How's Your Mental Cardio?

A few weeks back I introduced the concept of mental fitness.

To quickly recap, there are 5 components of mental fitness: Diet, Cardio, Weightlifting, Recovery, and Consistency.

I previously dove into the diet of the mind, so today we'll be talking about mental cardio. This is NOT referring to cardiovascular exercises like running, swimming, biking. We are talking about cardio of the mind.

Mental cardio is the active stimulation and engagement of the mind in a positive way. You are not trying to relax your brain here. You are trying to use it.

Activities that are cardio for the brain: learning a new skill, journaling, critical thinking, debating, puzzles, quizzes.

Real life examples: - Learning to use AI tools to enhance efficiency in your personal/professional life - Learning a new language - Writing or journaling for 5-10 minutes daily - Actively listening to educational podcasts or audio books - Having deep conversations that challenge ideas and perspectives

Real life adjustments: - Replace doom scrolling Instagram at night with reading an article or writing down reflections on your day - Instead of watching the news in the morning or during a workout, listen to an audio book or podcast

The important distinction between diet of the mind and cardio of the mind:

Diet is about inputs and consumption. You are selecting exposure. If you follow Instagram accounts that cause a negative reaction every time, that's a bad diet for the mind - unfollow them.

Example from my life: I've watched the first 3 episodes of the new season of Euphoria. I've felt progressively worse after every episode. Done. The Rooster? I'm in a pretty good mood after every single ep. Euphoria = bad diet for my mind. Rooster = good diet for my mind.

Watching shows is diet of the mind - solely for consumption and entertainment, not learning.

Cardio of the mind is active, intentional stimulation. You are trying to use your mind and learn new things. That's why reading books, listening to educational podcasts, and writing qualify.

This week: focus on cardio. Actively pick one positive way to stimulate your mind and challenge yourself.

I'd love to hear what you choose - feel free to reply and let me know, I read all responses.

Stay well, Hal the Health Coach