Written by: Elissa Kennedy, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Mental Fitness is defined by Shirzad Chamine, author of Positive Intelligence, as “Your capacity to respond to life’s challenges with a positive rather than negative mindset.”
When you maintain a higher level of mental fitness you have more satisfaction in at least 7 areas of your life, including your mindset, wellness, focus, confidence, relationships, performance, and career.
As a holistic mindset coach, I use mental fitness to help people stop doubting themselves and to move them forward on their path with courage. I know it works because I shifted my own mindset toward mental fitness during an especially challenging time in my life.
Before I improved my mental fitness I was struggling as a highly sensitive person. My health, mental state, and personal relationships were suffering because I felt overwhelmed. In the middle of 2020. I was feeling drained due to the uncertainty of COVID, family issues, grief, seemingly endless weeks of smoky skies from wildfires raging nearby, and news about senseless acts of violence. Hopelessness set in.
Luckily that’s when I stumbled upon Positive Intelligence (PQ), a mental fitness training for coaches. Positive Intelligence combines elements of neuroscience, positive psychology, performance science, and cognitive-behavioral psychology. Their research uncovered 10 core negative factors (saboteurs) and 5 positive factors (sage powers) that impact performance and wellbeing. Using that knowledge, they created a step-by-step program that retrains the neural pathways to change your mindset at the root level. The results are improved mindset, wellbeing, performance, and relationships.
How the Program Works
The program begins with 2 assessments to test your PQ Score and saboteurs. My PQ score was a 10 out of 100. The score indicated my mental health was in a critical state. For optimal mental fitness, when you are able to navigate challenges with a positive mindset, your score should be above 70. I learned which saboteurs were running my beliefs. The ability to recognize these thought patterns gave me a new awareness of my automatic behaviors and empowered me to take command of my previously unconscious thoughts and challenge many beliefs about myself and my life.
The program was delivered in small, bite-sized parts, so it was easy to incorporate into my day. I spent an average of only 15 minutes per day on the program. I was surprised to notice such a big shift in my automatic thoughts after only 3 weeks of practice. My mindset and my energy also improved.
After 8 weeks, I began to feel hope again, even though the circumstances in my life hadn’t changed. Family members were still struggling, fires and smoke persisted, and COVID continued to spread, but I no longer felt overwhelmed and depressed.
Miraculously I began to navigate my challenges with innovative ideas, I felt happier, more joyful, more creative, and more resilient. I felt more grounded as a coach with better boundaries, so I could fully support my clients without depleting my energy.
When I assessed my progress after 8 weeks, I discovered that my score improved to a 69, which validated how I felt. My saboteurs weakened and my PQ muscles were stronger. The personal insights I gained allowed for incredible growth and better relationships. That’s when I decided to become a certified mental fitness coach. I continued my daily practices and 4 months later I scored 86 on the PQ scale.
Almost 2 years later I continue to uncover old patterns as I improve my life. My work with PQ has helped me improve my marriage, career, physical health, parenting, relationships, overall wellbeing, and confidence. I practice daily and I love sharing this program with my clients to enhance our work together.
What Do Clients Say About Mental Fitness
I use mental fitness with clients because it helps them create a foundation for change. When they improve their mindset, they clear obstacles to change and open up to new possibilities.
Maria was waking up angry and frustrated, stuck in a state of grief from a devastating loss six months before. At the end of 8 weeks, she said, “I no longer wake up angry or full of grief. Even when I think of my loss, I feel more love than sadness. I am able to stay calm and focused, I can make better decisions and move through problems much easier. I wish I had learned these tools 30 years ago.”
Nadine felt lost in her role as a caretaker. For years she put aside her own well-being for others and she was beginning to feel the effects of burnout on her physical health. After 4 months of working together, she said, “I got my life back! Absolutely every single aspect of my life has been positively affected by working on this program with you. My mental health, my spirituality, my emotional stability, and even my physical health have dramatically improved. It's remarkable!”
Christine was on the edge of a career change but didn’t know where to start. She didn’t have the confidence to leave an unfulfilling job and worried about making big changes in her life. After working together for several months she said, “I reorganized my space and life to make room for my next adventure. There is no longer a guilty feeling when I’m doing what I love to do. I have more self-confidence and less need to please others. I’m definitely more confident and organized than I’ve ever been before.”
How Mental Fitness Helps Sensitive People
Highly sensitive people (HSP) can feel burned out when they don’t have a mental fitness practice. Which can lead to imbalances in energy, health, productivity, relationships, and work. As a highly sensitive person, you need extra self-care and specific mental fitness practices to stay grounded and energized. Without them, you may feel depleted and drained. But, it doesn’t have to be this way.
When you maintain a higher level of mental fitness you will feel grounded, creative, energized, intuitive, and innovative! Imagine how this could improve your life and help you take steps towards living your true purpose.
Bringing Mental Fitness to Everyone
I am on a mission to bring these tools to more people. I want you to feel grounded, supported by your sage powers, and empowered to quickly shift your mindset. Imagine how things could change if you could stop feeling hijacked by your saboteurs.
A Six-Step Process to Retrain Your Brain
Take assessments
Learn the techniques
Discover your saboteurs
Connect to your sage mind
Strengthen your sage powers
Practice daily for only 15 minutes a day
Benefits include better self-care practices, improved boundaries, feeling more inner calm, reduced stress, overall sense of wellness, improved relationships, improved emotional intelligence, better work performance, better leadership skills, improved patience as a parent, increased creativity, and innovative thinking.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by self-doubt then it’s time to shift your mindset by adding a mental fitness practice into your daily routine.
I created the Mindset School to be affordable and available to everyone. Learn more about the Mindset School and Mental Fitness.
Elissa Kennedy, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Elissa is a certified holistic life coach who helps women awaken their visionary mindset. By activating your visionary mindset you are able to connect to your true self and to your life’s purpose.
‘Vision Activation’, her 4-month step-by-step proprietary program, begins with a visionary mindset training, empowering you to navigate challenges with a more positive outlook and opening you up to new possibilities and a sense of inner calm.
Her coaching style is compassionate, playful and curious, includes guided visualizations and a sprinkle of magic. She uses holistic and intuitive approaches to change old patterns, creating new pathways for yourself as you begin a new chapter of life.
Elissa believes women thrive by connecting to their intuition, establishing a support system, and belonging to a community. By facilitating programs, workshops, and retreats, she creates a safe space for women to gather, learn and grow.
