I’ve been a personal trainer for nearly 10 years now (where does the time go?) and if there is one thing I know for sure, it’s that our fitness begins in the mind.
Our mind dictates how we feel when we open our eyes. It tells us how we feel about food and about our bodies. It governs the discipline need to make it to training. And it’s with us in the evening when we’re sad, alone or just plain bored – and reaching for the cookie jar.
Many of us are on an eternal journey seeking happiness. But I believe happiness isn’t something that you just…find. It’s something that you need to make a choice to work for, every single day.
We will ALWAYS have good days and bad days in this life. We all ride the rollarcoaster of swinging between delirious happiness and mildly depressive behaviour. We all do it, you are not alone.
What’s important to learn from this is that our daily practices can help us to manage the swing. To control the mind, even just for a moment…and hang out in a realm of content for a change instead of searching.
These are my top practices which are actionable, in that you are taking action rather than just thinking about it.
- Take 10 minutes to redefine goals, intentions for the day. Where are you heading in life? Where are heading today?
Are you moving towards a life that you want, one that you are proud of? What steps are you taking to get there? Setting an intention for your day, thinking about how today is moving you forward, could be a powerful practice for you. It brings awareness into every action you take.Write them down, visiualise the outcomes, live every day with purpose.
- Read a book for 30 minutes per day. Knowledge is power and reading is an easy way to self educate. Passion is what drives a positive life and reading can expand our horizons of what we truly want. It can be difficult for some to concentrate for long periods of time initially. So figure out what time of day you feel most clear and calm and just aim for even 10 minutes to start. You can choose anything not just a book, online journals, newspapers, blogs, you name it! Hopefully if you love what you’re reading, you won’t notice when the time has passed.
- Sleep. I know you’ve heard this before, but yep sorry, it’s still important if you want a happy mind and healthy body. It literally fixes you while you lay there. And it is important to get good quality deep sleep ideally between the hours of 10pm-6am is best. I know however many people like to stay up late and 10pm can be too drastic a change. So I always tell my clients to make sure they’re in bed by 12pm latest. Then they can work back in 15 minute increments. The next night might be 11.45pm, then the next 11.30pm, the next 11.15pm and so on, until you feel more comfortable with 10pm. Try it for a week and see if it makes a difference in your positive mindset.
Tegan x
