What would you say is the most important thing you do for You?
My answer would be thinking.
I’d also posit that the two most important things in life are physical and mental health. I think we’d agree that these are essential to our well-being and, without them, it’s questionable whether there’s a life to live.
To take it a step further, I believe mental health trumps physical health.
“Physical health is a state of physical well-being in which a person is physically fit to perform their daily activities without restrictions.” https://www.normalbreathing.org/physical-health/
There are many things we can do to improve and manage our physical health. We’ve come a long way in medical treatments and a good bit of what ails us can be treated or managed.
How much time and resources do you spend on your physical health?
How many times a year do you see a doctor?
Do you get your teeth checked?
Do you have health insurance?
Do you think about what you eat?
Do you engage in some form of exercise?
Most of us are aware of and invested in our physical health to some degree. But science reveals that the body is a reflection of what the mind believes, and emotional stress has a direct effect on physical health.
Merriam-Webster defines mental health as “a state of emotional and psychological well-being in which an individual is able to use his or her cognitive and emotional capabilities, function in society, and meet the ordinary demands of everyday life.”
I don’t know about you, but it seems to me like the demands of life today are often more extraordinary than ordinary, which raises the bar on what’s required to maintain emotional and psychological well-being.
There’s one fundamental portal to emotional health and that’s through our thoughts.
How much time do you spend thinking about your thinking?
How much of your energy and resources do you directly invest in your mental health?
Compare these answers to how much time and resources you spend on clothes, houses, cars, entertainment.
If the most important thing you do is think, doesn’t it make sense that you spend some time doing it on purpose?
We live as if the structure that shelters us or the vehicle that transports us is more important than how we feel, how we experience ourselves or how we show up in our relationships.
We spend more time watching a Netflix series than understanding why we feel the way we do.
I want to invite you to consider the idea that there’s nothing more important to spend your resources on than the state of your mind and your emotional health.
You can live without many things, even body parts; but one thing you can’t live without is your brain. You can’t purchase one or replace; you can’t trade it in or upgrade it. You only get one and it’s the most valuable and priceless thing you own.
So in the 1440 minutes you have available to you in the next week, try this experiment: Use your phone or a piece of paper will do and keep track of how many of those 1440 minutes you are spending on your mental health…
How many minutes are you spending thinking about your thoughts?
How many minutes are you consciously feeling your emotions?
How many minutes are you writing down what your brain is telling you?
How many minutes are you thinking on purpose and not just running on auto pilot?
I want to offer that putting time and resources in your mental health is the best investment you can make. The return on this investment is higher than
anything you could ever invest in the stock market or a retirement fund. Plus the rewards you reap from this kind of investment benefit not only you but your loved ones too, and not only today but for to generations to come.
