“People will do almost anything to stay in their comfort zones. If you want to accomplish anything, get out of your comfort zone. Strive to increase order and discipline in your life. Discipline usually means doing the opposite of what you feel like doing. The easy roads to discipline are 1) setting deadlines, 2) discovering and doing what you do best and what’s important and enjoyable to you and 3) focusing on habits by replacing your bad habits and thought patterns, one-by-one, over time, with good habits and thought patterns.”
-Dave Kekich, Kekich’s Credo #1
(click HERE to download Kekich’s Credo)

Kekich’s Credos are 100 inspirational and motivational affirmations that were turned on to me by one of my friends and business coaches.  Since he sent them to me, I have been reading ONE credo per day for the past couple of years and they’ve made a world of difference in my mindset and attitude towards business and life.

The “success secret” quoted above, by far, has had the most impact.

Getting out of your comfort zone is an integral part in achieving success.

In physics, it’s called overcoming Inertia. A law that states that an object at rest will stay at rest unless an external force is acted upon it.

It’s much easier to sit on the couch and not move than it is to get up and exercise.

It’s much easier to stay at a job you hate with an abusive and unappreciative boss because you get a “steady” paycheck than it is to follow your passion and start-up that new business that you’ve always wanted to.

But think about how that helps us as humans.  Our job is to overcome inertia and evolve. To become better than we are now and to not just settle for mediocre.

From a fitness standpoint, changes to your body will NEVER occur unless you constantly venture out of your comfort zone.  Your body wants to be comfortable and stay the way it is.  And until you apply a different stimulus to it - by lifting more, doing more reps with the same weight, cutting your rest time down, or doing something faster than you previously have - you will see little change (if any at all).

It blows my mind when I see people who make all the effort to drive to the gym, pay a premium for a gym membership and waste their time doing the same routine day in and day out.

To paraphrase, Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity is “doing the same thing, over and over again, expecting a different result”. By this definition, most of our society is insane.

If you don’t like the way things are.  If you feel like you’re stagnant in life.  If you feel like you’re in the rat race or trapped on the spinning treadmill with no way to get off, here’s some good news…It’s within your power to do something about it.  It may feel weird and it may feel uncomfortable at first, but that’s just you overcoming inertia.

The Lopez Boys: Rich (my little bro), Chris (me) & Titus (my dad).

Two years ago, my dad experienced a “force” to help him overcome inertia.  He had a heart attack the day before his 60th birthday.  A week later, he had quadruple by-pass surgery.

Having that heart attack was a big wake-up call for him. The threat that he may never see his grandchildren again or be able to travel with my mom, or be able to do all the things he loves - like working with his hands in the garden or tool shed - was enough for him to rehab and get himself back in shape.

Now, he walks everyday, partakes in a resistance training program (designed by his oldest son, that’d be me) and only eats fruits, vegetables, healthy fats and lean protein.

It took a heart attack and a quadruple by-pass for my dad to change his habits. Hopefully it won’t take anything extreme for you to change the habits that YOU KNOW aren’t contributing to you living a healthy and happy life.

Overcome inertia, get out of your comfort zone and live passionately so your kids can witness that and be inspired!

-Chris, a.k.a. The FitAndBusyDad

So, What else is NEW?

I’ve got a new tumblr blog over HERE - http://fitandbusydad.tumblr.com

Just posted a new 10-Minute workouts HERE - http://kettlebellworkouts.com