Today was a fast Tuesday. Have you ever had one of those? A day that seemed faster than others? Or, slower for that matter. Flow has a lot to do with losing track of time. Engagement has a lot to do with appreciating the remains of the day. Physically, it was an easy day, but mentally, I had to stay on point throughout.
We build up stamina for a number of obvious things, such as exercise, training, focusing on a lesson in a classroom, or reading and writing. I’ve been taking part in writing a full length novel in the month of November. I blog 500 to 2,000 words per day for months prior to sitting down to write a full novel of 50K words in 30 days time.
Stamina
When we want to accomplish mastery, it is the persistent pursuit of curiosity driven passion that allows us to endure the building up for whatever it is we need for that thing. I was just watching the Irish Step Dancing champions with wonder. How many hours did they practice? Or, marathoners? Dancing with the stars? Singers in huge competitions. The world chess champions or Olympians. And yes, professional writers.
Anything that needs your focus becomes second nature to you, requires a great deal of training and mastery. One of my favorite quotes was from Bruce Lee.
“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”
Mastery
The same is true for positive mental health after someone has lived in darkness. One does not merely shift their thinking from positive to negative like a light switch, though some people in our self help industry would have you believe it’s that easy. It’s not. You have to retrain your brain. You have to create a discipline that involves conscious tapping into what you want, versus what you have. You have to recognize that it will take the building up of a new way to think in order to have a new way to be.
It doesn’t happen over night. Sure, you can begin with a single step. You do ten sit ups’ before you do 1,000. The same is true with exercising your healthier mindset. You begin with changing one or two thought habits. Then, you build up the stamina to create a solid hour of self love. Follow that with giving yourself the afternoon to dream, or the evening of not worrying.
Endurance
My writing day is just now starting. It’s been 14 hours since I woke up and began my other career. I have a few more hours to go. When we pursue our passion, we build up through strength training, mental and physical, the focus and discipline needed to succeed. A happy life takes a life engaged, in flow, and focused on the building of our stamina.
Peace!
Karen
About the Author: Karen Henry, MA CRM owns Henry Healing as a holistic well-being practitioner and writer. She’s a former university professor and current scholar practicing the infusion of positive, existential and community psychology.