Mental Fitness USA

 

The Presidential

Great American Mental Fitness Challenge:

 

 

Who is the most healthy, well adjusted and positive person among us? This is not a matter of intelligence or talents, rather it as question of emotional and psychological strength to deal with the challenges in life most effectively and successfully.

 

The Challenge:

How mentally fit are you? Are you really strong emotionally, maintain a positive attitude and do not let stress affect you no matter how difficult things get. Just as we know what is physical fitness, now it is time to identify what is mental fitness.

Do you occasionally get stressed out, have a melt-down, lose it, go bonkers, freak out, get depressed, or just get driven crazy by life? We all experience those moments in life, the question how often and how quickly do you get back to balance? What is a healthy balance?

Let’s finally set the BAR on what it means to be mentally fit, and what is being a misfit. So, what do you think makes a person psychologically healthy? The news is that we are NOT born emotionally healthy, to the contrary, we live on a slippery slope in the negative direction. That means it much easier to get stressed out, fearful, angry, or depressed than it is to go in the opposite positive direction.

The key is that we can all learn the skills to escape the negativity and learn to be stronger and feel good about life.

You cannot eliminate stress from life, but you can learn to escape it, transform negative events into positive ones, and keep your head in a good place, if you have the right skills.

 

 

How strong and flexible is your mind?

 

 

TAKE THE MENTAL FITNESS PROFILE

It is anonymous, the information is for you

 

Click on this Link to take the 5 minute Profile:

Mental Fitness Profile

 

 

 

 

Below is a simplified short version to show what are the main 5 questions about mental fitness. Where would you place your self most often on the ten point scale on the following five major factors of psychological functioning, note your responses and total your score.

 

ANXIOUS

Average

CONFIDENT

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

 

RIGID

Average

FLEXIBLE

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

 

FRUSTRATED

Average

TOLERANT

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

 

LAZY

Average

MOTIVATED

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

 

PESSIMISTIC

Average

OPTIMISTIC

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

 

So what is your score??? ______

This is just a brief analysis of your personality, there are many more issues to consider. Every person has weaknesses and strengths, this brief profile helps you determine what you can rely on or what you need to work on. The key is to realize that these are skills you can learn to be more positive in life.

This profile is supposed to make you think. The higher your score the better for your mental fitness. See further details below and you will begin to appreciate how you can utilize your strengths to become stronger and achieve more.

 

WHAT IS MENTAL FITNESS?

 

Being mentally fit means:

Not being irritable or irritating;
not getting offended or being offensive;
not getting stressed or being stressful;
certainly not being pessimistic, impulsive, irrational, rigid or tense.

 

Rather, mental fitness are the skills to be a positive person:

strong
– energetic - powerful - rugged - compelling - persuasive
flexible
– tolerant – resilient - patient - tough - adaptive - accepting
motivated
– ambitious - determined - energetic - invincible will power
focused
– attentive - aware - able to concentrate - prepared
stable
– solid - robust - reliable - responsible - trusting - integrity
balanced
– healthy – thoughtful – compassionate - responsive
optimistic
– positive – happy – humorous - eager - enthusiastic
loving
– caring – kind – generous - joyful - connected - intimate
analytical
– logical – rational – good judgment – good memory
intuitive
– inner awareness – sensitive – perceptive – predictive

These are the first simple general description of a very positive and healthy mind. It is something to think about. Becoming a strong individual involves many special skills that we are not usually taught growing up. This profile is supposed to help you identify what are your true strengths and weaknesses so that you can develop your mental fitness and become a leader in your community.

What is the Greatest Challenge We All Face?

TO STAY POSITIVE IN THE FACE OF UNCERTAINTY.

 

 

There are many different ways people deal with uncertainty. Some approaches are better than others. The individuals who meet such challenges very easily have a difficult time understanding why others cannot adapt to situations of uncertainty in a positive way. There are many reasons for the problems people experience that range from the biological to the psychological. The keys to escaping stress and embracing a positive attitude are found in skills that anyone can learn.

 

 

Why is being a misfit normal?

Why do we get so stressed out by certain people or small problems?

The answer is that we are very easily thrown off balance.

To become more fit mentally you have to develop the skills to
Who is mentally the most healthy, happy and positive person among us?
What are the specific characteristics of the most mentally fit individual?
What can we do to develop our own mental fitness and live a better life?

 

GOALS FOR PROMOTING MENTAL FITNESS IN USA:

■ Define the criteria for what is mental fitness
■ Decrease the public’s fears and worries significantly
■ Resolve questions about uncertainty and apprehension
■ Identify the best skills to deal with stress and uncertainty
■ Create a Presidential policy statement for mental fitness
■ Organize a Mental Fitness Challenge for people to achieve
■ Develop a nationwide program to promote these concepts
■ Rebuild a more positive, healthy, and confident attitude
■ Recruit and coordinate institutions to support this initiative
■ Encourage the media to publicize this information
■ Develop tangible program goals to monitor progress
■ Create multiple feedback systems to improve performance
■ Examine the origin of the social negativity and stress
■ Increase individual optimism for social and economic progress
■ Initiate programs to prevent a recurrence

 

 

TAKE THE CHALLENGE:

Do you have a tough life?

Have you been confronted by gigantic challenges?

Have you remained strong and positive to overcome these obstacles?

Tell us the nature of your struggle and what you did to stay positive. Explain what helped you stay strong and face the challenges in your life successfully. What was most difficult for you and how did you manage?

 

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS PLEASE GO TO DR. RYDER'S BLOG

CLICK ON THE MENTAL FITNESS BLOG AND WRITE YOUR THOUGHTS THERE.

The MENTAL FITNESS PROFILE score above allows you to compare yourself to others. Think about the original American Pioneers who faced the unknown and built this country. They all would have scored at the highest levels. If they were not fit both physically and mentally they would not survive. We live in much easier times. The unfortunate truth is that even a very low score on this profile does not limit your ability to survive or manage in life, although you most likely are an annoying burden to others around you.

Most people score in the average range, still far below what you need to get your motor going and reach many of your goals. People are so easily discouraged and then just give up. If there is one fundamental rule to follow to become more successful in life it is: never give up! That does not mean to be foolishly optimistic. Optimism works only when you THINK POSITIVELY and calculate what you can do to make progress carefully. Use your energy wisely.

The book - POSITIVE DIRECTIONS is full of valuable tools to help you develop the skills to reverse the negative forces or events and spend more time on the positive side of life.

Learn more about the book here: TakePositiveDirections.com

 

The long term goals are to develop a nation wide movement to focus on mental fitness, first identifying what it means to be mentally healthy and then how to get there and stay there. This involves a vast array of ideas and people. Everyone should participate and contribute what they can to help improve the conditions for all members of their community.

POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS

“We all slip into negativity, but you know your chance for success rests on your confidence and thinking positively.”

“Indulging in negativity prolongs it, refocus on whatever is positive and you become an agent of change.”

“Negativity creates distress, building confidence leads to success.”

“It is easy to complain and blame, instead train your brain to act with persistence and confidence to attain your goals.”

“There is no better time in history than now for you to share with me the dreams and opportunities before us.”

“Can you find an American who is not ready to make an extra effort to bring our country and economy back to health, wealth and well being?”

*These are only suggested ideas that the Advisory Council could review and make appropriate recommendations.

What are the ingredients to an optimistic attitude?

TAKE POSITIVE DIRECTIONS

When you start cooking - never ever stop -

that is rule #1 Do not give up!

Now make a PLAN: gather the best ingredients and go to work!

The sauce is made of all the dreams, goals, ideas of what you really want...Write down exactly what you want to achieve.

The meat is solid positive thinking. The details of HOW you are going to make it happen, what are the specific plans to reach your goals.

The heat comes from constant enthusiasm, eagerness, ambition, motivation, and invincible determination to reach your goals.

Pump UP the Heat! Keep the energy circulating, moving, don't stop.

Finally, you get a delicious, savory, super positive stew, that feeds you for a long time.

 

MAKE IT HAPPEN...

 

How can you help to mainstream Positive
Psychology (PP)into our everyday life?

Talk about positive psychology
Read articles about PP and
pass good reading around
Join a Blog and write about it
Make and post a video about it
Recommend good sources
Visit PP websites and link them
Visit PP at Facebook and Like it
Listen to PP podcasts or shows
Contribute an article or book
Give a lecture or talk on PP
Encourage groups you work with to utilize PP ideas
Donate money or time to PP
Report PP events to IPPA
Get involved with politics
Write to politicians to use PP
Be a role model of PP.

 

 

The Future:

Proposal for the U.S.A.

The National Advisory Council on Mental Fitness:

 

Purpose:

To gather a group of the top experts in the field of psychology, achievement and well being to meet, discuss and establish a set of suggestions to the White House to facilitate the renewal of American social and economic conditions.

Organization:

An executive committee would recruit approximately 10 to 20 highly experienced professionals with a proven track record of either academic or practical expertise in mental fitness and personal achievement. The group would be given the task to prepare a Mental Fitness Program during a series of face to face meetings. The council would convene a minimum of four times over the next two years for two days each. Together with a support staff these councils will produce advisories that could be implemented and monitored. The initial meeting should be held as soon as possible to create the fundamental plan of action.

Vehicles:

The President will be able to lead by example and promote “The Great American Mental Fitness Challenge” to increase national optimism.

All forms of media would be invited to participate in reporting on this campaign. A web based set of programs will provide interactive tools for the public to utilize. Academic institutions can focus resources on research and development of this campaign. Certain government agencies can help coordinate the interaction of various groups and provide support as well as statistical measures of progress.

Major organizations such as the American Psychological Association and similar groups can be counted on to support this initiative with their members and public outreach.

 

Outcome:

The goal is continuous improvement of the emotional and psychological attitudes among Americans, building greater confidence, flexibility, tolerance, optimism and in general, a more positive outlook on life.

 

 

“Ask not what is wrong,

ask what can I do to make things right.”

 

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