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The Mental You

The physical part to become the better YOU is in fact, the easiest because it involves doing something. That mean we just have to get off our butts and as what Nike says, "Just do it". Of course, it does involves some discipline to get started, especially if one decides to wake up at 6am for the walk or going to the gym and sign up for the group exercise class. But generally, the most difficult part is getting started and keeping at it for 2-3 sessions. Once we get going, the feeling is often good enough that we would the forget about the initial struggles and want to continue the sessions. 

For those who are reading this post for the first time, here is a recap:

Once we have taken care of our body -- or started our journey to become a better physical version of ourself -- the next big elephant in the room is the soul or the mental YOU. 


While the subject of psychiatry has been talked about since the 1800s, it mostly is something we associate with people with mental illness, those who are schizophrenic or people dealing with hallucinations. It is only in recent decades that mental health became a big thing when people start to realize how important, if not more important, than the state of our physical being. 

We can be strong and healthy, but if we are mentally weak, this will hamper our growth. On the flipside, the ones who are mentally strong (but not the strongest physically) will eventually gain success in their chosen fields. 

So, what does it mean to be mentally strong or healthy? 

Type the question in AI, and one will typically the the answers as the ability to do the following

  • Being resilient 
  • Coping with stress
  • Positive self-perception
  • Sense of purpose 
  • Realizing out potential
  • Productivity and learning
  • Social connections

If you view mental health as a whole, it is divided into 2 major themes:

The problem is that whenever we think of our mental health, the first things that come to our mind is the bad stuff, i.e. stress, depression and suicidal thoughts. While it is important to work on getting the support to overcome these, once this is done, the next step (and we MUST move to the next step) is to then switch our focus to only "Think of the Good Stuff". That way, the door is shuttered to the bad stuff...no going back!

I know a manager who set a day in the week that he called "Good News Friday". On 4 days of the week, he allows his team to complain and wallow in the sad state of  their projects. But on Good News Friday, the team will only talk about accomplishments, successes, and take pictures where everyone is smiling. Yes, we should all have our Good News day. 

If you are ready to explore the mental YOU, please click on the links below:



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