How to bring your body (and mind) in the best state yet to succeed

Four powerful inspirations for every day

Photo by Bruno Nascimento on Unsplash.

In the past I have often taken my body’s health for granted, trusting that it would continue to support all my moves without relenting. In my student years, while living on a limited budget, I put it through years of unbalanced diet; Since working full time, I make it work hard for me at my job chasing after promotions at the cost of permanently high cortisol levels and subjectively always having too little time to recharge.

In a particularly stressful time a few years ago, I started to feel increasingly drained of all energy. I became uncharacteristically tired all. the. time. and I knew that I needed to balance my system immediately if I did not want to risk a chronic illness. This was my body’s warning signal and it forced me to do what I could not have done otherwise: To stop and to listen.

I wished for nothing more to have my former state of health back and vowed to take full responsibility for my body and health from then on. This also allowed me to pay better attention to how inextricably the body and mind are interconnected. Without the strength of our body to fall back on, it’s hard - no, impossible - to find the mental resilience required to handle life’s challenges and to be our truly best and most powerful self.

Here’s what I learned to get the body (and by almost unavoidable consequence also the mind) in a healthy, strong and powerful state to succeed.

1. Presence of mind can be a game changer

We all experience incredibly stressful daily lives, and sometimes we can lose touch with our body and the present moment as a result. Too cluttered is our mind and too little time is spent feeling our body in the now.

Intentionally incorporating little practices to be more present helped me tremendously to navigate these ongoing stressors. I personally experimented with meditation but eventually stuck with sauna on the weekends as time allows (incredible for muscle relaxation) and taking walks each morning before work (especially recommended on cold winter days, with a hot coffee to go in hand).

Any activity that lets you focus only on the present moment can work this calming and re-centering magic - indoor climbing, ping pong, playing board games. You name it. The list is almost endless but we rarely explore all our options and possibilities.

I found that not only are we more relaxed when we are more present in our lives, it also has an additional “side effect”: We are tend to be more happy. The feeling that our life is just passing us by and that we are merely the passengers on the highway of our experiences appears to dwindle. We no longer live on autopilot.

If you have ever wondered why children are so happy, it’s because they live fully in the present moment, taking in every experience through their senses and being in awe of all that life has to offer. This is how it should be.

Too often do we lose this sense of wonder due to the mountains of expectations placed on us, too often do we have to play a role that is not authentic as this is what we feel is required from us. We function but we do not really live. I dare you to find this inner sense of magic again through presence of mind and time for and with yourself - you and you only.

No matter which activity you will eventually choose, do it long enough and you will see your spark return.

2. Exercise the body and the mind will shift

Whenever I felt weak mentally, I could not help but notice how increasing the strength of my body made me regain mental resilience as well. It’s a bit like the body tricks the mind to adopt its state - if it’s strong, the mind is stronger as well, and vice versa.

And at least to some extent, everyone can influence what that state is.

At my lowest, when I needed to regain mental and emotional composure the most, I turned to Yoga and running to get out of my mind and back in touch with my body. Yoga - combined with deep breathing exercises - did wonders for my anxiety and running catapulted me out of my lethargy. If you prefer cardio workouts or classes in groups, these will of course work just as well.

When I discovered the mind-body connection in my own life, I immediately knew that I had a very powerful tool on my hands. As soon as I learned to actually listen to my emotional and mental triggers and applied what I knew about the benefits of exercise, my emotional stability, sense of self-efficacy and confidence all improved times 100.

As already long ago Luc de Clapiers (French writer, 1715-45) put it “You must maintain strength of body in order to preserve strength of the mind.” - and I could not agree more.

If you are at home, do not want to go outside or invest significant time, I have a powerful tip for you. Get on the floor and hold the plank position for as long as you can as a quick exercise. As the Yogis among us are surely aware, the plank strengthens the Solar Plexus Chakra that is responsible for strength, confidence and energy. If you are like me, this simple trick may already give you most of your emotional clarity back and help your mind shift again into more positive and constructive states.

3. The power of treating yourself

While health is the most important foundation, treating ourselves occasionally to something special can be the cherry on top.

The current economic times are not easy, so it’s important to know that we can create a sense of personal luxury also at home with not much money spent. Be it by taking a long bath, taking extra time for moisturizung or giving our manicure special attention. Or by reading a book, cooking our favorite meal, trying this Italian red wine that we always wanted to give a try. If your budget allows, a nice hairdresser appointment, a Spa day or a new outfit that compliments your body type and features - these little extras once in a while can give us this feeling of specialness and care that lasts for days.

We all do our best, we work hard and we dust ourselves off to stand up again after having been knocked down. We do this all naturally and without hesitating or allowing us to pause. But from time to time, it’s so rewarding to stop and to give ourselves a small gift - the gift of time or another treat that says “I am important. I matter. I value myself”. Because we do: We matter, and we are important and valuable.

4. Explore your unique feel good regimen

Over the years, when I began to notice initial signs of aging (which I generally embrace), I began experimenting with intermittent fasting to allow my body to get rid of toxins and restore itself naturally.

The biological mechanism behind intermittend fasting is autophagy, the process of human cells cleaning themselves from dysfunctional components, bacteria and viruses when not eating for a prolongued period of time. Think about it: The body often does this naturally when we are ill and have no appetite - this allows it to switch into autophagy.

By applying the 16:8 method (16 hours of not eating - for me usually from 7/8 p.m. until 12 p.m. the following day, and an 8-hour time window to eat), I personally feel so much more refreshed and my ability to focus and concentrate increases greatly. And so does my mood.

Intermittent fasting may not be for you but you might explore your own unique avenues to increase your personal wellbeing even further: Trying out a special diet, improving your sleep hygiene or incorporating a new fitness regimen into your daily routine, so many things can work for you. Perhaps you will find small changes in your routine that have big effects on you, and you will be thankful for trying them out.

Nobody is the same when it comes to personal wellness and wellbeing. I imagine how you have already found or are on a destination to discover your individual “feel good” method. Make recharging your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual batteries a priority. For me, this has been a game and a life changer; The way I show up in my life has never been the same since prioritizing my own wellbeing, and I wish the same for you.