Mental Fitness Workouts

10/8 - 10/15

Good Morning Folks & Happy Sunday,

This week you will be reconnecting with what motivates you and the reason for your why. This task is vital, not only to complete but also as a reminder of what motivates us to tackle each day with energy.

On a side note, I am excited to announce that Sunday, October 22nd will be The Mind Gym’s first live community event. Stay tuned for additional details and the link to the live event

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Mental Fitness Workouts:

Values: Define your Values

Okay, so you have something that you consider one of your values?

For me, I value community.

But, what does that mean?

Well, you can go to the dictionary and find out what some old guy says it means, or you can define it for yourself in this workout:

Here is what you’re going to do:

1. Pick one of your values and write a definition in your own words

   1. A key here is to keep it simple & short: We aren’t justifying our values, we are defining them.

   2. You want to quickly be able to communicate your definition

2. Repeat this step for as many values as you would like

My definition of community is a closeness with a place, group, or individual marked by a shared bond over goals and values.

Stress Training: Measured Breathing (4 inhale-1 hold-7 exhale)

• 5 days a week x 7 minutes

  • If you enjoy this practice, feel free to extend the days or time out to meet your current needs!

• This breath pacer is a great tool to utilize for this practice

This breathing practice will be periodized throughout this mesocycle (September 18th - October 22nd) similar to how you may periodize the bench press to increase weight. Our objective is to breathe for a longer time for the outcome of reducing stress.

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Take a break and check out this video about not chasing happiness.

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Meaning: What is your Motivation?

Intrinsically Motivated individuals pursue hobbies, goals, dreams, wishes, and yes, even work for the activity's enjoyment, interest, and satisfaction.

Extrinsically Motivated individuals pursue the same things for various reasons: rewards, ego involvement, personal importance, congruence, and awareness.

Depending on what the activity is you may lean more intrinsic or extrinsic.

Spending more time on intrinsically motivated activities helps to develop a greater sense of meaning in our lives.

The workout:

To better understand what gives you meaning, use the following graphic to organize activities in your life.

Reflect: how can you carve out time, amid your busy schedule and other responsibilities, to participate in your intrinsically motivated activities?

Focus Training: Guided Meditation on Focus

Meditation is one of the best ways to train our focus and concentration. This practice is daunting, boring, or unsatisfying for many. Sitting in these uncomfortable situations time after time will have a profound impact on our overall well-being.

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I want to leave you with a belief that one of the sports teams I train with has established for their program:

Difficult situations and experiencing pressure, doubt, worry, and adversity are natural and unavoidable parts of elite sport. These challenges should create growth opportunities.

What opportunities will you have to grow this week?

Be easy,

Ryan