Your mindset shapes your reality but when it is poorly maintained your mindset may lead into the age-old idiom of making mountains out of molehills more often than not. This idiom came about in the 16th century and was used to describe how I might overreact to a challenging situation. Picture yourself slashing three of your car’s Tyres because one got flat and you are there! 

It goes without saying if you think like this you are not alone and you can rest assured it is something you can change just like I did. To address the issue, I had to maintain my mindset like I am supposed to treat my body and keep it healthy with:

• Exercise
• Good nutrition
• Good quality sleep.

According to the National Health Service “Malnutrition is a serious condition that occurs when your diet lacks the right amount of nutrients. It comes under two categories: undernutrition which is when you are not getting enough nutrients and overnutrition which is when you are getting more nutrients than you need.”

What has any of this got to do with your mindset?

Thank you for asking, let me explain. Nourishing your body is not just about what you eat it is also about what you are feeding your mind. Our mindset, our beliefs, our perception of the world is heavily influenced by:

• The company we keep
• The thoughts we entertain
• The people whose opinions we pay attention to

Mindset malnutrition is not getting enough of the right information needed to move you forward or getting more information that you need get you moving forward. It is the mental equivalent of malnutrition.

During my years of malnourishment, I wasn’t arrogant nor did I claim to know it all but I did cling to the little bit I knew as if my life depended on it. I found freedom in what has become one of my favorite quotes by the Greek Stoic Philosopher Epictetus.

“It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.”

I used to think I was some kind of expert, even though I was partially right, I didn’t realize that my way of thinking was my blind spot. I didn’t know what I didn’t know and I wasn’t opening myself up to new ideas.

As far as I was concerned personal growth books, motivational videos, articles, podcasts, and seminars were from another planet in some galaxy far far away.

The penny first dropped when I came across a book called the 7 habits of highly effective people. I was a young teacher getting swamped with my work. I had no WorkLife balance, my life was all about work. So I had to find a better way of achieving more in the time I had. A way to be more effective.

This book was the first place that really opened my mind to the idea of working smarter because the principles were simple and easy to apply to my life. The transformation didn’t happen overnight but I made a firm decision to start the process and as time moved on things started to improve bit by bit

I was a ticking time bomb

I was a ticking time bomb with a truly short fuse that was burning faster thanks to a lack of sleep, overworking, overeating and over drinking in addition to the stress that comes with fatherhood, marriage and a demanding profession.

To get through the last 2 years alone I really had to focus on nourishing my mind. With so much uncertainty and misinformation, I could have easily given into the panic and stress of it all but I didn’t. I chose to take control of my mind and the things I allowed into it.

How can you improve your mindset nutrition today?

Move your body

First and foremost, we need to understand that there is no magic solution that works for every body when it comes to deciding on what the best way of you moving your body is.

The best exercises for moving your body are the ones you will actually do consistently so if that means going for a walk daily do that.

In the early days of lockdown in the UK , we were only permitted one outdoor outing a day so going for a run meant I wouldn’t be able to go out with my wife and daughters when they went for a walk. What I could do consistently was go for a walk in the forest with my family every single day.

My mind and body require exercise so moving my body daily is a vital part of my routine.

Fueling your body optimally

I enjoy eating good food so I invest time in cooking meals that are made of wholesome foods and cooked in a way that maximizes their taste for me and my family to enjoy.

I keep this part very simple. I start every meal with a glass of water (500ml is best), I enjoy what I eat and add vegetables to the majority of my meals including breakfast. I know I have been successful when my daughters approve. The best way to get children to make healthier choices is to lead by example.

Slacking on your slumber?

I’ve read up on sleep and know plenty about how much we should get but I had to choose quality over quantity. As a dad I don’t get the luxury of getting a solid 8 hours sleep consistently because that would mean certain things won’t get done at home, for work and for our family. I work on getting good quality sleep.

Tracking is a blog post on its own so what I will say here is that I measure what I treasure, my sleep. I wear a tracker and even though it won’t be perfectly accurate it tells me enough about the quality of my sleep. I am able to use that data and make the necessary adjustments. I have learned how to easily clean up your sleep with the following:

• Having a caffeine curfew – If I choose to have it, I limit my coffee to one cup a day in the morning.
• My phone has a bluelight blocker and I have a pair of bluelight glasses that helps me filter out bluelight at night.
• Avoid eating too close to bed time. Sleep time is when your brain gets to work but if the body is busy digesting food your brain won’t be as effective at doing what it is supposed to do (process memories and clean itself).
• Get outside and get fresh air, it does wonders for your sleep.

I have not reached my final destination because this I am a work in progress. The changes I continue to make are small but they continue to have massive implications for where my life is heading. These days my mind is nourished by the many books I read and reread, the podcasts I listen to in addition to the various people I connect with in person and virtually through the world wide web.

you can read this article From stopping my procrastination beast, to lift off.

This is the end of this post but there will be more to come from me about this topic. I appreciate you for taking the time to read this and I look forward to reading your thoughts in the comments.

Lombe