Blog Post

Sometimes we take a path in life that looks manageable, only to find it is leading us towards a positivity-swallowing hole!  Once on that path how do we cope if turning back is not an option we want to take?  Mental strength, otherwise known as determination & belief that we are stronger than we think.  Re-setting our mindsets from closed to open is a big factor.

A closed mindset in this situation will tell you that previous experiences will dictate the outcome of future efforts.  An open mindset allows the possiblity of success, no matter what.

My mind is always busy, not with important stuff, just a lot of stuff.  When it needs unscrambling I try and focus on what should be important.  An example would be: I need to update my website as that is a very important part of my business.  I start, then make a cake.  The cake is terrible because I can’t cook.  Wasting time like this is part of my life and I have a way of never feeling bad about it.  The website will get done, the cake will make someone laugh.

One month ago I completed a Half Ironman for charity.  The charity was Versus arthritis.  I nearly let them down, and would have happily blamed lockdown.  The truth was, I was scared. Training was hard, lockdown didn’t help and I wasn’t at all sure if I could get my body fit enough to do an endurance event like this!

So how did I manage to focus on a path that was definitely not looking positive.  Fear and an open mindset!

Fear was the incentive, mental strength was the tool. One without the other would not have been so effective.

We can all be fearful of situations in life.  Fear of failure, fear of pain, fear of how others might percieve us.  The trick is to admit to ourselves that we have this emotion.  It is not a weakness, just an emotion.  You don’t have to be skydiving to warrant it.

Overcoming, dealing with, conquering, defeating….the list goes on, but, we will never manage any of these if we don’t first, face up to fact that it is indeed fear.  Acknowledge it, even welcome it.  It is amazing how much mental strength we can find when fear is driving us.

We all think we know our limits and I often mention the ‘magic zone’ during classes.  I love being in the magic zone and often invite others to join me, or take them there unwittingly! It is just a fraction beyond ‘comfortable’ but where changes to the body can start to take place.  An important place to visit regularly if you really want to make a difference to your fitness levels.   The training I did was taking me beyond ‘enjoyable’ and into ‘painful!’

In the end I found some mental strength which I didn’t know I had and it made me realise that if I hadn’t had the incentive to succees, it could have remained  in hiding.

You too have hidden strengths which just need you to call on them.  It is surprising how willing our minds and bodies are to help eachother out.  Getting them on the same team is a skill we will probably work on for most of our lives.

The money raised for Versus Arthritis made my efforts worthwhile.  Will I ever do it again?  Absolutely not! Did I learn anything from it, definitely.

I must go now as I have some pressing tasks to do.  Time to make another cake!!