One Door Closes, And Another Door Opens

If you have rotated around Earth a few times, you have heard the saying one door closes and another door opens. Usually, the door that closes is not the one you wanted closed in the first place, and people say this to console you and try to make you feel better.

Unfortunately, I have been hearing this a bit because I’m packing up and moving to South Texas, which is forcing me to close my garage gym, Outback Performance, in Benton. Moving from a 2,200-square-foot home with over an acre to a 900-square-foot one with no yard requires some downsizing.

The downsizing process, although necessary, has been brutal on my emotional health. Which is just another way to say I have been crying a bunch. Finding my dog a new home and saying goodbye to long-term clients is rough. One or more doors closing that I didn’t want closed means I have to hold on to the hope of another door opening.

What does this mean for you and your health and fitness? I’m not sure, so let’s find out together.

One Door Closes…….

Who comes to a small country town where he knows nobody and decides to open a garage gym for personal training? This guy, that’s who. At face value, it’s wild, but I tried my best to make it work.

This got me thinking about whether it has been successful.

When most people think of success and being successful, it means increasing status, nice things, climbing the corporate ladder, making more money, etc. If I were to measure success from this, it would be a failure. I have never had more than ten clients at one time, and my monthly income ranged from $ 2000-$3000.

Don’t worry the IRS knows. 😊

But if I were to measure success by the impact and value of the people I trained, then Outback Performance has been successful. This brings to mind a fantastic Albert Einstein quote.

“Try not to become a man of success, but rather a man of value. He is considered successful in our day and gets more out of life than he puts in. But a man of value will give more than he receives.”

Not bad, correct?

When I opened Outback, I only wanted my two sons and wife to use it. By setting an example, they all trained with me, without forcing them, but through their choice. I call that a win. Another win is that most clients walking through my doors have gotten stronger and increased confidence.

After this attempt, my client’s confidence skyrocketed.

Outback Performance has been a success, and I have become a man of value to my clients through education, motivation, and kicking their behinds. Let’s move on to how to measure your health and fitness success.

And Another Door Opens

Here’s another quote you have probably heard before in some way, shape, or form.

Comparison is the thief of joy.

Nothing plays into the comparison game like social media. We often measure our health and fitness progress by comparing it to others, not ourselves. Don’t get me wrong; comparison can be good and drive you to greater heights because the bar has been set. But when you discount your progress because someone made more significant progress, that’s a bad thing.

It’s something we all have done at some stage, including me.

If I were to measure my garage gym against the other gyms in the area, it would come up short. But it would be a different story if I measured it by its value to my clients.  

What does that mean for you?

It means that the pound you lost this week is fantastic.

That extra rep you did with the exact weight is progress.

The fact you didn’t touch junk food this week is a win.

When you flex, you see muscles you haven’t seen before, which is fantastic.

If you were to measure this progress against someone else, you would come up short. But if you took a good hard look in the mirror and measured it against the one that counts, you will win every time.

Please keep this in mind next time you want to measure your progress against some genetic freak on social media.

Glass Half Full Or Empty

Are you a glass-half-full or empty person?

At face value, looking at what I have let go to move to South Texas, you’d say the glass is half empty. Things like

My dog

The Gym

Clients

My Therapist

Income

But as painful as letting go of all these things is, I refuse to believe the glass is half empty, and I think another door will open on the other side. The door may need to be kicked down, but I am keeping my mind open to possibilities and a positive attitude.

Wrapping Up

I want to thank all my clients who have graced my gym and become better versions of themselves. To all the readers of this blog, thank you for your support, and I hope to continue adding value to your lives. Without both, I would be screaming into a black hole with nobody listening.

The only thing that prevents me from losing my shit during this period of change is my favorite Dr. Suess quote.

“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”

See you on the other side and keep persisting no matter how small your progress.