For whatever reason, we have a tendency to want to divide things up into parts and see things as separated. When we do this we get caught up in how to fix what we see as a problem in one area without being able to see things in their entirety. This train of thought causes a lot more problems than it fixes in general, but I’ll leave that topic to another post. Trying to accomplish any self-improvement goal without balancing our brain is like changing a tire on a car with a blown engine. When we fail to see how much our thoughts and emotions affect our abilities to have physical well-being, we make everything a lot more difficult for ourselves.
It’s common rhetoric that physical exercise releases endorphins, and that’s about where most people stop. What is failed to be taken into consideration by most is that when we exercise we are also releasing thoughts and emotions, effectively bringing people into a noticeably more calm and relaxed state. After a work out our mind is usually much quieter than before a workout. Of course, a quiet mind is one goal of meditation. So, in essence, what we’ll call a runner’s high or a post-workout high is really just a very small taste of the bliss one finds when they achieve a deep meditative state.
All Self Improvement Starts In The Mind
There are always those individuals who drastically change their level of fitness in a relatively short time. And many of us have experienced periods of drastic positive physical change in short periods. These always occur after a mental breakthrough that isn’t always easy for a person at the time. Often a person goes through a period of emotional release before gaining tremendous motivation towards a more positive lifestyle. All of this positive growth starts within the mind which leads to changes in the brain and body.
It’s quite counterproductive to our self-improvement efforts to see the brain and the body as separate entities. We’ll often attribute physical fitness to levels of confidence and other positive mental qualities, yet fail to see that it was the mind that formed the necessary capacities within the brain to become physically fit in the first place. So for those who are struggling to become better versions of themselves physically, I’m suggesting that you also work to develop a mental state that corresponds with your fitness goals. If you work towards this, I have no doubt, you will find your goals much easier to achieve.
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