How does anybody achieve success with their life and their personal health during a period of undue stress? Where do we begin… at the beginning, or do we start at the end with a small objective in mind, develop a plan and then go backwards?
What if you start where you are, map out a plan and just start making strides towards the direction of your goal? What if an obstacle presents itself, how do you resume if you are forced to stop? “What if”…
These are valid questions we all want answered as we begin our personal quest for excellence. When I began my personal quest and developed my fitness professional career did I set out with the intention of excellence… perhaps that may have been the case but “no”, it just evolved as my understanding increased and interests continue to deepen along with my desire to quench my thirst for what would become an endless career goal.
The definition of mind-body connection is simple and complex at the same time but in its simplest form it’s the connection or resulting from the interrelationship between one’s physical health and the state of one’s mind or spirit and overall effect on one’s health.
Historical perspective on mind and body connection
“But what if” …many of you say? And it’s as simple as “I just want to get lean, drop some fat…feel better”. Most however will be trapped by the demons, “excuses” or trolls of emotions residing in your minds that will often act as gatekeepers forbidding your successes until you learn to grab the bull by the horns.
From the worlds shift and mankind’s evolution from old to the new world, the basic “software” of what it means to be human hasn’t changed, but the external world has definitely changed rapidly in comparison. We still feel, think and react in the same manner as we did thousands of years ago to external stressors.
From the Greeks and Romans, through the Renaissance period to early Colonial American, humans are pretty much hard wire the same internally…bones, muscle and brain.
The changes externally going from an extreme need for physical survival skills and abilities have all been in recent times outsourced from the more prosperous in society to the lesser and knowledgeable work that has replaced physical work. With this shift, a less physical body has evolved and an overstressed mind fueled with poorly engineered food has created the beginning of the end.
Is this a possible shift back to the dark ages? Can we rebound? Some will…many will not.
“Mind over Matter” is about developing the mental disciplines to handle life’s challenges while also juggling all the balls in the air. Possibly having to have a life changing situation or event occur usually does it for some…a death, divorce, job loss, war, a violent crime is enough to easily put anyone over the edge and nothing brings them back. Do you have the tools in place to get back up and dust off?
Managing to eat, sleep, work, exercise and have a fully functioning life with challenging accomplishments to help each of us achieve a level of competency for a strong mind body connection with “Mind over Matter” disciplines can be taught, practiced, refined and learned.