How this concept came about

Mental fitness is a favorite lens through which I  approach coaching and informs the tools I use in my coaching work with leaders. Multiple bodies of work in the psychology and personal development industries have done work with the concept of mental fitness. One I want to give credit to is the work of Shirzad Chamine and the Positive Intelligence methodology. 

One reason I like incorporating the positive intelligence method in my work is their science backed research. This methodology has been researched with over 500,000 participants from different backgrounds and across 50 countries. If you like geeking out about the science of how the brain works as it relates to performance and wellbeing you can read more here

Mental Fitness 

Working your “mental muscles” and improving their fitness won’t come without hurdles. The relentless pace of life, external pressures and internal doubts can hinder your progress. This is where having support along the way will help you ensure you stay on track. 

How exactly do you “work” 💪on your mental fitness? 

Not to be confused with positive thinking or emotional regulation, mental fitness is more complex. It involves creating and strengthening new neural pathways through specific repeated techniques in order to create new patterns towards positive responses to situations.

We use targeted techniques and practices to help you create the neural pathways that help you build and strengthen your capacity to respond positively to challenges and difficult situations.

This approach diverges from conventional methods that may lead to insights but fail to bring about sustainable and enduring changes in behavior. Solely prioritizing insight as a means of transformation provides only a temporary solution. Mental fitness hones in on our cognitive and emotional capacities and is increased when new mental muscles are strengthened through the practice of positive patterns.

Increasing your mental fitness is about improving your ability to pause and adapt before reacting to any situation, challenge, circumstance or environment. This new state of heightened mental fitness prevents you from reacting impulsively, fearfully or in a stressful way. Imagine always having the poise to respond in a more thoughtful, solution-oriented, positive and constructive way to any and all situations. Pretty cool, right? 

Is from this non-reactive space that we can start to tap into your strengths in a more healthy way. In a way, mental fitness is like a springboard to tapping into the bigger things like your vision, values, opportunities and possibilities. 

With your resilient mind’s increased ability to manage stress, respond with rationality and make sound decisions regardless of the situation it’s easier to overcome obstacles and achieve goals. 

Increasing your mental fitness translates into:

• Improved concentration and focus
• Better problem-solving and decision-making skills
• Enhanced creativity and higher performance
• Effective stress management and better work-life balance
• Refined communication and improved relationships 
• Deepend self-awareness with a more positive outlook on life

Leaders, in particular, will benefit from adopting this approach. The demanding responsibilities of leadership require strong emotional intelligence, quick decision-making skills, higher levels of performance and efficient stress management. 

As a leader of the new era you want to be equipped with the tools to foster open communication, build robust relationships and inspire your teams. Increasing your mental fitness is one of the most valuable additions you can make to your “leadership toolkit”. 

Leadership and Mental Fitness 

Leadership is about guiding others towards a shared vision. In today’s changing landscape that guidance requires more than just innovation and resilience. Today’s leaders need agility, finesse, creativity, compassion, adaptability, transparency and a coaching approach mindset. 

Mental fitness directly influences the ability to:

✔️navigate challenges

✔️inspire confidence

✔️act with calm determination

✔️adapt to exponential changes

✔️make hard and well-informed choices

With a strong state of mental fitness, leaders are more able to gain insights into their leadership styles and discover where there’s areas for growth. Optimism becomes a driving force that propels them through uncertainty, while resilience ensures they stand strong in the face of adversity. This amalgamation of traits sets the stage for effective leadership that can help achieve collective goals and have a long lasting impact in any organization. 

To Recap 

It is no secret the demands on our mental faculties will only continue to increase. The tools I use in my leadership coaching programs offer a beacon of hope to move beyond traditional approaches to nourish our inner strengths and improve our mental fitness. 

In my next article, I will be sharing more about how the mental fitness approach works to help you identify when negative patterns show up and how to deal with them. 

In the meantime, I invite you to connect with me on LinkedIn where I’m always sharing on this topic.