Lean muscle mass, that’s what exercise is all about, right?
Well, yes and no.
Exercise is all-encompassing. it undeniably increases your cardiovascular health and supports a trim figure. But, those benefits are only the tip of the iceberg.
Exercise has an underlying power than many people fail to tap into. And, it has everything to do with your overall mental well-being.
Enhancing Mental Fitness and Creativity
Where you find a sound body you will also find a sound mind. The two are an inseparable duo. So inseparable, in fact, that companies like Google offer over 200 exercise classes to encourage their employees to mix fitness and work.
The reason is that exercising stimulates the creative and critical thinking part of your brain, as proposed by a Netherlands study. A jog in the park is no longer just a jog in the part. It may help you jumpstart your innovativeness.
In other words, it helps make you mentally fit.
Mental strength is described as having good decision-making skills, emotional intelligence, and the ability to manage your thoughts. But it isn’t innate. It’s achieved by consistent practice.
Mitigating Stress and Boosting Mood
Mental health is often affected by an imbalance of hormones in the body.
It’s common knowledge that exercise releases endorphins in your body, what’s typically known as “runner’s high.” But exercise does more than release endorphins. It also promotes the release of serotonin, norepinephrine, and serotonin, all brain chemicals that affect your mood.
These neurotransmitters help to keep your mood stable by properly balancing hormones to an ideal level. To sum up, the positive effects of exercise have no rival.
The point? Exercise enables you to handle stress better. While exercise doesn’t eliminate stress altogether, it does help you to respond to stress more effectively.
Supporting Your Overall Life Pursuit
Much like life, fitness is a journey.There is no point of “arriving” at your final life’s purpose. As author Robert Byrne said, “The purpose of life is a life of purpose.”
And within that purpose lies a deep sense of joy and fulfillment that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt you’re on the right path.
The same goes for exercising.
Although many people aim for a certain weight, size, or shape, they don’t often stop when they reach their short-term goal. Rather, they set another goal and then another and another.
Exercise, once you get moving, plants a seed of fierce determination within you. Not only does this resolve give you the oomph to finish the workout, but also it gives you the drive to chase your life’s pursuit.
Building Internal Resilience
Not many people like to feel uncomfortable. And let’s face it, exercising can be uncomfortable.
But when you challenge yourself physically it encourages you to be content with being uncomfortable. Rather than trying to escape it, you push through discomfort and build remarkable resilience within yourself.
This internal resilience isn’t reserved solely for the hardcore gym-goers either. You can reap the same benefits for your well-being by exercising at home. The added bonus? Exercising at home can often provide a more favorable environment for maintaining your overall well-being.
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Although exercise is often aimed at physical fitness, it can enable you to do just about anything in life because of the positive benefits to your overall mental well-being.
The key is to get started, today. Or, right now! There’s nothing holding you back except yourself. All it takes is that first spark to get started on the journey.