Mental Fitness Workouts
March 17th - March 24th
Welcome Back & Welcome In,
“Appreciate others for who they are, not for what they accomplish”
During a recent meditation, I came across this quote. As I reflected on what this means to me and how I can more intentionally recognize people for their greatness, I could not help but think about how we must give ourselves this same recognition.
Appreciate yourself for reading this newsletter. Appreciate yourself for giving one of the exercises a try. Appreciate yourself for doing the best that you can do today.
You don’t have to accomplish anything, all you have to do is be you.
That itself is pretty darn cool.
Exercise #1: 3 Good Things with a partner
The Set Up:
Ask a friend, family member, or colleague to spend 5 minutes with you to try out this activity
The Task:
Share 3 good things that happened to you during the past month. Try to explain them to your partner in as much detail as possible. Include how each thing affected you at the time and is sticking with you today.
After you share, explain what you think caused this good thing. In essence, why it happened.
The Goal:
To notice, remember, and savor the good things in your life with a partner allowing you to pay closer attention to positive things when they happen and more fully engage with them.
I am grateful for your continued support and invite you to share this zero-cost tool with your people. I hope that spreading these exercises will allow people to access mental health resources that enhance their well-being.
Exercise #2: Notice It
The Task:
During the week when you notice that you have been hooked by an unproductive thought, feeling, or emotion, such as, “I should have said what I said differently”
Simply state: “I notice I am thinking I should have said what I said differently”
Hint: a lot of times these thoughts are the shoulds, woulds, coulds, & what-ifs!
The Goal:
To create psychological distance from your thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Recognizing when you are being hooked and refocusing your attention on the task at hand
MENTAL FITNESS WORKOUTS IN ACTION:
Exercise #3: Mindful Breath Counting (4 minutes x 4 days)
Building your mental fitness means taking time to continue to work on refocusing your attention. We will continue to work on building this exercise over the next 3 weeks trying to become more consistent.
The Set Up:
Find a comfortable location where you will not be disturbed, open up a timer app, and set it to 4 minutes
The Task:
Count your breath on each inhale and each exhale up to ten. One on the inhale, two on the exhale, and so on.
When you reach ten go back to one.
Repeat until the time is up.
If you become distracted, start back at one.
The Goal:
Flex the mind-muscle by practicing shifting your focus back to the task at hand when you become distracted and engage with the present moment.
I wish you all a wonderful week ahead. I appreciate you for showing up and being here. I look forward to continuing to support you with mental fitness workouts.
Be Easy,
Ryan