What is the Core of Mental Fitness?
Mental Fitness Part Two
A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.”
― Dalai Lama XIV
Your first couple of visits to the Mental Fitness gym, will be focused on refining your internal awareness of habitual thoughts and behaviors (Saboteurs), learning the type of pain they cause and how to relax them. The next step will be strengthening your core so to speak.
The core of your brain is what we (those trained in Positive Intelligence) call the Self-Command Muscle. WITHOUT a strong Self-Command, you will not be able to effectively rewire your brain from pain and dysfunction to ease and effectiveness. Your Peak Performance is directly correlated to the strength of your Self-Command. This is the start of your weight lifting program in the Mental Fitness gym.
We start with what is called a PQ rep. Yes, just like lifting weights in the gym, you will be performing reps and sets of specific exercises to increase your PQ (Positive Intelligence). With each PQ rep you will be strengthening weak neural pathways in your brain.
You may be wondering if any of this is working WHEN:
You get stuck in traffic and want to take it personally.
You feel the urge to avoid handing in that resignation letter you typed up months ago.
You’re asked to change you plans for someone else and feel the pull of guilt.
You want to blame another for the outcome of a decision you agreed to.
You’re about to feel shame for not completing a task to the highest of standards.
Your arm is raising up to point out errors in someone else’s approach.
That’s when you JUST STOP. You stop and instinctively start doing your PQ reps. For ten seconds you focus on: your breath, the sounds around you, the feeling of your fingertips rubbing against each other or you bring acute attention to something in your line of vision. You take 10 seconds, do your core work.
That’s when you realize:
Everyone is stuck in traffic not just you.
Your future self does not want to be at that soul sucking job any longer than truly necessary.
You hear the words “That doesn’t work for me, can we find another time?” come out of your mouth.
You accept the decisions you’ve made, and start focusing on possible solutions.
You realize, that sometimes its better to get something done, then labor over perfection.
You wonder if perhaps, there are other ways to approach problems besides yours.
Finally you understand why your Mental Fitness Coach was so adamant about strengthening your Self-Command.
What’s next you ask…why the heavy lifts of course.