Is your mind in shape?

Hey there! Another tip I want to share that I’ve learned in my years as a therapist, something that I think most people ignore. It amazes me how much time we spend on exercise, trainers, diets, etc. all in search of getting in “physical shape”. Yet, we ignore our “internal” body and muscles. All human’s minds can be in a place of darkness. Mine sure has been! We think of twisted things about ourselves and our world all of the time. I can’t tell you how much of my time as a therapist is spent pointing out the negativity in my client’s heads about themselves and their lives. Quite literally, people will create their lives around these lies. I had a client once that came in after spending 30 years of his life believing that good things in life weren’t meant for him. So, he never tried to meet a partner and he had no friends. He just went and back and forth to work until alcoholism eventually forced him into treatment and he had to face those demons. It took a while but eventually he realized that the thoughts he had of himself weren’t true. So, what does this have to do with exercise? We don’t keep our mind, soul and emotions in shape. That means we aren’t aware of the negative chatter in our minds and don’t even question it. We don’t feed our minds and soul things to keep us centered, truthful and positive and forward thinking. Alternatively, if your thought is - I’m not good enough and it goes unchallenged - then your whole life is filtered through that lens. Your job won’t be good enough, your partner and your children won’t be good enough, etc. The consequence is not living as fulfilling a life as one deserves. The key here is that you must live your mental life as a daily lifestyle of paying attention to what you are thinking and developing the skills of testing these thoughts and changing them to be more realistic and positive ones. The cost? Your whole experience in life. You could be perfect but will never know it or feel it. These are internal muscles we need to develop. It’s the same as exercise. It’s hard at first. Then you’ll start to notice a shift and it will start to become easier. To this day, I practice daily on what I’m thinking and saying to myself, then I correct my thoughts, if needed. Now, after working these muscles for so long it’s much easier to come back from a negative place. But I need my equipment. I spend time reading positive things, I try to help someone regularly, I exercise, listen to music, meditate, listen to podcasts, etc. Anything that will keep my mind in the right place. Life is too hard not to go unarmed. My equipment will be different than yours. Just like some people like to run and others like to bike. And some days I miss and I can tell you I notice it immediately. I start getting grouchy:). So, I make my way back so that I still have friends and family:). No, but seriously it is because I want to experience the best life possible. And that always starts from within. I don’t want to have everything but feel like nothing. I have had clients so “poor” but rich in spirit and “rich” clients so poor in spirit that there is nothing that can buy their happiness. I tell you what, I’d choose rich in spirit! So, what happened to my client? He got in shape big time! When we started working together, we envisioned what his life could be. I mentioned maybe go on a date? He said, “that’s like me becoming an astronaut “. And don’t you know it, he’s traveled to other galaxies by now. You can read whatever you want into that one:). So, feeling at peace and centered we need a daily practice that supports that, just like exercise. Now go lift some weights😊!