What Is Mental Fitness and How Can You Improve Yours?

You hit the gym at lunch. You aim to walk 10,000 steps a day. You cook healthy meals. You may already be investing in your physical fitness, but have you given much thought to your mental fitness?

Given that the World Health Organization just classified burnout as an “occupational phenomenon,” meaning that it’s not a health condition but the result of chronic workplace stress that hasn’t been successfully managed, taking care of your mind is becoming as crucial as taking care of your body.

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“Stress and work have always come hand-in-hand, but the digital age has only enhanced stress,” says Adrian Shepherd, a productivity expert who supports overwhelmed entrepreneurs. “Everyone knows that physical fitness keeps us healthy, but what has been overlooked for so long is that mental fitness is equally important. It should come as no surprise that the two are intertwined. Neglecting your mental health can leave you vulnerable to life’s inevitable ups and downs.”

What Exactly Is Mental Fitness?

According to mental performance coach Clay Frost, in order to understand mental fitness, we have to understand the idea of fitness in general – particularly in the animal kingdom. Animals like sloths and penguins don’t immediately strike us as creatures designed to thrive, but they are well equipped to do well in their respective environments. “Fitness – and mental fitness – is always in relation to the environment, not in relation to other people and things, but to your own specific environment,” says Frost. “Nobody is born mentally fit for their environment. They have to increase skills such as mental resilience and grit.”

Simply put, mental fitness is our ability to mentally thrive in our environment. And since our prehistoric beginnings didn’t quite prepare us for overflowing inboxes and smartphone addictions, the concept is taking on a new meaning.

Differences Between Mental Health

and Mental Fitness

So, what’s the difference between mental health and fitness? “Mental health refers to a state of psychological well being. It means having a positive sense of how we feel, think and act which improves our ability to enjoy life and be productive. Mental fitness is about the exercises and behaviors we put in place to make mental health possible,” says Shephard.

Frost says mental fitness provides a different entry point into conversations about mental health. The topic of mental health may lead someone to immediately think things like “I don’t need this” or “I don’t have that” if they can’t relate. But the idea of mental fitness makes people wonder where they stand and how mentally fit they currently are. It can be a more accessible, preventative way of improving mental wellness.

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Tips to Improve Your Mental Fitness

“The brain is like any other muscle – without a regular workout, it loses tone,” says Shephard. So if you’re ready to get in killer mental shape and feel amazing as you tackle your day-to-day demands, mix and match the habits below.

1. Be Consistent With the Basics

Both Frost and Shephard stress the importance of getting enough rest, eating well and moving your body on a regular basis. It sounds simple, but it’s often tempting to stay up late to binge-watch your favorite show or have a candy bar when that afternoon sweet tooth strikes. Remember those little moments add up.

2. Declutter Your Work Environment

What does your desk look like? While you can’t control things like the mood of your coworkers, decluttering your workspace and purging items you don’t need will help you stay focused and productive, equipping you to thrive regardless of what is happening around you.

3. Develop Self-Awareness

From understanding your strengths and weaknesses so you can grow to learning how to regulate your emotions and react to challenging situations, Frost says developing self-awareness helps build mental fitness. “It changes your attitude and the way you see things.”

4. Try Brain Games

Flex that gray matter with some fun cognitive challenges. “There’s a good reason my 82-year old mother is as sharp as a tack. She has done crosswords for years. Sudoku is another game that really gets our neurons firing,” says Shephard.

5. Focus on What Matters the Most

A cluttered mind is just as draining as a cluttered space. And it’s not like looming deadlines and ever-growing to-do lists are going to disappear. Enter the 80/20 rule. It’s about prioritizing the 20 percent effort that will bring 80 percent of the results – and you can apply this principle to your whole life. “If you're in class and you're focusing really well but on the wrong thing, then you're wasting your time in class,” says Frost.

6. Practice Discipline and Patience

Are you being too hard on yourself? Self-improvement is a long-term game, and having impossible standards for your growth may be counterproductive. “The hallmark of an athlete that’s mentally tough is patience,” says Frost. But being patient doesn’t mean you shouldn’t show up consistently. Stay disciplined when it comes to your goals and you’ll build the self-confidence needed to thrive in life.

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Ways to Be Happier at Work This Year

Do you dread Mondays? You’re not alone. According to a 2018 Linkedin survey, 80 percent of professionals experience the Sunday Scaries. That’s kind of a scary stat considering we spend so much time at work.

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The most common causes of work-related anxiety include stressing about your workload, struggling to balance your personal and professional life and obsessing over deadlines and unfinished tasks. But things don’t have to be so gloomy. While it may be tempting to engage in daily habits such as fantasizing about quitting your job or ending your day by venting over drinks, there are constructive things you can do to feel happier at work.

From helping others to finding a great mentor, here are six ways to increase your happiness at work – and in life.

1. Find a Mentor

“Having a great mentor to help guide your career progression and skill development is crucial in terms of finding your work purpose and keeping yourself motivated and engaged,” says Alena Kroupnik, Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) and human resources manager at C.H. Robinson. “This mentor can be a person of higher authority in your company, an acquaintance who has reached impressive career milestones, a certified career coach or anyone else you can look up to and consult about your future.”

If the thought of randomly asking people to mentor you makes you nervous, don’t fret. Reaching out to a career coach for a consultation or asking someone you admire to grab coffee so you can pick their brain is the first step to developing a mentor-mentee relationship organically.

2. Be More Social

Are you making an effort to socialize or do you tend to have lunch at your desk and decline invites to outings with your coworkers? Having a social circle at work is key to finding more joy in your day-to-day. Get more involved by joining a work committee, start a running group or aim to do something as simple as having lunch with your teammates once a week.

“Being with colleagues that you enjoy being around and can talk to, laugh with and confide in can make all the difference when it comes to your satisfaction at work,” says Kroupnik.

3. Have Regular Career Check-Ins

While office perks and coworkers you love can certainly help increase your happiness at work, there’s nothing quite like having a career that challenges you and excites you to feel truly fulfilled. “Stimulating work can lead to great happiness. It’s something I have observed from happy employees over the years,” says Dan D’Urbano, talent attraction and sourcing expert and senior talent acquisition manager at ENGIE North America Inc.

It’s important to take the time to conduct regular check-ins with yourself and assess how you feel about your current role as well as your career goals and your plans to reach them. The exercise alone will help you feel instantly empowered, and being proactive is key to being able to do the type of work that doesn’t feel like work.

“It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day. But the best thing you can do for your future is work on your life strategies on a regular basis. Take a few hours on a quarterly basis to audit what you have accomplished, where you want to be and how you will get there. Have a concrete and realistic plan with deadlines,” says Kroupnik.

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4. Help Others

Studies show that being altruistic leads to greater well-being, health and longevity. If you’re having a bad day, try supporting one of your peers with a project or lend an empathetic ear to a friend. Getting out of your own head and focusing on another person is a surefire way to improve your mood.

“Helping your coworkers or getting involved in corporate social responsibility initiatives within your organization helps bring a sense of personal accomplishment. You can feel that you are truly making a difference in someone’s life,” says Kroupnik.

5. Invest in Yourself

From adopting healthier habits to carving time out of your busy schedule to do things that fill your cup, investing in yourself outside of work will allow you to feel better on the clock. “Eat healthy, exercise and meditate. These are the three best factors to a happy, healthy life,” says D’Urbano.

“The idea is to have ‘me time’ and enjoy things outside work. Do not put your personal well-being on the back burner because of work pressures. Some work pressure is a normal part of life, but if your work becomes your life, you may need to think about your priorities,” says Kroupnik.

6. Develop Self-Awareness

When you’re unable to change a situation such as a stressful office conflict, remember that you can always change your perspective. “Your emotions towards anything aren’t happening anywhere else but inside your mind. If you learn to increase your awareness around how the mind works, you will soon realize that opportunities to change are everywhere. It’s about changing the lens from which you perceive your work and the people around you,” says D’Urbano.

D’Urbano also recommends staying away from unnecessary drama and negativity. “The mind is a muscle and can get exhausted: do not overload it with drama and negative thoughts,” he says.

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Pros Reveal: How to Handle Office Conflicts

Confusion around roles and responsibilities, misaligned company priorities and different interaction styles are all factors that can lead to conflict in the workplace. And while it’s never fun to deal with tense conversations and stressful interpersonal situations when you’re trying to get your work done, conflict is part of being human – the office just exacerbates the discomfort we feel around it.

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“The challenge with office conflicts is that we often work in environments where emotional exchange and open communication isn’t encouraged, taught or celebrated,” says Erin Willett, brand and culture strategist and founder of The Tap In Team.

“This means we shy away from saying what we truly want to say. Our feelings become repressed, we disengage or become tense. We don’t express, work through and move on. We harbor.”

Doesn’t sound healthy or productive, right? So instead of letting conflicts at work get the best of you, learn how to navigate them effectively with tips from HR pros.

1. Acknowledge the Conflict

While it’s tempting to just walk away when faced with the awkwardness of a brewing confrontation, resist the temptation to bottle things up and choose to call out the tension head on.

“Start by saying, ‘Hang on, I think we have a conflict brewing. Let's see if we can figure out what's the cause.’ Just saying something like this out loud acknowledges that you are both feeling uncomfortable and normalizes it,” says Jackie Lauer, leadership and culture expert and EQ coach.

“Acknowledging discomfort or confusion lets the brain know that you're working on it and it will immediately stop releasing cortisol, the stress hormone.”

2. Separate Facts From Interpretation

It’s tricky to discern facts from the meanings we give to them, but learn how to do this in the middle of a heated exchange and you’ll have mastered the art of handling any conflict.

“Great communicators and leaders know how to separate facts from the narrative or story that we are creating around the facts,” says Lauer. “Conflicts are often created by [wrongful assumptions].” Willett agrees: “Recognize that all perceptions are projections. Every single person is entering the conversation with their own experience and context.”

The first step in getting to that point is to listen deeply and with empathy. Lauer says that momentarily separating yourself from your own perspective – while practicing active listening – doesn’t mean that you put yourself aside and ignore your feelings. Rather, it means you choose to take the time to hear another perspective before sharing your own.

3. Remember It’s Not About Winning

“The intention of the conversation is to understand and move forward – not to win,” says Willett.

We get it: It’s hard to picture yourself on the same team as the person you are feeling resentment towards. But remembering that it’s not about being right and more about aiming to find solutions is crucial to conflict resolution.

Fixating on “winning” an argument can quickly escalate into an ugly scenario that has a negative impact on your teammates and career. “It’s toxic when people believe that there is only one right and one wrong, one winner and one loser,” says Lauer.

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4. Don’t Engage in Destructive Behaviors

You might want to rethink furiously venting off your interpersonal frustrations in a private Slack channel. “Avoid, shutdown, blame, gossip. All of these prolong the discomfort and create resentment,” says Willett.

And while it may seem surprising, avoiding conflict altogether can be just as destructive as gossiping. “Avoiding conflict doesn't dismiss it. It does the opposite by escalating it. It wreaks havoc on relationships and on the business,” says Lauer. “Any post-mortem on failed relationships and businesses will inform you that one of the biggest triggers behind the failure was the avoidance of conflict.”

5. Turn It Into a Productive Conversation

Healthy work cultures are not about the absence of conflict. When you use conflict to strengthen relationships and outcomes and commit yourself to addressing tensions as they arise and openly communicating, you not only improve your quality of life at work, but also help others by contributing to building a positive environment.

“All disagreements are an opportunity for people to vocalize their boundaries and name their needs. If people address conflicts with a solution mindset, these moments are key to creating rapport and safety in our work environments. Conflicts allow us to be heard, and to hear others,” says Willett.

“High-performance teams that are fulfilled and love what they do are those that know how to lean into conflict in healthy ways. They have learned how to engage in fruitful discussions where they invite different perspectives. They know at a deep level that meaningful conflict leads to great ideas and new innovations,” says Lauer.

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