Mental fitness…

Simon Sinek recently said that he did not like the terminology of Mental Health and he much preferred the term mental fitness. His argument was that health is more of a fixed destination you are either healthy or not healthy. He compared how we rate our physicality by going to the gym and having good days and bad days. We have so many mental states eg. so many destinations, sad, happy, joyful and uncertainty. We are never 100% fit with our bodies or our mental state but we work at both constantly improving them.

The other terminology is mental well being which incorporates all the destinations but there is also the overall feeling of protecting yourself. Well being is about you taking ownership of the destinations and only going where you feel safe. If you know a situation will take you to the destination of uncomfortableness maybe it is not right for you at the moment in time.

We do all need to experience discomfort and in the great words of Bréne Brown, “Vulnerability is Greatness”, we learn in this space and it will enrich us. However there does always need to be a slight caveat though to understand where you are currently. So just as you go to the gym and use the equipment or run a distance you put yourself at stretch but at the right time.

Review your week to check you are comfortable with the destinations it is taking you to. How many new situations will you experience and are you feeling in a good place to cope with that. How much time have you built in for recovery, using the gym analogy again are you warming down your muscles. If you have a week of a lot of connectivity, have you got some time for some solo walks. Manage your mental fitness/well-being as you would your gym schedule.