Mental Fitness Workouts
November 19th - November 26th
Welcome back and welcome in,
This week’s workouts will focus on building positive relationships and contact with the present moment. As always there will be stress & focus training. Here is a snapshot of the workouts for the week and you can find a detailed description below.
Lets get started!
Focus Training
For this cycle, we are periodizing focus training similar to how one tries to increase their weight in the gym over several weeks. Our end goal is to do 5 minutes of meditation for 5 days a week.
How it will work:
The Exercise: 4 days x 3 minutes
The Practice: Meditation
You will simply sit or lie down in a comfortable position and focus on your breath for the amount of time that is prescribed.
When a thought pops into your head:
1. Recognize it: “I am thinking about ______.”
2. Release it: attempt to let it float away like a cloud in the sky
3. Refocus your attention back on the task at hand (watching your breath)
The Resource:
You can use whatever meditation app that you like best.
A free option where you can customize your timer will be the UCLA Mindfulness App
Positive Relationships: 3 Good Things
With a friend, family member, or colleague:
Share 3 good things that have happened to you in the past month or so
After you share a good thing that happened, explain how you were able to make that happen.
Bonus points if you connect how you made your good thing happen with one of your character strengths
Instagram Account to follow: Limitless Mental Performance
Check out my good friends over at Limitless Mental Performance. They share next-level content about utilizing mental tools & skills and provide examples of how elite performers utilize these practices in their lives.
Stress Training: Body Scan
Try out this short body scan to relieve stress:
Contact with the Present Moment: Mindful Moment
On a walk, during a workout, while you complete a chore or an intentional moment of your choice practice mindfully watching your thoughts.
Your goal: try to notice your thoughts without trying to control or evaluate them. If you find yourself attaching to them, take a breath and refocus on the present.
If it is helpful you can imagine your thoughts floating across a screen like in a movie theater or leaves floating down a stream.
I hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family & friends.
Be Easy,
Ryan
This is a great reminder that a mind workout doesn't have to be time consuming, but it does need to be consistent just like a gym workout. I love the reminder to: Recognize, Release, Refocus. Thanks!