What does it mean to be mentally fit?
We hear these words often, but what are the criteria for mental fitness, and how many of us meet these qualifications?
Each of us strives for at least a level of mental wellness that enables us to cope with everyday stresses in life. Mental wellness makes it possible for us to be productive, contribute to our home and society, and navigate the many obstacles that life will throw our way.
When you are mentally fit, you possess the mental skills to manage the challenges that land in your lap.
Think about what it means to be physically fit. When you are physically fit typically you have a fitness regimen that enables you to easily handle your workouts. When you are not physically fit you may not be able to handle a fitness regimen.
For example, if you regularly run 6 miles a week to run one mile tomorrow, it is highly likely that you can do it with no problem. Your muscles are pre-conditioned for the run. Your heart can withstand the extra work. You have the proper running shoes to complete the task. You can accomplish it without giving it much thought.
The same is true for mental fitness. Being mentally and emotionally fit requires the ability to address issues and emotions head-on. It requires the ability to adapt to various situations and circumstances. It also requires taking those skills and applying them to future challenges and obstacles.
Here are four things you can do to enhance your mental fitness:
1. Practice Self-Care
Mental fitness starts with taking care of yourself. You must learn to express what it is you are feeling. You must learn to be open about both good and bad feelings—but not in a way that is self-destructive or damaging to yourself or others.
Self-care should include the practice of being mindful, or aware of the present. This practice allows you to identify what is important, what has an immediate impact on you, what requires a response, and what is irrelevant and not worth your time.
2. Learn to Manage Your Stress
You hear this a lot, but you must learn to manage your stress. This emotion can destroy your physical and mental fitness. It can also lead you to make poor decisions that contribute to negative outcomes in life.
Therefore, you must learn to develop effective coping strategies that enable you to reign in the emotions that often accompany stress and that can harm your mental wellness. You must never be afraid to get help if your stress is out of control.
3. Identify the Positive Aspects
Another facet of being mentally fit is having the ability to see the glass as being half full. Mentally fit people can recalibrate their thinking even in the midst of the most challenging situations. They can function optimally without being delusional in their thought processes.
4. Hobbies and Learning New Things
Research suggests that to stay mentally fit, you must help your brain create new patterns. This is similar to the way physical exercise helps us to build new muscles.
Learning a new language, practicing hobbies, or learning a new skill can all help to put you on the path to doing just that.
There you have it! Being mentally fit is not a given and does not just happen by chance. You must put in the work to sustain your mental fitness, in much the same way as you have to put in the work to have a physically fit body.
Some people can achieve mental fitness on their own—but do not be afraid to ask for help if you find that you are struggling to sustain this state of being.
