When we talk about fitness we often focus on our bodies. The truth is there are three aspects to fitness that every person should address in one way or another every single day. They are physical, spiritual, and mental fitness. If you become unbalanced in one or the other of these areas, your overall wellness will suffer.
So how do you keep yourself mentally fit as well? Is there a series of exercises you need to do? Well, there are certain practices to add to your life that will help boost your mental and spiritual health. Here are seven of them.
Practice Gratitude
One of the best things you can do for your mental health is to keep an attitude of gratitude. Being thankful for what you have and saying thank you to others significantly improves your attitude and outlook. Focusing on what went wrong with only manifest negative thoughts.
One way to do this is to keep a gratitude journal. Optimism will come more easily, and you will be more comfortable in social situations if you focus on the positive. Being kind to others and showing thankfulness will help a great deal with your overall wellness.
Many people find that a great therapy for any mental issues is to share both their pain and victories with a community of like-minded individuals. This can be done a number of ways, through in-person groups, online groups, blogging, and others. Be creative and do what you are comfortable with.
Some people find that in addition to joining into conversations, they want to create a community of their own, and starting your own blog and website is one of the many ways to do that. This does require some investment of time, money, and effort, but those who do so find this kind of online sharing and community creation to have great benefits for their mental fitness.
Meditation
Meditation, like sharing your struggles and victories, comes in many forms. It can be religious or non-religious, guided or free form. Whatever form it takes, meditation is often one of the best ways to care for yourself spiritually. The practice of meditation helps you clear your mind, wipe away stress, and take a break from the plugged-in world we live in.
You can participate with others or you can even use your smart phone or tablet for guided meditation apps. There are even augmented reality apps that, when used with an AR headset are really very effective. There are also ways to train yourself to meditate anywhere no matter what the distraction. Daily meditation or even more frequent sessions are proven to help reduce stress and increase your mental and spiritual wellness.
Get Active
One of the worst things you can do for your mental health is to stop being active. Vigorous exercise increases endorphins and makes you happier overall, not to mention the large benefits it has for you physically.
This means simple things too. Have a standing desk at work. Get up and take a walk every hour, even if it is just a short one. Do exercises at your desk and go the gym or better yet get outside at least three to four times a week.
Whatever your favorite form of exercise, try to do something that you enjoy but that gets your heart rate up. Being active will do a lot for your mental wellness while at the same time helping you take care of your body as well.
Make Positive Friends a Priority
We all have those friends or coworkers who have an overly negative outlook on life, and then we have those friends who are positive and try to see the bright side of things. Those friends, the ones who are focused on positive growth and gratitude should be our priority. Make time for them and deliberately spend more effort in developing those relationships.
That does not mean of course that you should ditch all of your negative friends. Sometimes you might be the only positive influence they have. Just be sure to make it a priority to spend time with those who have a positive outlook. Make these friends your inner circle, but continue to be a good influence on others as well.
Develop Healthy Habits
All of this advice, meditation, getting active, even sharing your pain and success and practicing gratitude should become habits. While often people say that to develop a good habit you have to do something for at least 21 days, some studies show that more challenging habits take longer to form, as many as 60 days. This is why many people so often relapse back into old kinds of behavior.
To develop these habits, you need to practice them every day. This means setting aside a time and sticking to it. Making appointments with yourself, writing that blog once a week or got to that group. Join a gym, eat at the same times every day and get into a food prep routine. Developing these habits is not only good for you physically when it comes to diet and exercise, but when it comes to mental wellness also. Practice makes perfect, and good habits will come with time.
Ask for Help
Sometimes we simply come up against things like depression or even life events we just can’t handle ourselves. The only solution is to ask for help. Sometimes this means just asking for encouragement from a friend, other times it means looking to a professional to guide you through something you’re struggling with.
Whatever help you need, ask. There are people around you who care and professionals who will direct you to assistance you may not even know about. Like going to a doctor for your physical health, sometimes mental wellness also calls for professional help as well.
Your mental and spiritual fitness matter as much or more as your physical fitness. Use these seven ways as a guide to boost your mental fitness and achieve the balance you are looking for in your life.
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