Source: https://thepip.com/en-au/for-individuals/
I have been putting together some notes for a workshop on mental fitness, and one of the key messages can be summarized down to three points: Purpose, Perspective and Perception
Here I will explain each point in a little bit more detail and how it is relevant to building your mental fitness by drawing parallels with how we train to improve physical fitness.
PURPOSE:
Most people when they try to improve their physical fitness will set a goal that they want to achieve and identify the best way to reach that goal. If it is to lose weight then you are looking at calorie intake control, regular exercise and healthy eating habits, if it is about building strength then there will be some weights or kettle bells involved. The same can be said for mental fitness in the sense that you need to have a purpose. Do you want to improve your concentration, become more patient, more resilient or something else? Once you can identify a purpose then a program or set of exercises can be developed to address the areas you want to work on or improve.
PERSPECTIVE:
Something that may seem simple but easy to miss is how your perspective influences your mental fitness. Most people are only able to see things from a limited point of view, and by broadening your perspective you will open your mind to other possibilities and experiences that were previously inaccessible. Changing your perspective can be as simple as focusing on finer details than you are used to doing, or taking a step back to look at the bigger picture and how it fits in with everything else in your life. Perspective in this sense isn't about switching between but integrating the different points of view into a holistic picture that allows you to find where you fit in the bigger scheme of things.
PERCEPTION:
This is also something that seems to slip past our daily lives that are interrupted by constant distractions. We often think of trying to block out external stimuli by slipping on a pair of earphones and put up a bubble around us, but someone who has developed a keen sense of awareness can still be perceptive of their environment or surrounding because they have trained themselves to become more attuned to their different senses operating together or independently. Another way to think about perception is to perform certain tasks by blocking out certain senses so that your other senses become heightened and take over the primary control, such as doing something blindfolded (if it is safe to do so) and relying on your sense of touch alone.
There are also many other angles you can explore using these three basic principles, and I would encourage you to think about what they mean to you when practicing to improve your mental fitness.