North Star Mental Fitness Blog

Do You Know Why?

Have you ever wondered why people exercise?

Do you know why they continue to exercise?

In my last post, Do You Believe That Your Life Experiences Have Made You Mentally Fit, I emphasized that life experiences, although grueling at times, do not make us physically or mentally fit.

In order to become mentally or physically fit, it is necessary to go beyond the experiences of everyday living and perform exercises on a regular basis.

So what are the general benefits for becoming mentally and physically fit?

First of all, mental and physical fitness can make us healthier.  Don't we all want to be healthier?

Secondly, mental and physical fitness training makes us stronger for managing our everyday lives.  Mental and physical fitness training can make us stronger for coping with the stresses and demands of everyday living.

Successful managing of life experiences will not necessarily make us physically and mentally stronger.  In contrast, successful mental and physical fitness training will make us stronger in managing life experiences.

If you want to be physically stronger in coping with everyday life experiences, then commit to a physical fitness program.

If you want to be mentally and emotionally stronger for coping with everyday life experiences, then commit to a mental fitness program like The North Star Mental Fitness Program.

Remember, You Live within Environment Created by Your Choices!

Dr. Hal

Life and Mental Fitness Coach

Do You Believe That Your Life Experiences Have Made You Mentally Fit?

Every day of your life you are and have been making decisions.  Basically, you are making good decisions and sometimes very difficult decisions.  Have you been successful in completing your educational vocational goals?  

You will probably agree with the following statement. You could not have obtained your current status in life without sweating, thinking clearly and making difficult decisions. 

Aren't you challenged everyday when you cope with life's frustrations and problems?  Life is full of problems, which you face on a daily basis.  You have made the best choices available to you.  This I firmly believe.

Therefore, it is a no-brainer.  You have been successful and are successful.  You have shown some mental strength, courage, and persistence by coping with your life on a daily basis.  You have used your mental resources on a daily basis.

I must emphasize that I do not wish to offend anyone by suggesting that they need mental fitness training.  I do not want to depreciate anyone's abilities to succeed and their current efforts in coping with their lives.

However, mental fitness is a lot like physical fitness.  There was a time that people thought they did not need physical fitness training.  They thought that coping with the ordinary physical demands of their everyday living would make them physically fit.  We now know that that is a false belief.  Living one's life on a daily basis does not make a person physically fit.  If a person wants to be physically fit, then they must focus and commit to exercising on a frequent basis.

Likewise, coping with the mental demands of everyday living will not make you mentally fit.  You can have mental successes in coping with your life without mental fitness training.  However, coping with the mental demands of everyday living will not make you mentally fit.

Mental fitness and physical fitness are a lot alike.  Coping with the everyday demands of life do not make a person physically or mentally fit.  If you want to be mentally and physically fit, it is important to do mental and physical exercises.

If you thought that coping with everyday problems and life situations would make you mentally fit, might you be missing something?

Remember, You Will Live within the Environment Created by Your Choices!

Dr. Hal

Life and Mental Fitness Coach

Do You Have An Attention Problem?

Life decisions begin the moment you awaken and end when you go to sleep at night.  During your waking hours, you make hundreds of decisions.  The nature of your particular circumstances will not matter.  What matters is the fact that you are perpetually making difficult, life decisions throughout the day.

Life decisions are becoming more difficult, because of the economy and raising fuel costs. 

When "Yes, I Can" Becomes a Problem

My post about "Yes, I Can" emphasized how difficult is is to make this affirmation and how important this affirmation is for generating succcess.  The post "How Many Success Do You Need Before You Can Conclude Your Are Succcessful" stressed the importance of drawing the conclusion that we are succcessful after we have been succcessful.

Both of these posts extol the importance of having this successful motivation and identity. 

Did you know, "Yes, I Can" isn't always a good mind set?  Here is why. 

"Yes, I Can" has to be used judiciously.  It is very easy the say "Yes, I Can" and find yourself over-whemed with responsibilities, commitments, and obligations. 

How many times have you know better, and still failed to say "No".  Logically, you know you can  do it, so you take on more and more.  Before long your life is no longer yours.  You work and work.  Your quality of life begins to suffer and you feel the symptoms of burn-out. 

The force of "Yes, I Can"  needs to be controlled and limited by the motive and drive "Is This Best for Me".  Sometimes you need to say "No" emphatically to "Yes, I Can" and the relentless requests from others to do more.   Asking the question, "Is This Best for Me" can stop you from over extending yourself by assuming too many responsibilities and eventually living in the neighborhood of perpetual burrn-out.

 Remember, You Live Within the Environment Created by Your Choices!

Dr. Hal

Life and Mental Fitness Coach

Announcing the Mind Fitness Newsletter

For a long time I have been blogging.  In fact, I have made 350 posts.  I have enjoyed the new acquaintances I have made, including fellow bloggers with similar interests.  I have especially enjoyed and appreciated the comments made by readers of my blog.

As you may have noticed, the frequency of my posts has decreased.  I have been researching various ideas for increasing interpersonal interaction and communication between myself and the readers of this blog.  Blogging has been way too impersonal form me and I think for most of my readers.

I want to know my readers.  I want to know  your feelings, thoughts and goals.  I want to interact with you, my readers, while you are applying mental fitness concepts to improve the quality of your lives.  I want to know where you are stuck and where you are progressing.

I have chosen to start a newsletter by the name of "Mind Fitness".  I have some great ideas regarding how to make mental fitness more personal and interactive.  I'll also be asking you for your ideas.

You may have noticed on the upper right corner of my blog, there is a "Sign Me Up" place for you to click and become a recipient of the newsletter.  The newsletter will be free.  I hope you will sign up.  However, I hope you will only sign up if you want to interact and feel empowered in applying mental fitness in your life.

Dr. Hal

Life and Mental Fitness Coach

There Is a Cure for Choking And Loss of Momentum

"Tonight I was playing in the finals of a local tournament and missed the nineball in two games. Due to these misses, I came in second place.

Is there a cure for this disease?"

 

This was the gut wrenching plea from a frustrated billiard player, who wrote "Choking nine balls? Help!

 

Is there a cure for choking and loss of momentum?

Choking and loss of momentum are seen on a daily basis in every sport.  Errors and mistakes are inevitable and part of amateur and professional sports. 

Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune humorously wrote about choking by one of baseball's super stars, Soriano:

Freedom from Problem-Solving

This is the most important blog I've ever written regarding about mental fitness. I want you to know "If you're fit in your head, you can deal with anything".

We live in a problem oriented society.  For many people life is a depressing merry-go-round of identifying problems and then trying to find solutions for their problems.  People spend most of their lives being preoccupied and worried about their problems, while frantically and incessantly pursuing solutions to their problems.  No matter how many successful solutions you find, life always seems to have more problems in need of solutions.

Before long people are captured by our societal norms and expectations to solve problem.  They live with barren lives consumed with problem solving.  Everywhere people look, there are problems.  Problems surface and resurface regularly.  Problems multiply like rabbits.  Problems, problems and more problems.  People soon live within an environment dominated by problems and the obsessive pursuit of solutions.

Yesterday, I had a very enlightening conversation with one of my clients, who clearly expressed a traditional work ethic.  She also explained how the traditional work ethic of identifying problems and constantly working to find solutions almost killed her.  She had sunk into a world of depression with suicidal ideation, because she could not find solutions to her problems.

This is what she told me.

Pain Is a Welcomed Signal

How do you interpret your pain?  Pain can be experienced physically, emotionally, psychologically, interpersonally or financially.

Most people trying to avoid pain.  Pain is perceived to be bad and to be avoided at all cost.  We wish that we could live a pain free life.  That is not realistic.

Pain is like a good friend.  A good friend will tell you when you're doing something wrong and need to make some changes in your life.

Also pain is a signal.  How is pain a signal?

Kansas Won the Mental Game

Kansas is the 2008 NCAA basketball champions.  Trailing by three points as time was running out of the game, Mario Chalmers made a Michael Jordan like three point shot to send the game into overtime.

Both Memphis and Kansas are champion quality basketball teams.  Both teams were well coached.  Both teams had players with excellent physical fitness and abilities.  Both teams had been both mentally and physically fit or they would not have reached the championship game.

In the championship game, I believe Kansas won, because they showed greater mental fitness and toughness. 

Justin Boren- Does He Lack of Mental Fitness?

Last week Justin Boren quit the University Michigan football team.

His quitting the team does not mean he was mentally unfit.  Choosing to change plans and find a "better fit" for himself is often the expression of mental fitness.

There is no doubt that Justin Boren was physically fit.  After all, he had played on the first team for the last two years as a freshman and sophomore.

Still I raise the question was Justine Boren mentally fit enough to cope with the changing circumstances associated with the coaching change at the University of Michigan?