When things are going great in any area of my life, it comes back to the consistency of my efforts.
Some form of structured movement has been part of my “routine” 6-7 days per week for a number of years now. The anchoring effect of this, knowing that it is automatic instead of a decision, has kept me moving pain free & capable of plenty of things most people my age can’t do. Above all else though, mentally it provides an escape from other stresses, be it my corporate career back in the day, through to the challenges running a small business that I face now.
Mid way through 2023, we got some devastating news out of nowhere. Coming to terms with that news and processing it became really challenging, it took time to find my feet again. At the start of 2024, we faced a significant obstacle that with hindsight, I should have seen coming, which further compounded a state of mind that was not great for me at the time. The specifics of the events don’t matter, the lessons from coping with them do. Thankfully, both situations turned out better than I could have hoped for.
In the midst of these events, gradually I was finding it harder and harder to “switch off” my mind in sessions, the gravity of both things combined with the seemingly little impact I could have on the outcome of one in particular pushed me to a place I hadn’t been for a long time mentally. I had decided to enter a marathon to give me something more specific to aim for and improve from the lessons I learnt all those years earlier, the long runs in training for it weren’t helpful a lot of the time, as my mind would get back to a negative head space.
The more time went on, I realised I had let my mental health deteriorate to a point where my usual “remedy” through exercise alone wasn’t going to bring me back, I needed more help.
Working on my mind had been something that I’d done on and off over the years. It was something that often served me well, but became a practice I often stopped when I was “feeling fine.” I’d read lots of good books on self-improvement, then stumbled across an app by one of my favourite authors and speakers in the self-improvement space, specifically set up to help me with my headspace daily.
Each week, I started to get a bit more consistent with allocating some time to the app, and I started to feel better. My attitude shifted, anxiety dropped and my focus started to return. The daily efforts/time on my mindset wasn’t that long – anything from 15 – 30 minutes, which was more than offset by my improved focus and ability to get myself back on track.
The goal with it was to keep showing up, get my streak in for showing up, knowing that builds the momentum to make it part of who I am. Mentally, I am more resilient then ever, and the conditioning that has come from the consistency is on par with that I’d been doing physically for years.
I don’t have it all figured out just yet by any means, what I do know is that if I keep putting in the work in on my mind, I’ll get closer.
In a week from now we are running our Level Up challenge at GSD, where we build on your base to take you to the next level with your health and fitness. 6 weeks to establish consistent habits with the guidance and support of our coaches and other like-minded people on the same path.
6 weeks of focused effort, where might you end up? Book your free intro now!
