Celebrate the small wins! It comes down to a positive mindset . . .

These posts are starting to come about based on my daily conversations with people I come across or just a simple thought I have and elaborating on those thoughts.

This post is going to be centered around having a positive mindset and with that is celebrating the small victories we may have when it comes to improving our overall health and well-being.

In a conversation I was having with a friend we were discussing simple things that can be done to get more activate, even during a busy work schedule and family life. I told him a small thing that he can try is instead of just working through lunch and eating a sandwich in front of his computer, instead go outside a take a 20 to 30 minute walk instead.

The following day he did just that, he mentioned to me that he took 20 minutes and went for a walk. He checked his activity tracker and noticed he only burned about 75 calories. I know this because he texted me, 'I went for that walk, only 75 calories burned, is this really going to help me?'.

I responded with 'That is awesome, 75 calories burned is better than 0! Remember to celebrate the small wins.' This is when I realized, it really comes down to having a positive mindset versus a negative one. This is what truly separates those people who excel in a particular area for those who coast through without ever truly challenging themselves.

Changing your negative mindset is essential when it comes to challenging yourself to become more active and fit.

How do you know when you need to reevaluate your mindset? I stumbled upon this great article that goes into the differences of a positive and negative mindset.

There is also a great quiz for you to take to learn more about where you are on this spectrum. A lot of articles and books have been published on the positive vs. negative mindset, there are SO many resources out there to help those who think too negatively. At times, I am guilty of this as well, no one is perfect when it comes to consistently having a positive mindset.

My wife and I try to instill a positive mindset for our children. We tell them 'instead of focusing on things or stuff we don't have, let us take a look at all the cool and great things we do have'. This is a small example of trying to change the way we think.

This correlates to fitness and health as well. Let's go back to my friend, he focused on calories burned during his walk, this shouldn't be the focus. Instead, the focus should be on the benefit of just getting some vitamin D and gaining some energy for the rest of the day.

Diving a bit deeper into our conversation, I told him, why focus on calories at all? I have never once in my fitness journey tracked or managed my calories. There is no such thing as getting immediate results when it comes to slimming down or gaining more energy, it is a long game. There is no pill that will transform you . . . to be continued for my next post.