You 2.0 (A New Version of Yourself)

By: Matt Weik

We’ve all found ourselves wondering how we can take the next step in our careers or even with our physiques. We’ve gotten comfortable at times with how things are and we simply continue down that path rather than ditching the security blanket and stepping outside our cozy comfort zone.  When you want to move up in life, there are steps you need to take.  I’ve laid out some of those steps below.

Never stop learning

After high school, some will transition into college and never look back while others are fine leaving high school and rolling right into the workforce. Either path you choose is your decision and neither is wrong as everyone has their reasons for going in one direction or the other.  But the learning should never stop.  If you want to keep upgrading your hard drive (your brain), you’re going to need to put in the time to learn new skills and information.  Not only should you pick things that interest you, but choose materials that will help further your career or your passion.  If you are in sales, read books about sales.  Or better yet, read a book on marketing to find out how you can combine both to help open new doors and build your business.

Try new things to test how your body reacts

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to the gym and I see the same people doing the same workout on a given day. They go in on Monday’s and hit chest.  They do the same four exercises—flat bench, incline, decline, and flys.  It’s like clockwork.  In order to force your body to make change, you need to stimulate it in different ways.  That means stepping outside your norm.  If you are a slave to the treadmill to drop body fat, try a spin class.  It may seem intimidating, but you might find it fun and another tool you can add to your arsenal to annihilate fat.  If you do the same body parts on a certain day of the week, move things around.  The same goes for exercises, add different variations and angles to your workouts and exercises to keep things fresh and stimulate the muscle differently.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help

It’s ok to swallow your pride sometimes and say you don’t know the answer or don’t know how to do something. Maybe you’re at work and you hit a roadblock with your project and you can’t figure out how to fix the issue.  Ask for help.  Not only will it help you complete the task, but it will also teach you how to do something and overcome an obstacle.  Or if you’re finding you’re not making any more progress with your weight and you’ve hit a plateau.  Ask for help.  Find a dietician and have them work with you to get things moving in the right direction again.

Use your time wisely

Think about all the free time you truly have during the day. How much time do you spend driving to and from work or the gym?  How much time do you spend in front of the television?  How much time do you spend looking at social media?  If you can cut out some of those things, you’d have more time to be productive and work on yourself.

If you are behind the wheel for long periods of time, rather than listening to music, listen to a podcast. It can be anything from a health/fitness podcast (such as the Weik Fitness Podcast or Central Bodybuilding Radio) to a self-help podcast, one that is motivational, informative, or teaches you new skills!  Use that time to grow as an individual.

If you are the type of person who can’t miss a single episode of your favorite television show, why not do cardio while your show is on? It kills two birds with one stone.  You get to enjoy your show while burning calories and fat.  If you have a piece of cardio equipment at your house that would make things super easy.  If not, with technology today, you can take a tablet or smartphone to the gym and stream it on your device.  Of course, if you visit the gym at night and their cardio room has televisions you could simply change one of the channels to your show if they allow you to control the televisions.

Have fun

Too many people feel like making a change in your life or improving yourself is a chore. They are complacent with life and some are barely going through the motions to get by.  Don’t be complacent and don’t settle for average.  Consistently work on bettering yourself.  Think long term and what you want out of your health and career.  If you’re not happy, make a change.  Nothing in life is set in stone other than the fact that we were all born and we will all eventually die.  That’s how life works.  Between birth and death is a book, your book, where you get to write the chapters.  If you don’t like a certain aspect of your life, change it.  If you don’t like being fat, change it through exercise and nutrition.  Hate your job?  Find a new one—hopefully something you enjoy and where you can utilize your skillset and be appreciated.  If you aren’t having fun and are simply going through the motions, make a change.  We live in a country that allows us the freedoms to control our lives and our destinies.  Make the best of it and enjoy life and those around you.

A big thanks to our friends at IronMag Labs for sponsoring this article!