are you (mentally) match fit?

A pebble from my youngest sons 'collection', we'll come back to that later

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​​If you were a sportsperson (and maybe you are) you’d want your body to be match fit to ensure you performed to the best of your ability. If you were training for a 5k you wouldn’t expect to be able to do it on day 1, couch to 5k does involve a few more steps.
 
So why do we expect our minds to be working at top condition all the time, don’t invest enough time in ‘training’ them and don’t give them help or a rest?
 
If you think of your mind as a muscle then you’ll know it needs training, regular rests, sometimes aches and occasionally needs a day off in bed. I know mine does.

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Investing in your mental match fitness will make you more resilient. Start small, and build. Try a 5 minute mindfulness exercise today like this one.

• Sit comfortably, hopefully where you won't be disturbed.
• Choose a small object nearby and focus on it (ah that's what the pebble was)
• Don't touch it.
• Take your time to notice all aspects of it. What shape is it, what is its texture, is it all the same colour?
• Pick it up and hold it in your hand.
• How does it feel, is it heavy, is it warm or cold, is the texture different to what you saw when you looked, does it have any imperfections?
• Maybe bring it closer, does it have a scent, do you notice anything different close up?
• If you're attention wanders, gently bring your focus back to the object.

That's it. Easy huh. 5 mins of downtime. Feel better?

You can do this sort of simple exercise when eating something too, and properly taste it.

Take care

Paul