May 25th, 2017, 4:30 am Santa Monica, CA.

Chris- “Hello Amber, how are you?”

Amber (Barista at Starbucks) – “I'm good Chris; Grande or Venti?”

While I paused to look up from The Snowball Warren Buffet and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder, I automatically replied, “Great Amber; Grande please!”

My eyes widened as I smiled.

In his book, From Good to Great, Jim Collins says,

As a regular of the 3rd street promenade Starbucks, you'd think that Amber would know what I order at 4:30 am every morning. The feller in front of me has ordered the same thing for the last 5-months. Frank and I walk in together and he has two coffees waiting for him on the counter. As for me, I change my order daily because I don't like routine. One of my New Year's Resolutions (yes, I keep to them) was to change my routines and get out of doing the same shit over and over again. My main resolution was to change the way I respond when someone asks how I'm doing. My trainer just walked in at 5:39 am and I asked him how he's doing, “Good, going to get coffee.” GRUMP. Around 7:40 am when Bret comes in, it'll sound like this, “Morning Bret, how you are doing?”

Bret – “Good, Good, Good.” Do three goods equal one great?

Good is the enemy of great; CHANGE THAT MINDSET BOY!

For me, it took over five months to automatically reply “GREAT” instead of the mundane “good.” What score would you give someone who received a 90-100 on an exam? GREAT! What about a 70-80? Good. 50-65? Shitty! I don't know about you, but I'd rather be closer to GREAT, rather than SHITTY. What does all this mean? We need to change our mindset and expectations for CHANGE, because change TAKES TIME!

I was reading an interesting post by Show Up Fitness Academy Board of Education Dr. Layne Norton.

For change to take place, you need to recognize the behavior, EDUCATE YOURSELF, and want to change it. I’m a fitness fanatic; I may drink a keg of whiskey a week, but I still live and breath fitness. I'm highly competitive and constantly disappointed with my outcomes (we all have those inner demon voices; I let them vent, but I NEVER LET THEM WIN.) A common compliment is “you're a very positive person.” I better be- in The Vulgar Truth Diet II, I focus on a POSITIVE FUCKING MINDSET! If it took this whiskey drinking, fitness lunatic almost 6-months to create a change, what's a fair time frame for the average Joe / Jane? Have you been Winning the Week for over seven years (I haven’t taken a week off from lifting heavy shit in that time period)? Do you carry yourself with a positive disposition? Do you LOVE lifting heavy shit? If the answer is NO, then stop beating yourself up- your fitness goals were probably too unrealistic to begin with. Let us help change that. From here on out, start by giving yourself a ton of mulligans. If you go out and get drunk, WHO CARES, start again tomorrow. If you eat a whole pizza, FUCK IT, start again tomorrow. If you miss a workout, it doesn’t matter- one workout will not change your body, it’s the combination of them all over the course of a year. When you talk negatively, all you do is allow those negative inner voices to take over and win. Remember, YOU’RE IN CONTROL. You need to learn to laugh at the mistakes. It's going to take a long time to make a positive change. I tell our clients at Show Up Fitness, change will take around 6- months&if you have awesome hair like I do, otherwise, show up regularly, work hard, persevere, and in 9-18+ months, you'll be a new you. Don't get mad or frustrated; GET EXCITED! This is your life to own, start by recognizing the behavior and by telling people you're GREAT, not good.

Does the way you regurgitate a meaningless reply really mean anything? Probably not, BUT, but the inner shrink in me says, why not start every day off by saying you’re great?