Strengthen Your Mind
Strengthen Your Mind Daily And On Purpose
During what seems to be continuous chaos it can be very easy to lose a grip on reality. When your world has been seemingly turned upside down and it is like that for your entire community it’s hard to determine which direction to go; who you can turn to, and a simple task of what to do next almost seems insurmountable. In this article, I will give you five tactics that I have utilized and continue to employ during these difficult times. Situations often arise that cause us to pivot or make a sudden stop and be forced to turn a different direction. I urge you to place these tools in your mental toolbox because the smoke will one day clear. However, it can also return and you want to always be prepared.
If you are reading this article the that means you are still here, you are still breathing. With so much turmoil who could really blame you for having a bleak outlook on life and society. I am an incredibly positive individual. I get that from my mama you can say. Even after all that she had been through in her life, that beautiful woman still has a smile that will light up a stadium. It is awesome witnessing fellow humans still being able to remain joyful amid such craziness. A positive side effect of this human pivot in history is more and more people have become more aware of their physical well-being. This has led to an increased engagement of more physical activities such as yoga, weight training, walking outdoors, home workouts, you name it. Shopping online or at your local sports store to acquire available work out equipment is like trying to find gold in mountains out west. I am still trying to find weight plates either online or a fitness store and not have it cost you your first born. It is almost impossible. The thing about this though, is what many of us fail to realize is that the mind needs to be trained just like the body does. Failure to work out your brain can lead to mental stress, anxiety, or just an overall bleak look at your future. Let us discuss these five tactics that have helped myself and my clients.
Schedule Time For You
I started out with this one because in my opinion the one thing that has brought me any type of mental clarity or sanity is starting my day with... Well... me. Let me tell you, there is a huge difference I notice, and I’m willing to bet my wife and other close loved ones would agree with is that when I do not start my day with me my day will not go well. I just do not feel right. I do not think correctly. I do not respond right. It just all goes to hell quickly for me if I do not start my day with me. What I mean by starting your day with yourself is taking time when you first get up in the morning. Utilize the first moments in the morning with things you’d like to do whether it’s a few minutes to read, stretch, pray, meditate, I don’t care but you have to start your day with you. Some people like to start with working out. That is my thing. It is what I like to do after I wake up and say my prayers. What is your morning mind setter?
If you really want to get serious with this then I believe you must schedule it. Show me your calendar and I will tell you what your priorities are. It must be non-negotiable; not just by you, but others in your household. Others in your household need to know that you are going to start your day with some you time. Now understand that some are are parents. Some of you run businesses. Some of you have a significant other or family member to take care of. We are just busy individuals. But I got to ask you, if your cup is full how can you pour into someone else’s cup? If you honestly schedule this as the first thing then move things around if need be. Just make sure that it is scheduled.
Move Your Body
There are numerous scientific studies link that mental strength and acuity with the viability of the human body. Again I go back to if I don’t start today with me, if I don’t start my day with some sort of physical activity which for me is working out, it absolutely affects my day in a negative way. If you are not use to regular exercise, do not worry. Moving your body does not have to be complicated. It can be a thirty-minute walk, yoga, or home workouts.
I am fully aware that for many of us, getting to a gym is just not feasible due to the cost and/or distance. Good news!! You can create home workouts on your own with little to no equipment. Also, there are several online resources where you can get home workouts for free. For example, YouTube is a fantastic resource for just about anything you want to learn, including home workouts.
I know we started talking about mental strength. But mental strength is directly tied the physical strength. Why do you think many CEOs, celebrities, and high performers in different fields will tell you that their ability to think clearly so that they can execute with precision starts with their training routine. Now I am not saying that you need to go out run ultra-marathons, be able to bench three hundred pounds, or scale Mt. Everest (unless those are your goals then go for it). What I am saying is that if even a modicum of success is in the vision for your life then a base line of health is a must. Set goals that will help you to get just 1% better every day.
Listen, we are not looking for wholesale changes next week. It took years to get to the point you are right now, wherever that is for you. You are not going to be able to change that overnight. Trust me when I tell you that it is something I must remind myself every day. We may go to the gym or train at home. We do this crazy workout, bust our asses, sweat, push all kinds of weights, do all kinds of yoga stretches, downward dogs and warrior position one or whatever they’re called…and we feel great about ourselves. Then we go look in a mirror, step on a scale, and then wonder why we are not lighter in two days. Rome was not built in a day. Do things to make you 1% better every day.
That’s all I am asking. What happens is that there is a compound effect. When you do something that makes you 1% better today, and you can do that again tomorrow, and then again the day after that the next thing you know after a period of time those daily 1% efforts have manifested into a new lifestyle. Remember we are the sum of the habits created by the daily decisions that we make.
Learn Something New
In studying and working with high performers I have noticed that they continue their education in a specific area of their interest. When was the last time you really studied a new craft or field that was not job related? Maybe it was a for a new position or that new job. Maybe a promotion and you had to do some studying to get that promotion. High performers continue their education in a specific field of their interest. What I mean by that that is select a topic of high interest such as music, photography, cooking or whatever. But not just a generalized area. For example, let us say that learning to play the guitar is their choice. High performers just do not study any guitar. They want to learn how to play the five-string guitar. In addition, they set intention and schedule this. It is not just a random hobby. Discover a specific topic that you yourself have high interest in. Get specific and set yourself a plan to really learn that area. Again, we are talking about continuing to develop the brain. If you really want to be successful, taken to the next level is you will place this on your calendar. When you leave your development to randomness, you leave your progress in life on the same random path. Remember my friends, the brain is a muscle. We have got to train it.
Read, Listen, and Write
10 to 20 minutes of non-fiction every day. Unfortunately, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, or Game of Thrones do not count. I am a fan of all of them, especially Game of Thrones. But 10 to 20 minutes of non-fiction every day. We are talking about continuing to develop our brain. What is an area that you want to learn about? Is it mindset? Is it transformation? Is there an autobiography you have been wanting to read? Pick an area, pick a book, pick a resource, read 10 to 20 minutes every day of non-fiction. -Other recommendations to help with that mental development are listening to podcasts, YouTube lectures, TED Talks, so on and so forth. There are so many resources, particularly online that you can utilize to help develop your mental capacity today. -Writing piece; Journal and take accounting for the goals you have set for yourself. How did you execute on your goals? What do you need to adjust? What do you need to change? What do you need to delete? What do you need to add?
Many of us make goals but then we do not take the time to really develop deep into that goal. Ask yourself daily am I on the path to my goal? Did I do one thing to get 1% better today towards my goal. Did I implement the things needed each day that will help me reach the ultimate place I am trying to reach when it comes to my goal?
Start and End Your Day With Gratitude
Maybe you have heard of utilizing a journal to pen your thoughts to paper. It does not have to be fancy my friend. Get out a sheet of paper, pen, or pencil. Grab a random, notebook it does not matter. Just start and end your day with gratitude. It can be something as simple as, I am grateful for this cup of coffee that I have right now. I am grateful for the ability to work out again today even though my trainer is going to kill me. I am grateful that I can work out, I am grateful for this job I have even though I really do not like this job. I am grateful for the opportunity to earn income to support my family. I am grateful for the friend that I have or the connections I made today. I am grateful for ability to acquire a new customer. I am grateful for the pretty drive home. Whatever it is does not have to be crazy or complicated. One thing I am certain about is because of my training, my life, working with clients, and high performers you cannot be grateful and miserable at the same time, you just cannot. For me, I have found it to be mentally and physically impossible. Do I have my bad days? You are damn right I do. However, I try my best to remember the fact that I am still breathing, and I am still here. Which means I still have an opportunity to obtain the dreams that have been put on my heart. I purposefully do not allow a bad moment to turn into a bad day.
These five different tactics and behaviors once implemented on a consistent basis will become habits. These habits once continued to develop will change your life. When you begin to change your life, you have purpose.
“Become purpose and be purpose. Because you are purpose.”