December 16th, 2020

Strong Mind / Strong Body

​In a recent email from a therapist pal in the UK, he mentioned the development of strength of mind in developing strength of body.

We’ve all been aware of this for many are year. We know the saying“A healthy mind in a healthy body“.

The mind, like a muscle, responds to training. When we take steps to strengthen the muscle, we go through routine movements to which the muscle becomes accustomed and develops accordingly.

It’s much the same with the mind. Most of us have learned how to train the mind not in what it needs, but what it wants.

This causes problems. Not because what we want it’s always bad for us, but because there are times when what we need is more important and more useful than what we want.

A study in 2009* indicated how developing a sense of purpose, ready values, and knowing who you are, can change the kind of decisions that you make that will influence your life for the better.

For example, study participants who had a sense of purpose, defined values, and affirmed who they wanted to be when they were at their their best, were much more likely to be decisive and assertive in their lives, and clear in their direction.

But we all know this, don’t we?

So, how do we put this into practice?

Check-in for Wednesday’s mail and you can find out.

*Schmeichel and Vohs (2009), 'Self-affirmation and self-control: affirming core values counteracts ego depletion', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.