The hardest workout that will change your life the most is the mental one.
Our mind is another muscle that needs to be worked out to get stronger. Choosing conscious, creative, intentional thoughts is hard work, and needs to be repeated daily.
Mindset is a muscle. And just like any workout the more reps, runs, holds, sprints, the stronger you get!
Every day we have two options: Taking Action or Not Taking Action. The choice you make determines the person are. The choice you make determines the life you create.
We can take action in our thoughts, in our words, and in our physical actions. We may not be physically moving, but our mind is constantly moving from thought to thought. The question is: are your thoughts action oriented?
Most people spend their time with the same recurring thoughts day after day. Their mental movie is on repeat playing this same movie over and over. Their mind is essentially on autopilot, creating the same day they had the day before, and the day before that.
This is why taking no action is also so appealing - it is easy. We get very comfortable with the same thoughts, and the expected outcomes. There is security in knowing that everyday will be the same, neither better nor worse.
What is missing however, is development, opportunity, challenge and overall growth. In order to have a life where we grow we must create thoughts with action. We must apply our intentional thinking to each thought.
For example, one can start their day in defeat noticing everything that is wrong, why they are unhappy and what is the next negative event that is going to happen. Maybe it's stressful thoughts about a meeting at work that will probably turn out poorly, expecting annoyance from coworkers or disapproval from your boss. There is no action in this thinking. In fact this is moving backward.
Waking up expecting good outcomes creates more good outcomes.
Notice the challenges you might have in your day and how they will allow you to grow and learn more about yourself are action-oriented thoughts.
Plan what you clearly want in your day, your week, your year, and then place your thoughts on paper is beneficial. This creates your life.
Look for opportunities that surround you in a day, not the opposite.
In order to have an action-oriented mind one needs to have laser-like focus. We need to constantly edit what is happening in our thoughts. Creating a shift back to action in thought is just like any other exercise.
When starting out, there is pain and annoyance and a strong appeal towards quitting. When you started running or lifting weights or yoga there was exhaustion and awkwardness followed by brief moments of exhilaration. At first those 5 pound weights felt unbearable and then you were strong enough to pick up 10. It may have taken a few months to achieve running 3 miles, or learning how to hit a tennis ball properly. Holding a plank for 30 seconds may have seemed exhausting but you practiced and learned to hold one for 1 minute.
We become better at any habit we practice. When practicing healthy habits we also start to feel way better.
Training our mindset is incredibly hard work. Just like lifting weights eventually becomes more tolerable, so does learning to have action-oriented, intentional thoughts.
You start to watch your thoughts and notice when they are drifting to irrelevant, wasteful, places that serve no purpose and are not action-oriented.
Just learning to watch or witness the your thoughts is progress! Once you actively notice, you can hit your personal pause button and shift them in another direction.
I repeat: this is not easy at all. Training your mind is way more challenging than training your body. And let's be honest - no one notices your "nice biceps' or your toned physique after all that work.
You will notice when your life begins to change, and people and situations and moments that I call miracles start to happen all around you.
This is when you smile to yourself and know all that training has paid off!
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