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“A fit body, a calm mind, a house full of love. These things cannot be bought — they must be earned.” – Naval Ravikant |
Did you expect me to talk about my physical fitness here? |
My morning protein shake My top 5 exercise drills My cold plunges? |
I’m sorry to disappoint you, but today, I'd love to introduce you to a different way to approach fitness. |
Fitness that: |
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Spoiler alert: Fitness goes beyond the physical. |
Let's redefine what it means to be truly fit and how a holistic fitness approach can be your ultimate game-changer. |
Let’s talk about your fitness mindset. |
Read time: 3.1 minutes |
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Before we begin: Here’s what you might have missed in the past few weeks…
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In issue #48 of The Productivist, I shared the top 3 lessons of this newsletter from the past 6 months. Revisit them here. In issue #47, you discovered 5 powerful ways to get productively curious every day. Access it here. In issue #46, you learned how you can engineer your own luck. Check it out here. |
Which one was your favourite? Just hit reply and let me know! 🫶 |
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Big idea #1: Fitness mindset means being a high performer in life
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When we talk about fitness, it's more than just physical strength. |
When I am encouraging you to get fit, I mean to get: |
physically fit mentally fit socially fit spiritually fit emotionally fit even, financially fit |
If you actively work on improving your fitness in these areas, you will elevate your performance and fulfillment in both life and career. |
“Sound great! But where do I start?” |
To achieve fitness in any area, you must start with these 4 actions: |
Define what it means to you Understand your current state Establish routines and habits to streamline progress Identify and overcome obstacles |
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Let’s take emotional fitness as an example: |
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How do you define emotional fitness?
Let’s do this exercise together!
For me, emotional fitness means:
→ Understanding that emotions are natural responses
→ Acknowledging my feelings
→ Working through them
→ Ensuring they don't cloud my judgment
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How would you rate your current level of emotional fitness?
For instance, my overall emotional fitness is 8 out of 10, broken down into:
→ Emotional energy: 8/10
→ Emotional strength: 7/10
→ Emotional skill: 9/10
→ Emotional adaptability: 8/10
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What routines and habits do you need to establish to streamline your progress?
For emotional fitness, here are my top 3:
→ Daily walks: Spend time walking without my phone to process feelings and emotions.
→ Breaks: Taking short breaks between meetings to reset emotionally.
→ Ownership: Acknowledge that my feelings are my responsibility. (E.g.: No one made me angry. I allowed myself to get angry.)
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What obstacles will you need to overcome and how will you do it?
Every journey has its challenges. For emotional fitness, negative emotions can be a significant obstacle.
Here’s how I would handle them:
→ Journaling: It greatly helps to externalize my feelings through writing, which helps me process emotions more swiftly.
→ Breathwork: Deep breathing helps prevent the amygdala hijack and activate my prefrontal cortex (critical thinking region of the brain) enabling better decisions.
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Repeat these steps for all fitness areas. |
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Remember: |
Fitness mindset means you're not just levelling up. It means you're already winning. |
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This shift in focus will significantly enhance your overall well-being and performance, both personally and professionally. |
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Big idea #2: 10 saboteurs to your fitness
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Physical fitness |
Sedentary lifestyle (duh) -
Lack of quality sleep
(Check out my high-performance sleep guide)
Poor diet choices (seed oils, fried foods, processed foods, alcohol) -
Lack of rest
(Learn about 7 types of rest here)
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Mental fitness |
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In addition to everything from above
(Because lack of nutrients, sleep, movement, and rest - all impact your psychology just as much if not more than your physiology)
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Stress
(Learn best strategies to navigate tough times and how to master stress)
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Procrastination
(Check out my anti-procrastination checklist)
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Social fitness |
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Spiritual fitness |
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Emotional fitness |
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Financial fitness |
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What would you add to this list as it applies to you? |
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Big idea #3: Non-negotiable habits to amplify your fitness
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Physical fitness |
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Mental fitness |
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Daily prioritization of tasks and time-boxing
(If you don’t set intention for how you want to spend your day, distractions and overwhelm are guaranteed. Learn more about the two here: prioritization & time-boxing)
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Social fitness |
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Get an accountability partner
(If you read this newsletter, there is at least one skill or project that you are trying to improve on. Socialize your goals with the right person and invite them to be your accountability partner. Otherwise, hire a coach.)
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Spiritual fitness |
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Emotional fitness |
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Financial fitness |
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What are your non-negotaible habits in these areas? |
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The Productivist Challenge: Commit to improving your fitness in one area this month
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Which one will it be? |
Whichever you choose, go through these steps to get clarity on how does it translate into your daily/weekly actions. |
Define what being fit in that area means to you Understand your current state Establish routines and habits to streamline your progress Identify and plan how you will overcome obstacles Commit to one routine from step (3) for the next 30 days |
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The Productivist Question |
Do you have the energy you need to serve, lead, or love at the level you want? |
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Wish you a joyful week ahead, |
Valeriya |
PS: Which area of your fitness needs to improve the most? Share your thoughts by hitting reply or DMing me on LinkedIn! |
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If you want to work with Valeriya 1:1, click here to apply. |
