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The Mental To Physical Connection For A Healthier Lifestyle

Updated: 08/28/2020 by Financial Samurai 69 Comments

La Paz, Mexico boat on clear water
Balandra Bay, La Paz

The mental to physical connection is so important for your well-being. If you only focus on one, you will feel unbalanced.

After my parents pep talk in the 9th grade, I realized there were two things I had to do in order to survive high school: 1) use my brains and 2) develop some pythons.

In other words, getting good grades, joining student government, and being a history buff wasn’t enough. Sure, I may have an easier time getting into some fancy college, but how was I supposed to get into girls? “Hey pork chop, did you know that General Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865, marking the end of The Confederacy and the Civil War? Lez go out tonight!” “Girls, Girls, Girls” by Motley Crue played incessantly in my head at the time. Frankly, I can’t imagine it being much different for a lot of other teenage boys.

I made it a rule to balance the mental with the physical by playing sports. As a teenager, I had a strong fear that I was going to be stuck in nerdom if I didn’t. I was a study machine who needed balance. The sports that attracted the most groupies were football and basketball, but I was too chicken sh*t to bang down low. I chose tennis instead, which had decidedly less groupies. Good thing all you really need is one!

In the 11th grade, this cute girl slipped a note in biology lab with a cut out from Teen Magazine entitled, “You Know Your Boyfriend Is A Keeper If…”  To my surprise, #1 said: “Your man is the captain of his high school varsity tennis team!” Shwing! As captain of the HS varsity team, needless to say we had a frolicking good time….. studying for our biology lab final of course.

THE OLDER THE WISER, PERHAPS

As an old man now, I look back fondly at high school and chuckle. For some men, physical attributes seem to take a back seat to career and wealth accumulation. “Who has the time?,” we often think to ourselves.

Rationally, we let ourselves go once we find our honey because we figure that our quest is done. If she likes our big guts, she must really love us. Maybe some women feel the same way. 

As soon as I get married I’m chopping off my hair!” confides a girlfriend. Chopped hair post marriage is a big fear for many men, but I’m sworn not to tell her fiance. What to do?!

THE MENTAL TO PHYSICAL CONNECTION

It’s not easy getting old. My knees creek and it takes longer to recover from any physical activity.  Yet, the physical pain feels so good afterwards, I can’t help but keep on going. The problem with doing anything to the extreme is that things break down. We burn out, we get bored, we just stop doing it all together.

Part of the reason why The Yakezie Challengers are encouraged not to post everyday is because the risk of burn out is so real. Every single Yakezie Challenger shall succeed and nobody shall drop out!

Part of the way to ensure longevity is to match all mental activity with proper physical activity.

Examples Of The Mental To Physical Connection:

* After every written post, do 120 sit-ups and 60 push-ups. Write 3 posts a week, end up doing 360 sit-ups and 180 push-ups. The more you write, the more you exercise!

* After every hour of reading (work or pleasure), do 10 minutes of yoga or stretching. Read 6 hours a week, ensures an hour of peaceful limbering.

* After every TV show or sports game you watch, play an hour of your own favorite sport. If you don’t play sports, go for a hike or a bike ride. If you can’t go outside, spend the time cleaning the house.

CONCLUSION

By creating a mental to physical connection, you create better balance in your life. The link encourages you to do more of something you should do, while reminding you to do less of what you are already doing too much of.

Now if I can only remember the name of the girl from bio lab who slipped me that note. Off to do some sit-ups!

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Filed Under: Health & Fitness, Relationships

Author Bio: I started Financial Samurai in 2009 to help people achieve financial freedom sooner. Financial Samurai is now one of the largest independently run personal finance sites with about one million visitors a month.

I spent 13 years working at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse. In 1999, I earned my BA from William & Mary and in 2006, I received my MBA from UC Berkeley.

In 2012, I left banking after negotiating a severance package worth over five years of living expenses. Today, I enjoy being a stay-at-home dad to two young children, playing tennis, and writing.

Order a hardcopy of my new WSJ bestselling book, Buy This, Not That: How To Spend Your Way To Wealth And Freedom. Not only will you build more wealth by reading my book, you’ll also make better choices when faced with some of life’s biggest decisions.

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Comments

  1. 101 Centavos says

    August 29, 2011 at 2:20 am

    Interesting, you’ve just described my early morning routine: a little keyboard time, a few reps of pull-ups, answer a few comments, do some push-ups, work on the budget, then swing the hammer around…

    Reply
  2. Tim says

    August 1, 2011 at 10:54 am

    I agree with the need to have balance between the sedentary work activities and physical exercise. I think it really helps to move slowly regularly(i.e. walking for 30 minutes a day) as well as doing stretches,joint mobility work or yoga to keep from developing the slumped posture that many desk jockeys develop from too much time at the key board and bodyweight exercises like pushups,pullups,cartwheels,sprints,fartlek,etc.

    Reply
  3. Sunil from The Extra Money Blog says

    December 18, 2010 at 11:23 am

    for video game lovers, get a Nintendo Wii system and games that make you move around – like the sports package

    Reply
  4. Bankruptcy Ben says

    June 9, 2010 at 11:01 pm

    I’m yet to age I reckon… Though now i’ve found my “honey” i don’t really care about what I look like. I still keep fit though but thats for me. I’m just not worried about appealing to the broadest possible audience of women.
    .-= Bankruptcy Ben´s last blog ..FFJ – 44 Ways to Save Money =-.

    Reply
    • Financial Samurai says

      August 29, 2010 at 7:55 am

      Thanks for the reminder Ben on a great weight loss mindset change I need to post!

      Reply
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