elev8 wellness
  • Elev8 Wellness
    • About
    • Meet the team
    • Classes >
      • Women's Wellness Series
      • Elev8 Yoga
      • Elev8 Dance
      • Elev8 Kids Programs >
        • Elev8kids Summer Camp
        • Toddler Classes
    • Our Studios >
      • Rent Our Studio
    • Elev8 Recipes
  • WellBlog
    • Elev8 Weekly Thoughts
  • Services
  • Virtual Coaching
  • Contact
    • Take a Tour

wellblog

Emotional Control Is Fitness: Fitness Is Emotional Control

10/14/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Though physical fitness is obvious, emotional fitness is less obvious. They do coexist in an odd relationship, wherein, on average, people who prioritize physical activity have a much lower incidence of mental health issues. Over and over, the most diehard clinicians who previously relied solely on drug therapies are recognizing the pivotal role of exercise:
​

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1470658/…

However, this creates a bit of a paradox in peoples’ minds as they await the emotional boost (inspiration or motivation) in order to begin greater investment in physical fitness. It probably only ever works the opposite direction, starting with taking care of the temple, and consequently gleaning the mental health benefits. Thus, how do we “crack the code” on emotional or psychological fitness? There’s no easy answer.

I have had many periods of overwhelm in life. I get it. Up to a point, anyway. With real challenges, not imaginary phobic episodes, I am deeply sympathetic. Imaginary challenges which don’t exist and may never come to fruition, however, I view as a severe mental defect. When you allow nonsense thoughts to take up free rent in your brain, that unfitness won’t go away through thought. You have to lift some weights, go for a run, get in a cold shower, etc. You have to DO something physical to change your emotional state. Attempting to “think your way” out of a mental defect isn’t going to work. The bad software which got you here isn’t going to get you out of here. Time for a new program. Download a new app in your brain.

There are many related skills for emotional management, most of which have to do with what make-believe ideas you are willing to repeatedly expose yourself to. But again, think about this. Being stuck inside your thoughts IS more non-physical time where you are caught up inside your head. If you keep entertaining the same echo-chamber of negativity, yeah, you’re probably going to continually be an angry or depressed person. Maybe instead of getting worked up about something by which you aren’t impacted and which you don’t affect, go DO something. Move. Be physical. Change your state. DO something you can DO something about.

I had this really odd experience the other day where someone in my network showed me a quote about not letting external circumstance which don’t involve you affect your internal emotional state. Sound. Valid. I concur. This is, in fact, one of the skills on which I coach people. But the oddity was that this guy then angrily proceeded to try to convince me that I should be upset about a political topic which has ZERO interest to me. I place myself on NEITHER side of this particular debate, because, frankly, all of the typical arguments about it don’t rise above the level of 5th grade civics when I encountered and debated it vigorously. I have a third perspective on it. And I’m not arguing against the other two. I’m not arguing at all. I’m at peace. If something rises to the intellectual level worthy of my consideration, maybe I’ll take it on. But I’m too happy and fulfilled of a person to waste time on parochial talking points. The greater oddity was that I never debated and this guy still stormed off in a huff. He ambushed ME, I didn’t disagree or agree, and he stormed off. Weird? I merely reminded him of the first quote he’d just shown me, about how we shouldn’t let things we can’t affect at this moment ruin our internal state. I want to have a great day. If you don’t, that’s up to you. But you lack the capacity to ruin mine. Apparently, it didn’t click.

Once he stormed off, I wondered why I was so emotionally fit in that circumstance and he was so emotionally unfit. I proceeded to have an awesome day with my wife and kids. But in hindsight, today, I worry about him. Why was something which isn’t actually happening in reality so important in his imagination that he would ruin his own internal state over it? But it’s not just him. This is part of the human experience for us all. We let make-believe scenarios take up free rent in our heads. Those thoughts aren’t paying rent. We let them be squatters there, requiring us to pick up after them, sullying our mental living space.

Perhaps the answer isn’t to be rationalized though. Like I said, maybe we just need to pick up some resistance, do sprint intervals, DO something. The nervous and anxious and angry energy which people deploy on their supposed opponents doesn’t ever yield the outcome desired anyway. Why not just go do something physical instead? Reconnect with WHO we humans are by DOING something. You could continue to enrage yourself by inventing sick fantasies of what you think enemies might do to you. OR, you could go LIVE.

There’s clearly a desire at a deep level for all humans to DO something about their feelings. But instead of managing the feelings by changing their state, most of the time they amplify the feelings by doing absolutely nothing about their state. Lashing out at others, ambushing people who aren’t even debating you, throwing out simpleminded memes, might satisfy one little drop of dopamine balance. But ultimately it changed nothing in the physical world. So your emotional unfitness persists, and usually grows, since your “efforts” don’t have results.
​

I’ve been there. Up until age 23 or so. Then I outgrew indignation and offense. I don’t have the answer. But what I found was that when I manage myself through various tactics, including regularly doing physical training, people exert zero unwanted influence on my emotional state. Control what you can control. Accept what you can’t. Pray to know the difference. In so doing, you might become more fit.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Elev8 Wellness
    ​wellblog

    We strive to provide the latest articles and commentary on health, fitness, nutrition and vitality strategy.

    Archives

    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    July 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013

    Categories

    All
    Active Memory
    Age
    Business
    Cancer
    Coaching
    Dementia
    Diet
    Dna
    Elev8 Wellness
    Family
    Fat
    Fish Oil
    Genetics
    Gut Health
    Health
    Jonathan Watters
    Ketosis
    Leadership
    Life
    Memory
    Muscle
    Nutrition
    Optimisim
    Parkinsons
    Pessimism
    Probiotics
    Sales
    Spatial Intelligence
    Strength Training
    Weight Loss
    Weight-loss
    Wellness

    RSS Feed

Picture

LIVE. AWESOME.

We offer the highest quality in personal  fitness, nutrition, and mindset coaching, helping you achieve your fitness, health, wellness and performance goals no matter the obstacle. With virtual online training and private, in-studio training we make it easier to reach your wellness goals safely.

​No more can't. No more not good enough. If you compete in a sport, let your mind no longer hold you back from being the greatest. If you don't, let your mind no longer hold you back from being the best version of you that you can be.

Sign-up for a Tour
Covid Screen Waiver
​Elev8 Waiver
Become an Elev8 Instructor
Space Rental
LOGIN / MEMBER REGISTER

6244 lyndale ave. s., minneapolis, mn 55423
[email protected]
612-440-6877

© 2021 Elev8 Wellness LLC.  All Rights Reserved.                                              site map  |  contribute  |                                                           SITE BY  Sproute Creative
Photos from benzado, frankieleon, hatcher10027, Sterling College, OakleyOriginals, rawpixel.com, quinn.anya, allispossible.org.uk, wuestenigel, jeffdjevdet, Brian Legate, jeffreyw, Ray Larabie, katerha, AgĂȘncia Brasil, TheBetterDay, A. M. D.
  • Elev8 Wellness
    • About
    • Meet the team
    • Classes >
      • Women's Wellness Series
      • Elev8 Yoga
      • Elev8 Dance
      • Elev8 Kids Programs >
        • Elev8kids Summer Camp
        • Toddler Classes
    • Our Studios >
      • Rent Our Studio
    • Elev8 Recipes
  • WellBlog
    • Elev8 Weekly Thoughts
  • Services
  • Virtual Coaching
  • Contact
    • Take a Tour