Mentality First

Much like yesterday’s post, we are going to talk about “mentality” and dig into why this is important for wanting to start your fitness journey — and what it means to put “mentality” first.

For many of us we have to be in the “mood” to do something that we really don’t like doing, or something that requires us to put forth more energy than we normally would want to do. It isn’t necessarily a “bad” thing, rather a red flag — and red flags normally tell us something is amiss. When it comes to working out, eating better, and increasing our water intake, not everyone feels the way I do when it comes to general fitness and the overall well-being of one’s health; that is totally fine because I don’t want everyone to think the same way as me — but in the same sentence, I do want people to prioritize these task because the future you depends on it.

Before you ask me, “how do I get started, when I don’t like working out, and I like the foods I eat” or perhaps your comment will say “I have tried and it just isn’t for me” and this one is used a lot as well “I have a busy schedule, there is no room for taking care of myself” — these are all very real statements that might hold truth, but all of these have solutions.. but patience is key & if you have that down, you will do fine. Without patience, this journey will feel like a chore, and it will bore you and you will quit soon after you start.

Solution One: if you simply don’t like working out, then find activities that you do enjoy: sports, manual labor work, cycling, etc. If you don’t have hobbies — find some. It isn’t hard to pick up something that you haven’t done before or that interest you, it will require risking your time and learning. Quite honestly, if nothing more than parking the furthest from the grocery store, taking the stairs instead of elevator to the office, sitting on a stability ball instead of a chair, stretching when you wake up or before bed, taking yoga classes online. Things will open up when your mentality changes & you don’t hold negative energy in place of something positive. Exercise doesn’t have to be in the gym and it doesn’t have to be something mundane.

If you enjoy what you are eating – EAT IT! simple as that, but while eating it, think about what it is you are eating that might be holding you back from feeling less bloated, making you feel the urge to binge eat, making you feel sluggish, or simply just recognize that nutrition comes in various forms and nothing has to be expensive, or eaten all the time in order to achieve results. Changing your mentality about food is changing the way you feel about food — food is fuel for the body and mind. Good fuel for the body and mind fills our stomach, allows us to function more efficiently and makes us feel good.

Solution Two: Just because you try something once, or twice or a million times over doesn’t mean you have to stop trying. Think of fitness/health as a trial & error, we don’t get things right the first time, then we change up a few things and keep trying and eventually it will work. Honestly, even if the profession I am in, I always have to trial and error on myself and others, it doesn’t stop & it actually makes things fun because you learn more about yourself along the way. We are constantly on a voyage and we don’t stop rowing because the journey is long, we just take our time & pace ourselves and continue to row forward. The mentality change here is being prepared to try, try, try, try again and don’t quit because of one mistake and don’t quit when you think you are failing. Ask for help, research it, or keep experimenting in a safe way.

Solution Three: First of all this whole “I don’t have time for me” needs to stop today. I will continue to tell you, you are important and while being selfless is a great trait, being selfish can save your life when necessary. Self care is IMPORTANT, a key ingredient when it comes to fitness/wellness/health/and mental health as well — without self care we fall hard and end up in dark places in our lives that seem cold and makes us fearful, angry, sad, and can destroy your career, family, friendships, self. This solution needs to be from within, you taking a stand and saying I am putting myself first today — it doesn’t have to be the whole 24 hours and it doesn’t have to be everyday to start but it can be 5 minutes each week, it can be anything that makes you happy for that amount of time and clears your mind and keeps you balanced — it is your thing, your place, your shield — find it and use it and continue to use it. Goodness, I didn’t even know about self care until I reached my late 20s (I am 28) when a friend of mine was talking to me about it and how important he makes it to take care of his physical but also his mental health and shields himself from negative energy and focuses on him & his happiness, his “Zen” . I will tell you, I now have taken my self care more seriously since 2021 and I will definitely continue to and will find new ways to do so, because I like having options and sometimes one works more than the other but all of them are great. For some people, buying new clothes/shoes, or perhaps taking yourself out to dinner, watching your favorite movie, participating in a class or doing yoga, drinking coffee outside on the patio, listening to music while in your thoughts, etc. whatever it may be, it doesn’t matter as long as it is safe and brings you peace, happiness and clarity.

So now you see how mentality is a BIG part of getting started in any journey in life, and it can determine how you conquer obstacles, how you react to situations, and it helps to put things into perspective. Give this some thought, and really think about how your mentality today can change what you do tomorrow.

Thanks for reading,

FitnessWonderWoman,

Shay-lon Moss