Here Are 3 Core Muscles For Maintaining Mental Fitness
Strengthen these and your life moves more with more ease.
Physical muscles create movement, provide stability, protect organs, and generate energy.
Mental muscles create emotional resilience, provide focus, perspective and creativity, protect hopefulness and generate inspired action.
Understanding these muscles helps you recognize what you need to strengthen so that you can navigate this wild ride with more satisfaction, ease and confidence.
Yes, people suck sometimes.
Yes, a lot of your circumstances weren’t your choice.
Yes, you are the only part you can control.
MUSCLE #1: AWARENESS
If you keep missing workouts, spend too much time working, procrastinating, or avoiding difficult conversations, something internal is running the show. And you need to name it.
It’s easier to see external stuff (leaky boat, no oars, Scott forgot the life jacket again). But the internal experience, tight chest, looping thoughts, dread, this is where your power lies.
Awareness is the first flex:
• What is happening in my body?
• What’s the story in my head?
• What is the feeling?
If you can’t spot the saboteur, you can’t transform that reaction.
MUSCLE #2: Self-Command
Who’s in charge? The stronger this muscle gets, the easier it is to catch yourself in a spiral and get the hell out of there.
You know better. But knowing doesn’t = doing. This muscle helps you interrupt the pattern.
Like when you:
• Stay up bingeing instead of sleeping
• Clean the house instead of writing
• Say “I have to work” instead of going to the gym
This is how you get unhooked.
Take a breath. Notice a sound. Pay attention to any physical sensation for 10 seconds. This helps snap you back into right now and deactivates or turns down the Saboteur.
A strong self-command muscle enables you to respond to any circumstance in alignment with who you truly want to be.
MUSCLE #3: Inner Knower
This is the wise voice, grounded, kind and doesn’t let you off the hook. She knows what matters. She feels calm, strong, and connected.
She says:
• “This is hard, but you’ve got this.”
• “Rest now. Move later.”
• “Say the thing. You’re ready.”
She doesn’t yell, shame, or hustle. She’s the you that you come home to.
Find this muscle, you have it. The flex is remembering it’s there, tuning in and coming back. Over and over. (Kind of like your pelvic floor.)
These muscles…awareness, self-command, and inner truth…are foundational.
You won’t master them once and be done. Like strengthening your fitness, you have to do the reps. Every time you flex, you get stronger.
You don’t need to be perfect.
You do need to find these muscles.
Learn how to activate them in a way that works for you.
Keep flexing.
One Action Step:
How to flex muscle number #1
Take this free assessment to learn about your Saboteurs.
(No strings attached, I promise!)
Before you look at your results.
Remember, you are not your Saboteurs. These are your brain’s default responses when you get triggered or when fear shows up.
You likely won't get a 10/10 on any of them; therefore, the descriptions will not be 100% you. The parts that resonate can help you understand what’s getting in your way.
Here is the link: Positive Intelligence Saboteur Assessment
I am certified in Positive Intelligence (the body of work behind this).
Did you go through the assessment? What are your top 3 Saboteurs?
🖤 Mary
I like this... working mental muscles is SO important. Thanks for sharing these insights.
The note I wrote about this post….I got my most recent post out almost on time. Yay, me! Being consistent is a goal.I remind myself I am consistent, I go to the gym, leave cupboard doors open, lose my glasses. I proudly opened the post I sent (this one) to my tiny but mighty list. F&#K.Shit.UGH. I’d started editing the first heading… then just… moved on. Forgot to go back. Rookie mistake. Maybe I reread it and didn’t even see it, like my cupboard doors.