Life is the game: Make Mental Fitness your Practice
Empowering Yourself: Building Confidence and Resilience through Mental Fitness
Seeking confidence and Resilience? Wanting to kick more goals? Seeking the edge for elevation? Replace lethargic with tenacity? Life is the game; you won’t remember when it starts, you won’t know when it ends, but you should play hard, fast with joy and be there for every moment.
Let’s start with the obvious
What is mental fitness?
“A resilient mind that thrives in the chaos of life, supporting focus, purpose and emotional balance.”
The answers on how to get better at it all are surprisingly simple.
“A bull doesn’t become a bull all at once, any more than a man acquire nobility of mind all at once; no, he must undergo hard winter training, and so make himself ready, rather than hurl himself without proper thought into what is inappropriate for him.”
Do The Work
And why does that matter?
“We don’t rise to the level of our expectations; we fall to the level of our training.”
Resilience begins on the day that we realise we can get up from the thing that always got us down. That warrior drive to get back on our feet.
Confidence follows because we’ve done it before. Sure, the bigger the task we take on, the greater the chance of failure, but In "Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder," Nassim Nicholas Taleb says
“Mistakes are not just opportunities for learning; they are, in an important sense, a form of research.”
Make mistakes small enough to hurt but not cripple , leading to better decisions and in turn, strengthening our confidence and self belief in our own resilience.
The more of it that is uncomfortable, the less that discomfort will distract you on game day.
Run down uneven hills
I don’t know how I didn’t break an ankle in my first Spartan race. I was 46 and running down the hill which a week before was inhabited by cows. Foot long grass, cow shit and potholes everywhere. I did roll my ankle, I did tweak my knee and I was on the edge of capabilities.
When we are 60, falling is the seventh most common cause of death. By time we are 70, it is the fifth most common cause.
But why did they fall? Because they had never practised “instability”.
As a kid, that Hill would not have scared me. It should have scared me as a 46 year old. This year I was more measured (I did other stupid stuff instead..)
As a 93 year old, my grandma is now worried about walking on flat concrete because her balance is not so good. These sorts of challenges only get harder as we get older.
Train for instability
Before we tackle the mental side, let’s shake up the physical. I revamped my workouts to be all about balance. Picture this: one-legged shoulder presses. Instead of just running in boring straight lines, I started leaping in huge diagonal bounds to boost my plyometric mojo.
I picked up these tricks from a podcast featuring Michol Dalcourt, the guy behind the ViPR. It’s not only practical for real-life stuff but also adds a fun twist to workouts.
I spiced up Dalcourt’s ideas with simulated hill sprints, some skipping, and punching bag sessions. Then I stumbled upon some bizarre moves on Instagram from a dude named “Leo Moves.”
Next thing I knew, even more gym-goers were convinced I’d lost my marbles.
What has this got to do with emotional resilience and confidence?
A lot goes into toughening up! Enduring extreme physical discomfort like skyrocketing heart rates, buckets of sweat, working out on an empty stomach or on little sleep. It all builds mental toughness.
Resilience gained in one area of life can bolster you in all others. Convince yourself to take an ice bath and having your boss yell at you isn’t so bad.
In my first seven years of competing, I always felt off after placing second in a tournament. But the year I clinched the National title? I was focused, determined, and on point, which not only upped my game but also boosted every facet of my life. Hands down, the peak of my career!
But how about the mental game?
It’s no different. But you don’t do your first presentation in front of 600 people. It starts small, in front of colleagues, a speech at a wedding.
When I was preparing for my TEDx talk, with 600 in the audience, I I needed to be relaxed, calm and just nail the first 12 seconds of my presentation. I worked backwards from that point and worked out what would get me there ready, confident and memorising my dance moves and 1609 words.
I practised on the running machine. I practised walking around the park. I practised in front of friends and family and in the mirror until I didn’t feel uncomfortable anymore.
I taught a karate class, trained a karate class, covered in sweat, no notes, very uncomfortable canvas gi. Sensei said “practice now”.
It’s the same with tough emotional situations. They are the real world.
How do you practice emotions?
Being able to perform well when you don’t want to, when you shouldn’t have to, when you feel sick, tired, jetlagged or emotional is what separates the good from the amazing.
And very, very stoic.
We have all lost our shit at someone, who probably didn’t deserve it, because we were not on our own game. So next time around, remember that, practice for it and prepare for it.
Recently I did some pod casts that started at 1 AM in the morning. I get up at 5 AM. It’s very hard to go to sleep at 10 PM to wake up at 12:15 AM and then do a good job.
So I practised the week before. Was terrible and horribly grumpy the next day. I played with my routine until it was only slightly weird being awake at that time.
A bit of science, a bit of the intangible, a bit of just toughening up, sweetheart
Empathy and compassion
How does this all come together? When you consider everything, particularly in Western countries like Australia, life isn't too difficult. Yes, some people face challenges.
But there's good news about public speaking in front of 300 people. It's akin to proposing, delivering bad news, taking an exam, or forgetting a jacket.
None of these situations are lethal. You're not under gunfire, your beliefs aren't being attacked, and no lion is stalking you
In Summary
If we keep these things in mind, that our struggles are not that great, it does give us the ability to step outside and build the confidence to have a go at that next challenge.