SUPER Physical Fitness and Mental Health – 2020 Year In Review #15

We have reviewed several aspects of life, work and society so far in this 2020 Year In Review series. In the previous post, we read an example of how the fun element was amplified because of the energy created by people moving around. Let us dig deeper into the two inter-related aspects of physical and mental well-being. In this post of the Year in Review series, we will examine how one can have super physical fitness and mental health.

SUPER Physical Fitness and Mental Health

There were innumerable ways of achieving super physical fitness and mental health during the Old Normal. However, the pandemic and the year 2020 challenged all the conventional notions. So, I have categorized the key things to be done during these times, and beyond, in five elements. These elements together create a system for achieving SUPER physical fitness and mental health.

These five elements are by no means a comprehensive guide, but help you in getting started and bring focus to five critical elements. As you read through each one of them, think about your attention to these five elements during the year and your plans for the same in the upcoming year.

SUPER – Sleep

There was a time when it was an unwritten thumb rule to refrain from messaging (or calling) people after a certain hour. For some people, the professional boundaries are set to 6PM and for others it can even be 10 PM. However, teams typically knew the unwritten rule. And, once people would not respond to messages (email, text, WhatsApp, etc.) sent after a particular time, these boundaries would get established informally.

Cut to the pandemic.

I have seen people exchanging messages well past midnight and in some cases even upto the wee hours of the morning! When someone complains that they receive messages at that hour, my simple retort is ‘Why do you respond at that hour’?

Of course, I am not advocating being unresponsive in a ‘professional’ environment. However, if you respond and convert an innocuous message to an elaborate conversation thread, aren’t you equally at fault?

The importance of adequate sleep, quantitatively and qualitatively, is well documented. This is a matter of fact and I will not spend time re-iterating well known facts such as the need to have 8 hours of sleep.

However, do not play the victim card when you engage in conversations or other activities at that hour. Instead of engaging with a message at odd hours, what stops you from acknowledging and deferring action? You could say something like this “Thanks for your message. I have taken a note of it and will do the needful first thing tomorrow morning”. Remember that your SUPER physical fitness and mental health is also your responsibility.

SUPER – Up

The simplest of words can be a life saver and I mean it literally. Imagine you are taking a long distance flight. One of the most important advice that you get is to avoid the risk of DVT – Deep Vein Thrombosis. This is a phenomenon, where due to long periods of inactivity and sitting in cramped airline seats, a blood clot is formed that can be life threatening.

If this sounds serious, yes it is. And the solution is insanely simple. Just get UP from your seat once in a while. Thankfully, solving this problem is hardly one that needs rocket science or hi-tech devices. However, if you still need intervention, a smart fitness tracker or smart watch can remind you if you have been sitting for too long. So stand up and take a short walk for your SUPER physical fitness and mental health, if you have been sitting for too long, right away!

How to get UP

You can add a routine or a ritual. For instance, after every Zoom (or other) call, you can get up and walk around. You can walk for only 5 minutes, or even for two minutes, if you are hard pressed for time.

Bonus Tip: As part of this ritual, you can walk to the water cooler and have a glass of water. If you do this, you will tick off another key area of concern, which is to remain hydrated. Even if you are missing the water cooler conversations at office, at least you can take care of your health!

This ritual can transform you from a zoom potato to a state of zooming physical fitness. This is even more relevant if you are a zoomaholic or attend zoomathons. You can read more about these terms and the funny side of Zoom calls in one of my earlier posts!

SUPER Peace

Let us examine the next element of SUPER physical fitness and mental health, which is Peace. You can interpret Peace and achieve it in so many different ways. You can do literally anything that helps you find your peace of mind. There can be so many solutions and the pathways to peace.

Some people find inner peace by listening to soothing instrumental music or meditating while others may achieve the same result by gardening! The key is to connect to your inner self and be at peace. Sometimes, we run around in the race of our lives, without taking the time to connect to our feelings. As I have explained in an earlier post, we need to adopt a pitstop mindset in dealing with these times. And in line with that approach, there is nothing better than to take a pitstop break to connect to one’s inner self.

Issues related to mental health have greatly increased during the pandemic. I had warned about the risks as early as March in my book, How to stay safe and productive in your war against corona. It has been important to not just stay safe, but also stay sane during this period.

The silver lining is that there is less stigma associated (in some countries) with openly discussing mental health issues. In conversations with me during the year, a few people acknowledged that they were facing anxiety and mental health issues. Some of them even thanked me for writing the book that helped them get out of that phase.

However, if you (or your loved ones) do have issues, I recommend that you seek the advice of a qualified practitioner. Addressing these issues requires a scientific understanding of the anatomy and the inner working of the brain, among other aspects. However, if you only want to increase your happiness quotient, there are so many different avenues to explore!

SUPER Exercise

Now that you are at peace mentally, I must warn you that this state of peace should not transfer to the physical dimension! The pandemic has disrupted the lives and routines of each one of us. Unless you are in the business of meditating in the Himalayas, your life would have turned upside down during 2020! One of the biggest risks to both physical and mental health has been the lack of exercise.

Some of us were used to a regime of outdoor exercise. You could be an enthusiastic sports person or used to walking, jogging or cycling. It is certainly difficult to replicate these exercises indoors. However, necessity is the mother of invention. Even without any physical infrastructure or acres of space inside your home, you can still do some freestyle exercises.

And then there are hybrid digital variations too. You can tune in to various YouTube channels that can motivate and guide you to adhere to a fitness regime. Or, you could have fun on Zoom by doing Zoomba i.e. Zumba on Zoom!

One of the most under rated benefits of exercise is the associated beneficial impact on mental health, especially in driving away depression.

Related Read: Leadership lessons from Tennis

SUPER Rest

I hope the exercise regime will drive you to a state of super physical fitness and mental health. The last of the SUPER components is Rest. If you think it sounds contradictory to Exercise, let me explain.

I am talking about taking rest and breaks from our revised daily routines. The pandemic and extended life under the lockdown has changed our lives in ways that we don’t realize. We have seen a tsunami of digital activity across all aspects of life and work. The accelerated digital transformation has led to an abnormally high level of screen time.

Moreover, people also seem to have lost sense of time or a sense of day of the week. I have seen cases of people ‘inadvertently’ working over the weekend! In the first super component of Sleep, we saw examples of how our activities continued late into the night. This phenomenon has extended into the weekend much more in 2020, as compared to earlier years.

Putting things to Rest

The first step to resolving this problem is awareness and acceptance. Very often, people get defensive or play the victim. Yes, it makes for a good argument that almost all activities are on the screen these days. However, that is precisely why one needs to take a digital break and give rest to one’s system, both human and digital to achieve SUPER physical fitness and mental health!

Once we have accepted the problem, we need to shift our Locus of Control internally. This means taking responsibility for our actions. In this state, we believe that the world we create around us is a result of our actions.

After we have taken these two steps, the next steps to taking enough rest and digital breaks are easy. You only need to establish some ground rules and introduce some restful activities in your schedule. This can prevent you from burning out and take you to a state of SUPER physical fitness and mental health.

SUPER Physical Fitness and Mental Health – Outlook for 2021 and beyond

The contours of health and fitness have transformed beyond recognition during the pandemic. With remote working and hybrid models being a reality in the future, we need to adjust our mental models. Our lifestyle and daily rituals need to change as drastically as the changed world order. The steps involved can be fairly easy to implement. But, one needs to change their mindset. You may prefer to adopt a pitstop mindset or the locus of control may resonate more with you. Just keep taking steps in the right direction to achieve super physical fitness and mental health. And once you make some progress, never never never ever lose momentum, because movement continues to be everything!

Year in Review

Check out the master article for the Year in Review 2020 that contains links to all posts in the series. Also, bookmark the master article on the browser to read all the 20 thoughts from 2020 and lessons for 2021.

About The Author

Rajiv Maheshwari is a business and start-up advisor, and the co-founder of From The Experts Mouth. He is a management professional with over 25 years of experience, and worked as CEO for a decade, and in leadership roles with NYSE listed companies such as Accenture and WNS.

He is a Chartered Accountant and MBA (Director’s Merit List from IIM Bangalore) and an autodidact, who is on the path of self-directed life long learning and sharing. He is a thought leader, author and keynote speaker and has developed several frameworks to bridge the gap between academia and industry.