You need a mental diet

Most people think of diet in terms of physical. What type of food are you eating? How often are you exercising? In the end, diet is about a lifestyle, which has multiple components. The biggest aspect is missing.

Shelly’s alarm woke her up every morning to the top five world news stories for the day. She felt as if she stayed on top of world events. While she always had a good night’s sleep, she never figured out what made her anxious every morning.

As her morning continued, Shelly checked her iPhone scanning through text messages, social media messages, and then her dreaded work email inbox. By the time she ate breakfast, Shelly felt as if she’d been hit by a ton of bricks.

What Shelly didn’t know was that her body was in a constant state of flight-or flight. Cortisol and adrenaline, the biochemical components of flight or flight, keep her amped up. She could barely sit at work. She eagerly paced in her office and while on client calls.

Shelly started wondering what was going on. Her once rock star sleeping faded as if clouds rolled in on a moonlight evening. Soon, the downward spiral equated to a snowball that picks up more snowflakes as it slides down a big hill. Her life and career collapsed as if a wrecking ball hit her.

Shelly took one hard look at her behaviors and what could be changed. What she consumed mentally was making her a nervous wreck.

Instead of news feeds and electronic checking, she decided to do something new. She would not turn on a single electronic for the first hour of the day.

– No news: Shelly decided to check the news late afternoon.

– No electronics: This allowed Shelly to stay on top of her day. She focused on her own priorities for the day. Checking emails only gets you suckered into other people’s agendas.

– Eat mindfully: She ate breakfast without anything else. Shelly then chewed her food more instead of swallowing food whole. Suddenly, Shelly could eat less and feel more full.

Consuming news, social media, and even youtube videos is what your mind eats. Are you filling your mind with good nourishment or someone else’s agenda?

Wishing you an abundant, joyful and prosperous day!