As a follow-up to yesterday’s post, you know just how much of an impact good stamina can have on our health.
But have you thought to consider more than just physical health? Stamina plays a role in mental health, too. Fitness for our thoughts and our mentality helps us manage our weight by managing our emotions and behaviors.
Stamina: Re-visiting the Definition
Remember, Webster’s Dictionary defines stamina as this:
Stamina (Noun): Great physical or mental strength that allows you to continue doing something for a long time; staying power; endurance
You can imagine just how important it is to have mental endurance on your weight management journey. Losing or maintaining weight doesn’t happen in one day. It’s a long and steady road that requires you to walk it step by step. Therefore, it’s filled with uphill battles, downhill slides and all the other landscapes in between. You’ll need mental stamina to get you through it!
6 Ways to Build More Mental Stamina
It’s normal to feel like you don’t have your head on straight every once in a while. Weight management is often associated with stress, anxiety, depression, fatigue, confusion, loneliness, frustration and many other emotions/mindsets. Are you struggling to make it through mentally? Consider these helpful tips:
- Prepare for Challenges – Know that you won’t have it easy all of the time, and you’ll likely experience a range of emotions. Everyone faces challenges on this journey, so understand that you’re not alone.
- Practice Patience – Not everything will happen as quickly as you want it to. Long-term changes require enough time to be cultivated. Practice remaining calm when things don’t go your way at the pace you’d like.
- Don’t Compromise – If you’re committed to a specific goal, don’t compromise when easier options come your way. It may help to eliminate certain triggers if focusing on your goals is difficult for you.
- Maintain Balance – Just like in yesterday’s post! If you’re giving your brain a workout and begin to lose the energy or will to continue, take a step back. Maybe it’s time for a nap, a vacation, fun hobby or something else distracting.
- Visualize Your Success – When you’re stressed or discouraged, your goals don’t always feel like they’re in reach. Therefore, you try not to think about them. Well we’re saying… think about them! Visualize what you want to see for the rest of your journey.
- Choose the Right Company – Having people in your circle who understand you, encourage you and have your back will propel you to success. There’s very little time for you to spend with people who aren’t respectful of your goals – especially your health goals.
Conclusion
Notice how the tips for building physical and mental stamina are very similar. That’s because you have a mind/body connection, and you should use it! Working on your physical health is beneficial to you in many ways, including your mentality.
Also remember that building stamina takes time, but it’s worth it! Endurance is needed to walk that extra step, travel that extra mile or walk through the heat of the fire.
