Flex Your Brain Muscle
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:1)
The difference between a gym making it another year and going bankrupt is the month of January and everyone’s New Year’s resolutions. While getting physically fit is helpful, we could also benefit from a New Year’s emotional fitness resolution. Nick Wignall helps us fulfill the emotional fitness commitment in his article “5 Habits of Emotionally Fit People.” If you are working your biceps, triceps, and glutes, you might as well work the brain while you are at it.
Wignall challenges us to “Use attention training to build mental flexibility.” By creating intentional moments of attention training, we can evaluate our thoughts and develop more supportive self-talk. Fyodor Dostoyevsky described it well when he said, “To think too much is a disease.” Ruminating over our flaws and mistakes undermines our emotional health and well-being. Training ourselves to reflect meaningfully on emotional challenges and then dealing with them successfully.
Wignall calls us to “Rest.” Our United States culture is particularly vulnerable to ignoring the vital need for rest. God understood the necessity when the divine One commanded we have a Sabbath day of rest. Wignall clarifies, “We simply don’t function well when we’re exhausted-physically, mentally or emotionally.” Paradoxically, we can produce more when we work less and rest more.
Finally, Wignall encourages us to “Cultivate your values.” When we do not live our principles, we value ourselves less. When we foster defining our beliefs, our emotional fitness flexes, and we grow stronger and more resilient. Today, commit to the New Year’s resolution of emotional fitness. When your physical and emotional wellness is strong, your spiritual growth is ready to grow to a new level of meaning and joy. If enough people read this devotion, churches may become as busy as gyms in January. It is my selfish desire because worship attendance is historically low in January!