It’s your Live Your Vision Communications Director, Michelle Wright, back to talk more about our Mental Fitness. And today’s topic is Mental Flexibility.
So before we jump in let’s start with some definitions. According to Google, flexibility is the quality of bending easily without breaking. It’s also defined as a willingness to change.
If you’re like me, you’re already making the connection between physical flexibility and mental flexibility, but hold on, let’s dig down a little deeper, shall we? For our purposes, we’ll define mental flexibility as the ability to adjust easily. To listen to and take in alternative views from yours without being threatened, or comparing or competing with someone or something else. The ability to be mentally agile and look for alternative ways to solve issues.
So, with that laid out there, let’s get real about our mental flexibility.
I recently picked up the practice of yoga. I’ve been doing it for close to two years now, and one of the key things is stretching and flexibility. In my mind, I look like this…
But in reality… it’s more like this…
Well, at least when I first started. Now my fingers can at least touch the floor.
My point is sometimes, I’m not as flexible as I think I am. And that’s also true when it comes to my mental flexibility.
Now, I’m pretty good about finding problems to solutions. In fact, I am a multi-faceted solution-oriented realist. I can also adapt to change pretty well (it may just take me a little while to process what is changing). But the thing that has tripped me up in the past is comparing myself to someone else who has an alternative view.
Let me say, I’ve been stretching this muscle for several decades now, so it does not affect me nearly as much as it did years ago, but when it does affect me, it is not good. If I don’t stay flexible and work to see someone else’s point of view, I can just focus on myself, thinking “Why didn’t I think of that?” or “Everyone probably thinks they’re so much smarter than I am, because what they just said is such a good idea.”
And you know what that does? It shuts everything down. Me, the project that we’re working on, the other people involved, everything stops.
In doing my research on flexibility, I came across this medical journal page that said “Many variables affect the loss of normal flexibility including injury, inactivity or a lack of stretching.”
That hit me. Because that’s what can happen with our mental flexibility as well. An injury where someone hurts you deeply and you just recoil and vow to not open up or display your gifts anymore. A traumatic event that paralyzes you for a time, and results in a period of inactivity. Or just not stretching or challenging your mind, your thoughts, or beliefs. Just relying on what you’ve always thought, or even what someone has told you what to think.
I think we’ve all been there. I know I have. But here’s the great thing, just like physical exercises that help you limber up again, there are mental exercises we can all do to achieve the mental flexibility we all want.
And you know what? That’s actually one of the things we’re going deeper in depth on during our Renew Your Vision virtual workshop on June 3rd. Make sure you invite your friends, co-workers, mothers, daughters, sisters, and nieces to attend with you. We all need some mental fitness in our lives.
We’re also going to be sending out a mental fitness assessment for you to take before the workshop so you can see the areas you’re fit in and the areas that can use a little extra work, so make sure you register so we can get that to you before June 3rd. Grab your spot now.
Until next week…
Much love,
Michelle
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