Give the mental fitness gym a try this Autumn

How many people do you hear discussing going to the gym - or at least aiming to go, to keep their physical fitness at its peak? Did you know there are ways to take yourself to a virtual “gym” to keep your mental fitness in check?

As I sit on the sofa watching the log fire burn and contemplate what it means to be truly in Autumn and verging on Winter, my thoughts turn quickly from the pleasures of bonfire night and hot chocolate to the not so pleasant expectations of high costly energy bills rearing their ugly heads through the letter box when it is still cold and dark as our postman does his rounds. 

It is easy to find ourselves moving on quickly from positive thoughts instead of allowing ourselves to pause on moments we look forward to.  Before we know it our minds are focussing on the fears or not so nice “what if’s” and “maybe’s”.

What tend to be your lingering thoughts about this time of year? Which thought or thoughts do you keep coming back to? 

Is it the positive smiles of the children as they watch catherine wheels and squealing rockets burst into colour or is it the darker and more sombre concept of sky-high electricity bills as the teenagers leave their bedroom lights on when they go out or use the hairdryer to heat the bedroom before they climb into bed! Or perhaps you worry about driving in bad weather?

My autopilot leads me to let the negative thoughts be the recurring ones, but recently, spending time researching gratitude journals got me thinking differently.

When we are grateful for something there is a whole load of positive physical changes in our body which can have a significant impact on how we feel.

Expressing gratitude releases hormones from our brain including:

Dopamine - Triggers positive emotions Serotonin - Enhances our mood, willpower, and motivation Oxytocin - Calming effect

I am trialling training my brain so that when these not so pleasant lingering negative thoughts come back, I make a conscious effort to mentally choose a more positive thought that is linked to the same topic. 

I’m not pretending my energy bills are not going up nor that I need to stop nagging the children to turn off the lights. But for my mental fitness I am choosing to balance my concerns about this time of year with gratitude for the autumnal colours of the leaves and looking forward to eating bonfire toffee watching the fireworks at my local rugby club in a few weeks.

Why don’t you join me in the mental fitness gym and let me know how you get on.