Getting from A to B does not have to be painful

I spent a lot of my youth pumping iron in the gym.  When I became an adult, I had less time, but I still continued to lift weights as much as time and life demands would allow.  One of the major changes I have noticed as I've aged is that injuries sustained over a lifetime of playing rough have shown up when I'm lifting weights. 

Tonight, while I was working out it dawned on me.  I'm still getting a good tough workout, but my methods have changed radically.  The damage I've done to my elbows while racing mountain bikes shows up when I do dumbbell and barbell curls.  No problem. 

I'm a creative certified personal trainer and a functional training specialist so I'm not afraid to look for new ways of doing things.  Do I stop doing curls?  Absolutely not.  I just change my technique.  Instead of curling where the stress is shared by movement in my elbows, I can isolate my elbows against a Swiss ball while curling.  It works great, and the curls are just as intense.  I can do the same thing with a preacher curl bench attachment.  I still get the same intensity without the pain.

What does that mean for a business professional?  Business techniques in 2012 are not the same as they were in 2000.  In some cases, they are not the same as they were last year, or six months ago.  That doesn't mean you stop doing something that has served you well in the past.  Every business finds new ways of doing things better, more effectively and in some cases radically better. 

We as business owners, need to be open to personal business growth.  A change in technique may make our activities more competitive.  It may make our lives less complicated.  Getting from A to B does not need to be painful.  I can tell you from experience that the advent of web-based marketing, blogging and a broad web-presence is easier and less expensive than print advertising.  For me, it was a mindset change from the customary form advertising just half a decade ago.  It was a tweak.  It was moving to curl on the Swiss ball and away from a technique that caused pain and produced lower results. 

Increased business success means constantly evolving and changing as markets change and develop.  A business that refuses to change, is a business that will suffer pain doing the same thing they have been doing forever.  True and positive change for success is good.