The Powerful Connection between Mind and Body

I know the awareness that there is a connection between your mental health and your physical well-being isn’t a new concept at all.  We have all been hearing for decades that if you take care of your body by exercising and eating properly that not only will your body thank you for it, but so will your brain.

I will be the first to admit that I could definitely do better.  Remember my post “How to Turn Setbacks into Opportunities” where I describe how I let a physical injury hurt me mentally?   At the time that I wrote that post, my brain knew exactly what needed to be done to get back on track, but that was three weeks ago and I have yet to push myself back on that track.

So today I sit here, not feeling so great about my lack of focus on my physical self and realize for the umpteenth time that emotions can be both a powerful tool and a potent weapon.  A powerful tool to fuel you to move forward or a potent weapon used for self-sabotage, often switching directs in a split second.  I know this battle between good and evil is something that many of us deal with every day, and I am no different that you.

 

THE PLAN – THE SIMPLE PROS and CONS LIST

I am a person who needs to see things written down, in an organized manor, to be able to analyze the information – enter the PROS and CONS list.

How I see it, is that I have two options to analyze:

UNHEALTHY EATING AND NO EXERCISE
PROS	CONS
More TV time	Weight gain
	Physically tired
	Mentally weak
	Poor role model for my kids

EATING HEALTHY FOOD AND EXERCISING
PROS	CONS
Weight loss	Less TV time
Increase fitness and endurance levels	Increased food prep time
Clear mind
Positive role model for my kids

 

I know that this list shows a simple problem to solve but my point here is that even though I already knew the answer to my problem, putting my thoughts down so that I could see them, helps provide me with the mental focus on the WHAT and the WHY of what I need to do.

Do you have an issue in your life that you are struggling to focus on and work through?  Does this lack of focus leave you feeling drained physically?   Of course it does – because the connection between your brain and physical state is so unbelievably intertwined that if the one is out of tune, the other is soon to follow suit.  So sit down; take the time to run a simple analysis like I have – it will be the first step to a clearer head and best of all, your body will eventually thank you for it.