Review Your Fitness Regime

Recently, I re-joined a gym years after I had fallen out of the habit of having an exercise regime. A few months on, I still find some days tougher than others.

Sometimes I’m tempted to cancel a session feeling like I wouldn’t survive it. I show up, and realise I am still alive afterwards.

The mind is a powerful thing and it can help us do things we thought we couldn’t do and it can stop us from doing the things we should.

I’m also more aware of what I eat and drink. It feels pointless to go through the strictness of an exercise regime and disregard my diet. Both elements are key to my goal of becoming healthier.

It’s great to take care of my body but what about the rest of me?

Today I want to focus on our minds.

What fitness regimes do we follow for our minds?

How are we training our minds and what are we feeding our minds?

TRAIN YOUR MIND 

It is said that 86% of our self-talk is negative and undetected by the conscious mind.

A phrase to live by says, “Don’t be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” We can train and renew our minds but this takes work.

The mind wants something to focus on so take advantage of it. Set goals and task your mind to come up with innovative solutions to the big problems around you.

Harness the power of thoughts and imaginations and focus it on something useful and edifying. Demand creativity and innovation from it. It’s more capable than you realise so let your mind do the job it was designed to do.

REVIEW YOUR MIND’S DIET 

Jesus said, “It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”

The food we eat is digested and what’s not used ends up in the sewer. If you’re in doubt eat some beetroot or Vindaloo curry. But our words and actions come from the heart and can defile us.

What you read, who you hang out with, what you listen to and who you listen to create your mind’s diet and shape your thoughts, words and actions over time. If you hang out with negative people, then your mind is bombarded by negativity.

So what can we do differently? Assess and make changes.

What books are you reading right now? How will the books contribute to the future you want? At any time, I tend to have three or more books that I am reading.

My daily reading includes my Bible, a book with an encouraging message, another book to help grow my gifting or skills and a novel.

To help create a culture of reading, I have books in every room including the bathroom.

I end up reading a chapter at least once or twice a day when I go into the bathroom. Brushing my teeth doubles as a time to read a couple of paragraphs.

Who is speaking into your life? Review your closest relationships. How do your conversations feel after a phone call or face to face visit?

Are you inspired, challenged, discouraged or drained? Do you see possibilities or are you reminded of challenges without solutions being proposed?

Who you listen to today will determine what your life will look like in a few years.

Will your circle of influence selflessly help you brainstorm a business idea without envy clouding their minds?

Will they push you forward towards your goal or will they prefer you align with their own inactions?

Reduce distractions. Distractions are enemies of a focused mind and it varies for all of us. Some of us are distracted by past failings and disappointments, others are distracted by future occurrences that haven’t yet happened.

Have you ever imagined your responses to a conflict that’s yet to occur? You feel the toxic emotions as though the conflict has already happened. Considering this conflict may never actually happen, the energy and time spent on it is wasted.

It’s time to review your mind’s fitness test and take the necessary actions. Thanks for reading and sharing my post. See you next week.