30 June 2023
For most of us, life is something of a challenge right now, for a whole variety of reasons.
Whether it is because of the cost of living crisis, concerns over the war in Ukraine or the general sense that the world is going to hell in a handcart, it's fair to say that life is generally tougher today than it was a couple of years ago. Could the impact of the lockdowns between 2020 and 2022 also have something to do with this (and the state of the economy today)?
Very probably.
We also talk a lot about mental health and its impact on our lives. But in the bigger picture, it is important to bear in mind that the challenges of life and the demands it makes on us are, in principle, a good thing. Without such challenges, we are unable to build our resilience or our potential to adapt to what life throws at us. Rising to the challenges that we face is an important skill and a strength that we should (and can!) develop.
In this vein, I write this month about Mark Zuckerburg and his experience with The Murph Challenge (see below). I think his taking of this very demanding fitness challenge and the positives he took from doing so is something to applaud. By looking out for such opportunities to build our mental and physical strength, as well as our flexibility, we strengthen ourselves generally for whatever may reasonably face us during our life.
Fitness is both mental and physical. Getting both of these parts of our being to work in coordination is important and something that we can train and develop.
No matter how challenging our lives may become as we do so.
Julien Bertherat
Personal Trainer
