Fit for Life: Learn Your Lesson Yet?

Saturday, January 09, 2021

Matt Espeut, Health & Lifestyle Contributor

 

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So, we are a week into 2021 and I wanted to ask you how things were going for you so far.

Are you one of the people that couldn’t wait for 2020 to be over, so you could forget all the events that transpired last year?

Or are you using 2020 as a learning experience and taking some of the lessons learned to grow, and get better?

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Personally, I learned a lot of lessons, and although not much has changed as far as the atmosphere and restrictions we are experiencing, my emotions and mindset are moving in a different direction. I realize that we are not out of the darkness yet, however I am using the New Year as an energy reset and conducting myself in an optimistic manner.

I am still being cautious, following protocol, and distancing myself from everyone as if they have COVID, but I am not letting it prevent me from pursuing my goals, and I am reflecting back and applying some lessons learned from this last, disastrous year.

I am hoping a majority of people also learned some lessons, and I’m looking forward to dominating this year by helping the folks that have had an epiphany, and now realize that they need to focus more on their health and fitness.

I learned that a majority of the people that died or were severely affected by the virus had compromised health. Now, I am hoping that people that need to change their lifestyle learned their lesson and are now looking to take action and improve their health on all levels.

 

Now more than ever, people should realize that health and fitness should be a priority and need to take action.

It’s not just a matter of aesthetics, but a matter of life and death.

I also realize now more than ever that mental health plays just as big a role in our well-being than our physical health.

Everything we do and the actions we take all come from within what’s inside our heads, and to me, mindset and attitude will determine how we will end up when all this is over.

I know many ways to help someone get physically healthy, however when it comes to mental health, all I can do is relay some of the observations I experienced over this past year, and I will share some of my takeaways in this article.

The first thing that comes to mind is that when we are faced with a crisis, we need to be proactive and respond as opposed to reacting in a negative way. Yes, the situation sucked, and we were all restricted and limited to how we could conduct our lives, but what good did complaining and reacting negatively do. The people that were proactive and responded to the situation by finding alternative avenues to get by, are in a much better position than the ones that reacted irrationally.

Acting instead of hesitating and waiting to “see what happens” produced a more positive outcome in many instances. People that quit their workout programs have a huge uphill battle in front of them if they want to regain their fitness levels as opposed to the people that made adjustments, and got it done.

 

Even under less than perfect circumstances.

Businesses that found other ways to operate, are more likely to survive than the ones that just shut their doors and went into hiding.

Another observation is that many people were more capable than they thought.

But you had to dig deep.

Remember, you really don’t know what you have inside of you unless you are tested with adversity and your back is up against the wall.

There is a saying that I stole from my coach that goes like this:

Strong men create good times, good times create weak men, weak men create bad times & bad times create strong man.

This means that when things are easy, we get complacent, and it takes pressure and adversity to strengthen our resilience muscles. When things are easy, we get soft, when life is difficult, we have no choice but to rise up and fight.

Don’t make permeant decisions based on temporary feelings.

This is a strong statement and can apply to everything from closing your business to suicide.

 

Think about it.

 

You could be depressed, down, tired and emotionally drained, however these feelings have a big probability of passing with time.

But when you make a rash decision based on temporary feelings, it could create a scenario that you never recover from.

When thinking irrationally, we are likely to react in a negative way, which will lead to a lifetime of regret, or possibly worse.

Know you are not suffering alone.

Ask for help, get off the island and don’t suffer in silence. In most instances, things aren’t as bad as they seem.

Look at problems and create solutions based on best, average, and worst-case scenarios. If you can’t find solutions on your own, talk it over with someone. Chances are that they have some of the same issues as you, and you can solve problems together.  

Appreciate everything don’t expect anything & celebrate all wins big and small.

This is a great way to transition out of a bad mental state. You can easily find problems, and its common to go to the dark side first, but you can always find a win to change your chain of thought.

Appreciate the fact that you are still alive and well, or that you have a roof over your head. We can always find someone that has it worse than us, so don’t feel entitled to an easy life and show gratitude on a daily basis.

Just to be clear, I am a fitness coach and not a mental health expert, however over the years I have realized that mindset controls everything we do.

I do know that we need to acknowledge when we are in a funk, and going off course, the best way to bring yourself back is to shift your thought process and try to find positive accolades in every situation.

Make yourself a priority, take care of you first, maintain strong emotional discipline, surround yourself with people that will add value to your life and avoid as much toxic energy as possible.

We’re going to be ok, and 2021 will be better, if you use 2020 as a learning experience and apply lessons learned.

 

Committed to your success,

Matt

 

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