Staying on the “taking care of mental health” train of thought, let’s learn how to keep the negative at bay…
Letās face it, life is usually filled with obstacles that are outside our control. Events that are unforeseen, emergencies we are unprepared for, the list goes on. But there are things we have control over and among them are our thoughts.Ā
Negative thoughts and feelings do a lot of damage, so it’s important to keep them to a minimum. Easier said than done, but here are 3 ways to help stop negative self-talk:
Breathe: If you start thinking negative thoughts, and you are feeling overwhelmed and upset, pause and breathe. It will help by slowing your heart rate by calming you down and giving you some clarity.
Acknowledge it: When you start to have negative thoughts, acknowledge them. You’re not going to stop them by ignoring them. You have to acknowledge them before you can confront them.
Consider the cause: Whatās at the root of these thoughts? Are you afraid? Are you experiencing self-doubt? Why are these thoughts creeping in and why are they stopping you? Take some time to consider where these thoughts come from and confront them.Ā
Focus on the positive aspects of your day…what do you look forward to most? Put that at the forefront of your mind and keep pushing the negative back. You’ve got this! Happy Humpday! š
If you’re in Central Missouri (Jefferson City) and you take a look outside…it’s cloudy, rainy and pretty miserable looking. Some days I like when it rains, a nice slow rain that’s calming, but yesterday’s storm was a little unsettling as it felt almost like a tornado came through.
I think some of us can chalk up our days and compare them to the different types of storms that occur. I saw an IG post the other day of 2 different pictures, one where it was sunny and he had a smile, the other it was rainy and he had a frown. š
What makes the dreariness overtake our moods? It’s our mindset! If we LET the rain/cloudiness bring us down then you can for sure set yourself up for a bad mood. If you make yourself think on the positive – like, we needed the rain, the temps are cooler now, I don’t have to run (in our workout today š ), etc…then this shifts your mindset!
Everyone has bad days, I for sure am one of them, but we don’t need to stay in those bad days…there are things that you can do to help shift your mindset where you can make things better. Speaking from experience of anxiety and depression, I KNOW it’s rough but there are ways to help and to make your mental health a priority…
Seek medical help/advice – anyone who has not experienced anxiety or depression, it sucks! But there IS help out there…no one has the same chemical balance/makeup in their brain, we are all different and our brains receive things in a different way. So if you have struggled with anxiety/depression, talk to your doctor because there IS a way to help you with your “blues”.
Get enough sleep; depriving your body of the right amount of sleep (7-8 hrs) is setting yourself up for lacking energy during the day, wanting to nap mid-afternoon and becoming irritable with family, friends and co-workers…No one wants that!
MOVE your BODY! Exercise is said to be the best anti-depressant on the market…Do this little thing for me, set a timer for 30 seconds, put some music on and just dance…no one’s watching you so let yourself go to town! I bet it puts a smile on your face! Get it!
Step up your Nutrition Game and fuel your body the RIGHT way! Stop putting crap in your body and you may stop feeling the same way! š
Surround yourself with like-minded and positive people…Yes, I’m going to say it, don’t be a “Debbie Downer” or “Negative Ned” š When your bad mood affects the others in the room, that is a sure sign that an attitude adjustment needs to take place.
Spend some quiet time reflecting on being grateful; something that I have been doing (not as regular as I should bc I forget!) is to add to my “Blessings Box”…I write down 2-3 things that I’m thankful for or great things that happened then toss them into my little box. I can then pull from them at a later time to reminisce and it for sure will put a smile on my face.
I for sure do not have all the answers for everything, but I have lived with mental health issues my entire life so I have a little bit of insight on how to deal with some things. I’m not a counselor, but I empathize with people who are going through a rough stretch, but remember – that rough stretch doesn’t have to be forever…seek the help you need and those rainy day blues will soon turn to rainbows š
CrossFit Unstoppable’s mission: We believe that when you walk through the doors, your day will be made better through the community, the workout, your effort and hard work; and when you leave, you will leave better than yesterday! Ā
We believe in ALL of our athletes no matter their shape, size or fitness level. Our mission is to help EVERYONE who steps through that door…Think back to an event or activity that you didn’t think you would be able to do. What was going through your head? All the negative stuff, right?? I Can’t…You’re not fast enough…I’m too old! All of this negative self-talk is holding you back!
That’s where we come in…we want you to try, we want you to practice, we want you to succeed! Those first box jumps can be scary, that first rope climb-terrifying, and those triple digits over your head for the first time, downright crazy, BUT we know you can achieve it…Because we believe in you and your capabilities.
Focus on all of the positives…I always like to tell an athlete – “at least you are here trying and lapping everyone on the couch!” If you try and fail, try again, and again, and again until anything is possible!
You may not see it now, but it’s coming…just you wait! BUT, you have to show up, put in the work AND believe that it’s POSSIBLE!
Blink…Yep, August is almost gone; how did that happen?? I’m sure everyone has those weeks where you think, “How did Friday get here so fast?” I mean you’re happy and all, but what just happened?
Most people this past week sent their kiddos back to school after being out for nearly 5 months…Stress is in the air…There’s tension and perhaps a little bit of chaos going around in homes these days – more so than usual.
If you are a bit stressed about how these next weeks are going to go, I want you to do this – Focus on what you CAN control!
Sleep-Try to shoot for 7-8 hours each night; more for your kids!
Meals-Make a list of meals you would like to have in the evenings during the week – meal prep for a couple hours during a wkd afternoon. Prepare healthy snacks for your kids to grab and go instead of having them reach for junk (same for you š ) Our site now has tons of recipes!
MOVE – Even if you can only get a 20 minute walk in during the day, perhaps get up 20min earlier or walk on one of your breaks – it will do your body and mind good!
Focus on the positive – stay off of social media that causes stress
If you focus on these things that are in your control, then I think heading into September may be a little bit less stressful! If you need help with managing your nutrition or fitness, give us a shout, we are here to help!
OH! Want to experience a CrossFit Unstoppable Class?? In the month of September, Tuesday evenings at 6:30, come and give it a shot for FREE!
The first post I ever published on the CrossFit Unstoppable site was called āOur Storyā¦.ā To be honest, I was living life day to day by Faith…But I knew that there would be some āsticky momentsā that would come about…I wanted to do something for the CrossFit community so I embraced the fears I had, leaned on faith and came out strong.
My pointāand one of the enduring goals of CFUāwas that OUR gym will give you a life worth living; that we want our members to go and DO stuff with their fitness. We love it when you post about your 5Kās, half/full marathons, hiking in the Ozarks, doing a Spartan Race, Kayaking on the Osage and other feats of fitness! We can get you ready for any of it! That doesnāt mean those things wonāt be scary. Much like the start of the WOD, before that 3,2,1…GO!, most of you may get the jitters and the nerves set in because you donāt know quite what to expect!
Hereās how Iāve learned to lean into the scary stuff, embrace stress and live a better life:
First, understand that your body doesnāt know the difference between fear and excitement. To your body, they are the same – When you start getting a bit nervous before an event, ask yourself: āAm I actually scared, or am I just excited?ā Thatās a toss up with some of our workouts!
As adults, weāre not excited often.(well, Iām speaking for myself!) Our bodyās default response to increased blood pressure, elevated heart rate and surging adrenaline is FEAR. Then we fall into a downward spiral and get scared when we should really be excited. FEAR can be explained as Face Everything And Rise or Face Everything And Run…Which do you choose?? Iād rather be excited about things instead of scared all of the time!
Something that comes to mind when facing a big event or even a workout is to think of it as opening a present…you really donāt know what to expect, but in the long run, youāre probably going to like the ending! š
Second, know that anticipation is worse than the event. The buildup is far more stressful than just going through it!
Our fear of what might happen is always way out of scope from what actually happens. Our lizard brain takes over and our minds go to the worst-case scenario; I hate when I do that!! Trust me, we all go through this!
Waiting, deliberating, anticipatingāalways worse than doing the actual thing! If you can choose the HARD thing to do in your life right now without hesitation and worry, thatās in your best interest; know that the actual doing will get you through!
Third, put the event in perspective: Is this going to be a distant memory a year from now?
If not, itās not worth stressing about.
If you WILL remember the event a year from now, then itās worth doing! Go for it and have FUN!
Life is a series of moments. These standout momentsānot the routine of eating breakfast and heading to the gymābecome your story. Who wants a boring story?? LIVE LIFE!!
Every time you go through something where you feel your heart racing a bit but the results are happiness, lean into that stress and beat out the fear…Enjoy the moments and count your blessings!
How many of you dread Mondays?? To be honest, when I was a teacher, I dreaded it! I always counted down the days til Friday because that’s when I could get some downtime. Back in the day, while I loved my job of teaching, I didn’t have the coping mechanisms in place to battle the stresses of raising a family, teaching and coaching.
Everything piled up together led to a poor attitude, lack of motivation and depression. I was stuck and didn’t know how to get out. Enough was enough in 2009, when I finally took back control of my life. I was tired of being sick and tired š The pic represents about what I looked like…I may be smiling on the outside, but on the inside I had the blues…
I was a PE teacher so I should know what to do right? I tried…I set off to the gym at 4:30 every other morning to do “weights”; I stayed by the “baby weights” because I really didn’t know what I was doing (we only had the Nautilus machines in college) so I stayed in my little corner. I did some “cardio” on the days I wasn’t in the gym…my version of cardio is definitely not the same as today’s version (just ask the members!!)
Today marks my 10th anniversary of doing CrossFit…I’m in a better place physically and mentally. Everyone goes through a journey and everyone has to start somewhere…my first somewhere was getting sick of doing nothing about it…my second somewhere was wanting to do more for myself so I took the leap and called CrossFit United in Columbia and set up an intro course. BEST decision ever because the rest is history…
I definitely wouldn’t be writing this little piece on this website had it not been for that decision. I fought off a lot of “Monday Blues” back in the day, but today with nutrition and exercise I look forward to EVERY DAY! We are only given this day once and we are only given one body so do something remarkable with it!
Yes, today is Monday, but let’s make it BRIGHT – not Blue š
Happy Friday!! What have been some of your achievements or highlights of the week?
Some people dwell on what they “have” to do when really we should be focusing on what we “GET TO” do… Instead of:
*I have to get up early…I Get to get up and catch the sunrise…
*I have to go to work to…I Get to go to work so I can provide for my family.
*I have to load the dishwasher…I Get to do this instead of washing by hand!
*I have to pick up my kids from soccer…I Get to pick up my kids from an activity they love!
*I have to stand in line at the DMV…I Get to renew my plates on my car!
*I have to go the gym…I Get to go to a place where I am improving my health AND I Get to see some amazing people!
You get the picture, right…Focus on the positive in every situation and you’ll have more get to’s than you know what to do with! Have a Happy Friday! š
So a confession here…I failed to post last night/yesterday; I had been watching a documentary and tried to log in to my account via my phone and my password wouldn’t work AND I was too lazy to come back to the computer last night and went to bed instead…So here I am at 5am on a Tuesday unable to sleep :-/
Instead of a typical transformation from someone else, let’s talk about YOUR transformation! The other day a memory popped up on Facebook of my son and I 11 years ago and it was about 4 months before I started my fitness journey. Oh how I never want to be back to that! I’ve taken quite the turn in the right direction and that’s where I want YOU to head as well!
Are you on the right path?
How has your fitness/health/nutrition been in the last 5 years…2 years…1 year…6 months…the present?
Has anyone gained the “Quarantine 15”? Or were you able to stay up with your fitness and health via online workouts or actually being able to go to the gym? Thankfully we were able to open back up at the end of April so a good 3 months. We still have some members who have yet to return but I’m hopeful that will change in a couple of months.
Those of you who HAVE been able to stay somewhat consistent, are you happy with your results or is there something missing? Do you need to get to the gym more, run more, take care of your nutrition, sleep more, meditate more or all of the above? I’m an “all of the above” gal…I just need to focus and schedule my time better. I like Tuesday and Thursday mornings because I get a bigger chunk of time in the morning when my mind is somewhat fresh to get a big chunk of work done. On a rare occasion I may make an appearance at an early CF class…may happen this morning if I can get some of my things done.
Any way…YOUR transformation…do you want to start today? Or do you want to make it to your goals faster? I can help with that…YOU just have to book an appointment with me š FREE INTRO We can discuss the next steps OR we can talk about how to make your current plan BETTER! Everyone wants to be better, right?
This was the weekend that we were supposed to be in Madison watching the CF Games š So Iām doing the next best thing by watching some games footage via Froning IV on Netflix…
I first saw the Games streamed through Internet the summer of 2010…I hadnāt yet started CF but I was glued to my computer that weekend! 2 weeks later I had my first fundamentals class at CrossFit United in Columbia, MO. Every year since then Iāve made it a point to watch the Games and on 3 occasions Iāve been able to attend Regionals! Iām sad that they donāt have that format anymore but it does spread out the competition a bit.
This coming Saturday a few of our female members are teaming up at a Competition in Springfield, MO-Lift Up a Child to benefit CASA.
We will be doing the same WODās on Saturday starting at 10am; if you would like to participate, bring a teammate and a donation and throw down with us! Thereās something about suffering together that makes it all worth it!
Have a great week! Now back to Rich š Work Hard, Eat Clean, Be Blessed!
