what you want, who do you blame?

“But it’s not my fault. I didn’t do that. The market moved. My boss is a jerk. The government took away my chance. The training just does not work for me. I can’t chose what I eat my family just provides it. I don’t have time to cook or workout. I’m the victim. I can’t be blamed. It’s not my fault. I shouldn’t have to do that. I shouldn’t be responsible for that.”

Which line above did you like the best? Which have you thought or said recently?

You always have a choice; if you chose to be the victim, if you chose to blame others for things that affect you. I can guarantee and virtually predict your results in life. You will always be the victim. Others will always control what happens to you. You will live a negative life with mediocre or depressing results.

Why? Because those “other people” will never change and you keep expecting them to. They won’t. You are expecting them to solve your problems and they will never be able to. You are expecting them to make life better for you and they can’t.

But the answer is in the mirror.

You can.

When you take personal responsibility for the results in your life, you begin to have a chance to change them. When you don’t, your results never change.

“But I don’t have control over those other things. I can’t help it if my work makes me stay late. I can’t help it if I can only afford fast food and don’t have time to cook. I can’t help it if my genetics are bad and exercise doesn’t work. I have a low pain threshold and can’t workout hard. It’s not my fault.”

Oh but it is! You just have the wrong belief. You see, if there is a negative event that could occur to me, it’s my responsibility to avoid it. You believe this too. If you saw a car heading down the street towards you, you would move. If someone was coming to attack you, you would defend yourself or run away. It’s the same principle.

When something occurs, that affects you negatively, look into a mirror and ask yourself what you could have done and what you should do next time to avoid this! Don’t blame the car that ran you over, learn not to be in the street when the car comes. Learn about your body, what to eat and what to avoid. Teach yourself about fitness and health. Throw yourself against the self-erected barriers and your own limiting beliefs until they fall before the power of your will.

True growth and improvement arises from this action. Stagnation and failure occurs when we expect the world to change for us. Success begins when we realize we can simply change ourselves.

“Oh but that is just so unfair, why do I have to change and improve when it’s not my fault that I’m in this pain? Why do I have to adapt and be better just to make sure someone else does their job? What can I possibly do about all these things that are out of my control?"

The answer is simple.

LIFE’S NOT FAIR! Never was, never will be, deal with it. Life is still happening; workouts are still there to be done. It doesn’t matter how you feel about this reality, because guess what? You are the one who is affected. If you don’t change, you’re the one who loses. You’re the one with the mediocre results, the pants that don’t fit, and deteriorating health. So regardless of how we feel about this reality, hold up that mirror and see the truth.

Success begins with you, it always has. It’s up to you to improve, to change, to adapt, to overcome. It’s up to you to become better, gain more knowledge, and design new systems. And amidst all this unfairness in the world, there is one magnificent truth.

You are capable of greatness. It’s built into you. It’s in the very core of your being. It’s ready to break out. It wants that victory, it burns for that success, and it’s all yours for the taking.

So get a mirror, take a deep breath, and take a good hard look.