How's Your Mental Diet?

I came across a concept the other week that I'm pretty excited about: Mental Fitness.

Mental Fitness?? What the hell are ya talking about, Coach Hal?

What is Mental Fitness?

Key concepts: - Mental fitness is not the same as mental health - If you are alive and have a mind, you have mental health, just like if you're alive and have a body, you have physical health - But not everyone is physically or mentally fit - that depends on how you treat your body and mind - Your brain is a muscle that you must work out like the rest of your body - Training your brain regularly will improve how you think, feel, and perform - Just like you only become physically fit through the correct inputs and exercises, you will only become mentally fit by actively training your mind

There are 5 components of mental fitness:

Diet: The diet of the mind is about the content you consume. Your brain runs on inputs - social media, news, conversations, podcasts, books, your own thoughts. Ask yourself: "Is the content I'm consuming nourishing the mind or draining it?" If inputs are negative, outputs will be also.

Cardio: If diet of the mind is about consumption, cardio of the mind is about intentional positive stimulation and engagement. You are not trying to relax the brain here, you are trying to use it constructively. Activities include critical thinking, learning, debating, journaling, puzzles, and quizzes.

Weightlifting: Visualization is weightlifting for the brain, and it's the most important piece of the mental fitness puzzle. When you physically lift weights, muscles tear down and are then rebuilt. During visualization, neurological patterns are broken down to build new connections and strengthen existing ones. Your brain has trouble distinguishing between things you think about in your head and physically execute in real life. By training your brain to see outcomes, rehearse actions, and handle adversity, you significantly improve the chances of those things playing out in real life.

Rest / Recovery: A tired brain performs poorly, just like a tired body. Whether through sleep, meditation, digital detox, or simply doing nothing for periods of your day, regular and active rest is crucial for mental recovery.

Consistency: You need to train your mind regularly to see real progress. If you hit upper body once every couple weeks, you're not gonna get traps like the Hulk. The brain works the same way. One 5 minute morning meditation won't make anxiety magically disappear - you need to build a routine and execute it consistently over weeks, months, and years.

I'm excited about this concept because I'm very negligent in a lot of these areas. The internal dialogue in my head can be absolute chaos sometimes.

I'm reading a book called Visualize by Maya Raichoora - great read. Maya is the UK's leading mental fitness and visualization expert, hired by Nike to be their Head Mental Fitness Trainer.

Athletes who have sworn by visualization's effectiveness: Michael Phelps, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic.

Review the 5 areas of mental fitness today. Identify where you're lacking the most and make improvements this week.

Until then, stay exceptionally well, Hal the Health Coach