How Mental Fitness Helps You (re)Discover Your Superpowers
When I was a kid, I had an active imagination and a whole lot of energy. I loved the cartoon ‘Mighty Mouse’ and would ‘become’ Mighty Mouse at will. I’d feel myself flying through the sky, fist in the air as I soared around the yard with my cape (pillowcase) flowing behind me. I knew my superpowers well enough that I confidently crossed the street where I wasn’t supposed to, rode my brother’s bike that was too big for me (it was cooler than mine!), and engaged in my favorite forms of outdoor play even though some derided my behavior as ‘tomboyish’. I didn’t give a hoot! I had a zest for life and a curiosity that led to fun adventures!
As I grew older, I learned to fall in line with the expectations that I be a girl who did well in school and well enough in sports. I bought into the ‘no pain, no gain’ mentality, pushing myself as hard in sports as I did in academics. Entering the working world, I was a ‘work hard, play hard’ careerwoman. That mentality stayed with me for a long time. While I achieved many important things and managed my health smartly, with whole food, exercise, and enough sleep — stress was running the show more often than I cared to admit. My yoga practice certainly helped, and still does, but I’ve come to a deeper understanding of how I can get in my own way, and how to use my superpowers to stop doing that.
Through my learning in the Positive Intelligence program, I’ve come to understand that the strengths I had as a kid were things I unknowingly leaned into a bit too much as an adult. We all do this. We come into the world with strengths and lean into those to the point of our own detriment. That’s because we all have saboteurs. In my case, my natural high energy, high vitality traits have morphed into my ‘restless saboteur’, who I identify as ‘Run-Run Restless’. When Run-Run shows up and I don’t catch her, she kids me into thinking busyness and overcommitting are good things, that multitasking is doable (even though I know that research proves otherwise), and that whatever I might be able to do ‘over there’ is more enticing that what I’m doing right now.
As a Positive Intelligence Coach, I’ve learned strategies for identifying and intercepting Run-Run and my other saboteurs. Much like my childhood Mighty Mouse persona, I can bust up saboteurs with my inner superpowers, as long as I pause long enough to notice them. I can practice self-command to help me shift to a more grounded, present version of myself. From there, I can take on clearheaded, laser-focused action. I love this! It helps me accept my own limitations as part of the natural human experience and to use my innate abilities to shift in a direction that better serves me. This process describes how Mental Fitness helps me tap into my superpowers. I also love that as a Coach, I help others do the same.
Mental Fitness grows with three core muscles: Saboteur Interceptor, Self-Command, and Sage (that part of you that wisely uses your superpowers). We all have the capacity to grow our Mental Fitness muscles. Doing so won’t help us leap tall buildings in a single bound, but it will help us shift from scattered to focused, anxious to confident, and stressed to calm. You might ask: “Is it really possible to stay positive and grounded in the face of tough challenges?” Yes, but the speed and depth of the shift depends on your mental muscle strength.
Curious to learn more? Join me on Tuesday, September 20th at 12:00 for a Mental Fitness Webinar and learn about my Mental Fitness Immersion that will start on Oct. 4th. Discover how Better Begins Within.