Fitness… Nutrition… Mindset…
Fitness and nutrition can more often than not be simplified to X’s and O’s.
Workout more days than you don’t for 30-45 minutes.
Incorporate strength training 2-4 days weekly.
Walk 7,000 or more steps daily.
Sleep on a somewhat regular schedule for 7-8 hours each night.
Protein: 1 gram per pound of goal body weight.
Fruits and veggies liberally.
Limit processed food. Eat slowly. Drink mostly water.
Check. Check. Check.
Mindset, however, is much less black and white.
How do you train your mental and emotional muscle?
Here are just a few strategies.
By no means is this exhaustive, nor should this be considered professional or medical advice.
One: do hard things.
In our modern world, working out can be just the ticket. And it’s accessible to almost everyone.
Performing challenging workouts… seeing yourself get stronger physically… these seem to transfer over to building strength mentally.
KNOWING that you’re capable of more than you originally thought.
And realizing, that through hard work, you can achieve more and more.
Two: read.
In a society where the vast majority of people haven’t read a book to learn something since high school – maybe college – this will separate you from the “status quo.”
Part of training our minds is recognizing what we’re feeding it every day, and then slowly improving the input over time.
Better input produces better output.
Social media, Netflix, TV news… We’re living in a day and age where there’s never a shortage of entertainment and stimulation.
And I’d go so far to say that most of what we consume digitally is not healthy or productive.
But, at least we’re not bored… smh…
Crack a book.
Learn about someone who exhibits qualities you admire. Tap into your imagination for a change instead of letting our devices replace it all the time.
You don’t have to believe everything you read, but you should be gathering information to give yourself a foundation from which to build your own beliefs.
Three: unplug.
Possibly the toughest skill in our society today.
Occasionally I’ll perform radio fasts. No music or podcast if I’m driving alone.
Silence.
Just me and my thoughts.
No distraction. No “escape.”
Not bad for a day…
…give it one week.
Next step… plug your phone in at home and leave it alone.
Use the Focus feature as needed.
You may experience itching when you try this out at first – but stay strong!
Practice being present.
Just recently I spent a weekend day with no phone and no smart watch on.
It was a little weird.
However, it was liberating and let me be in the moment. We got some housework done and then watched movies in the afternoon.
Our habits of always having access, access, access are being more deeply ingrained all the time.
It takes a concerted effort to remove that distraction – that temptation – and just live your life.
LIVE YOUR OWN LIFE.
Yeah, it’s probably a bit boring compared to everything we see highlighted online.
Remember, though: there’s a big difference between THE world (online and media) and YOUR world (family, work, community).
I’m not saying be indifferent to world happenings.
What I’m saying is you should spend much more of your time and energy on YOUR world than concerning yourself with others’ lives or the “outside” world.
Workout.
Eat like a responsible adult.
Begin to develop your mental strength.
Your life won’t change overnight, but you can get started on it right now.
Sim
p.s. Let me know if you’re ready for some help and direction on these areas of life.
Training, nutrition, and mindset are things I’m working on and helping others work on all the time.
Get started today with a free call or workout.