How To Level Up Your Mental Fitness
Here’s the truth: the past few weeks I had been dealing with a lot of nervous anxiety and the knots in my stomach about all the change happening in my life kept me up at night. There is a lot going on off the gram and no matter how much I trust in the Universe, some days I just couldn’t shake it off.
What I discovered was that while I might be working hard on my physical fitness, I wasn’t devoting the necessary time to my mental fitness. I let things slide – my gratitude journal, my meditation practice and my positive affirmation rituals.
It’s always work in progress, but I wanted to share some tips on how I’ve upgraded my mental fitness routine because I’m pretty sure we can all do a little better in this area … and for me, it started with these four things and now my mindset is stronger and I’m happier as a result.
1. Quiet the Self-Talk
This is a big one and one that I work on daily. It’s crazy how many negative things we can think without even realizing it.
“I look stupid”
“People think I’m a fake”
“I am going to make a fool of myself”
And it could go on and on. Just stop. Breathe. This negative self-talk impacts how you view yourself and will influence the decisions you make each and every day. Remember this:
“You are beautiful”
“You are strong”
“You can do this”
“You are ready for anything the Universe has coming your way”
2. Don’t Dare to Compare.
It’s fine to admire what a friend or colleague is doing in their life, but don’t compare it to where you are in yours. Every journey is different – you can’t compare your chapter one to someone’s chapter 10. Plus, it’s really hard to know what people are going through despite what we might see on social media. On that note, comparison can happen just by scrolling on Instagram, but remember that there is only one you and no one could come close to being you even if they tried.
3. Attitude of Gratitude.
It’s incredible how much the world shifts when you start to remember how grateful you are for the things you have. If having a gratitude journal is too much work for you, I find that just taking a moment to remind myself of just 3 things I’ve grateful for each morning helps to set the tone for the day ahead. This is such a simple practice that can make all of us better humans.
4. Protect Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself.
I’ve always been one to say YES to things and people even if I knew deep down I wanted to say no. I let toxic people into my life when I knew it was best to stay away. I started to quickly realize the toll this took on me and had to take action before I lost myself. It’s not always easy to make these changes in your life, but you can start small by acknowledging what is not making you happy in your life … discover what/who is not filling you up and take baby steps to shift in another direction. Stay strong. You deserve the best and as a mother of two, I know my girls need mommy at her best too.
Keep Going
These are only 4 things that I’ve touched on to help me strengthen my mental fitness. There is so much more that we can do that can support a strong mindset. Talk to a close friend. Work out. Write in a journal. But always remember that the mind is everything and when your mind is right, everything else falls into place … of course, physical fitness included.
