Author: John Stammerman

A healthy mindset is one that is growth oriented!

Creating Mental Toughness

A healthy mindset is one that is growth oriented (read Carol Dweck’s book “Mindset”). It is one that is able to focus on the things you have control over. A healthy mindset is one where you are aware of your thoughts and feelings, rather than be blindly controlled by them in day to day life. A healthy mindset is the foundation of good mental health, a positive mood, and healthy coping.

Developing and understanding mindset is a big topic in 2020. There’s tons of good resources on it where you can learn and practice techniques to improve it. For now, let’s focus on 3 tools to start using to improve your mindset in your daily life:

TOOL 1: FOCUS ON WHAT YOU HAVE CONTROL OVER

When negative emotions present themselves, that is a sign that you are focusing on things outside of your control. When anger, frustration, sadness come over you – ask yourself this question and use it to guide your response:

What do I have control over in this situation?

Focusing on anything else will magnify feelings of upset and powerlessness and push your behavior in an unproductive direction.

TOOL 2: NEVER MAKE ASSUMPTIONS

It’s easy to evaluate what someone is thinking or feeling, or why they took the action they did, but our minds don’t always lead us in a truthful direction while thinking that way. We make assumptions that fuel negative emotions. When you find yourself making an assumption, instead, stop and ask yourself:

Are there any other explanations for this?

Consider all of the possibilities, not just the ones you think are true. Then, take some action and have a conversation. Ask questions to find out what is real.

TOOL 3: CULTIVATE GRATITUDE

The single, most powerful mindset tool you can develop to transform how you feel about your life is cultivating gratitude. This means:

Train your mind to look for and focus on things to be grateful for in any given moment or any given situation (even when it’s hard to do).

Start by adding a daily ritual of finding 3 things you are grateful for from that day. Next, challenge yourself in situations where you feel stressed to take a deep breath and find something for which to be grateful. Keep practicing this daily, and it will continue to become easier and automatic!

GOAL: Let’s create healthy connections!

We are social creatures. No matter how independent or introverted you are, you still need actual human connection. This doesn’t just mean having people you spend time with, it means having people you spend time with you make you feel seen, heard, and supported.

Do you have at least one person in your life that you feel supported by?

As in you can reach out to them if you are having a tough time, they encourage you to take healthy risks and try new things?

• If yes, that is awesome! How do you make time to keep this connection close?
• If no, here are some ways to try to change that…

We naturally surround ourselves with people who reflect our lifestyle choices. This can be tough when we decide to work on being healthier, as the people in our current circle don’t always share the same desires or values.

Ask yourself if the people you spend time with have the same interests or desires as you. If they don’t, where can you find people that do? You need to work on finding a community. For many other folks who are CrossFitters – we have found these connections and community at our CrossFit gyms. For others, it may be a church, or a group of people with the same hobby.

Relationship Homework

Make a note of 3 ideas of places you might be able to find and connect with like minded people:

1)
2)
3)

Now, what action do you have to take to make this happen?

Consider setting a daily and/or weekly goal for connection and relationship building. That can be as simple as putting your phone away while you are eating food with another human.

The best advice we give to people when they ask if CrossFit is right for them is this:

Figure out what works for you!

The best form of exercise is the kind we can be consistent with. Many of us have experimented with fitness regimes that we have not been able to maintain for any period of time. Don’t give up! Any “failure” to follow through is really just information about what does and doesn’t work for you.

Evaluate what works & try something different

Here are some ways to evaluate failed attempts at fitness, and try something different that may work better for you or new things to consider:

1. If you have FAILED when you don’t have accountability, CONSIDER buddy up with someone you see in the gym in your class who is motivated to get healthy (or work with a Coach in some individual sessions).
2. If you have FAILED at working out in the morning, CONSIDER trying evening workouts.
3. If you dread exercise, it makes it a lot harder to go to class. Find something that makes you feel excited. To do this, you may have to be willing to try new movements. We make more improvement in our weaker areas faster than you might think.
4. Work on your mindset. Waiting to feel motivated means you will be sitting around for a long time. Practice pushing yourself to workout when the true desire is not there. MOVEMENT creates motivation. There is no way around this.
5. Be afraid and do it anyway. The only way out is through.

If you follow these 5 Factors of Health we’ve been talking about, listen to your coaches, and be consistent in the gym 3-4 days a week for 3 months, I guarantee you will reach your goals, be fitter and happier. We’re rooting for you to win!

GOAL: Get at least 7 hours of sleep every night

Arguably the most important influencer on our health is the amount of sleep we get. Less than 7 hours a night increases risk of cancer, early death, dementia and cognitive decline, and other chronic diseases. Busy is not an excuse. It might make it harder to prioritize time in our day for sleep, but it doesn’t make it impossible.

Think about this:

1. How many hours of sleep do you typically get every night?
2. Here’s a list of things within your control you can use to help reach your optimal sleep goal. Make a note of the ones you are currently do:
   • Go to bed at a consistent time.
   • Sleep in a dark and quiet room.
   • Make sure your bed & bedding is as comfortable as possible.
   • Hide the clock (if you are a clock watcher).
   • Silence your cell phone notifications until morning. (we know, this one is hard to do)
   • Establish a soothing pre-sleep routine. (stretching is a great idea)
   • Do not watch TV or look at other screens while in bed.
   • Listen to relaxing music or guided meditation to help fall asleep.
   • Avoid caffeine after lunchtime and alcohol at night. (Again, we know this is a hard ask. But they both can destroy the quality of your sleep.)
3. Let’s figure out your optimal bed time:
   • What time do you have to get out of bed in the morning to make your day work?
   • Including a 15 minute window to wind down/read/get settled, what time do you need to be in bed so you can get up at that time and still get 7 to 8 hours of sleep?

Which of the habits listed above will you commit to doing to improve your sleep?

If you aren’t getting the rest you need your training will suffer inside the gym and your life won’t be what it should be outside the gym.

LEARN MORE: Read “The Sleep Revolution” by Ariana Huffington

GOAL: Eat real food, not too much, mostly plants. Eliminate refined carbohydrates processed foods and sugar.

Our modern American diets are carb and sugar filled. Combined with our sedentary lifestyles, as a nation – we are heavier and unhealthier than ever. Trendy diets may give us the satisfaction of losing weight quickly, but they don’t fix our bad habits and food addictions or help us maintain those results for the long haul.

Answer these questions

Make a list of habits

Make note of the following list of habits of healthy eaters you already do and ones that you need to work on…

Eliminating Excuses

Every reason you can come up with about why you make poor choices around food can be transformed into a way to stop letting that excuse sabotage you. Let’s dig a little deeper into your excuses and see what habits you could work on to dial in your nutrition.

One Small Step at a Time

If you try to make too many changes at once with what you eat, or overhwhelm yourself with a bunch of new habits you have to create to eat better, you will likely fail. Behavior change requires us to make small steps, be consistent with them, and these turn into habits which are no longer difficult to sustain.

Here are some examples of small changes you can make to your nutrition. Write down the ones you are willing to try:

You. Can. Do. This. One step at a time.