Protecting Your Mental Plate
We often discuss how to build a well-rounded dinner plate, one that includes protein, carbohydrates, and a variety of vegetables. But what about your mental plate? What you feed your mind matters as much as what you feed your body. Perhaps even more so, as the truth is, if your mental plate is constantly served negativity and comparison, it’ll weigh you down faster than a McDonald's meal will.
Have you ever left an interaction wanting to run for a drink or a bag of chips? That’s what I’m talking about.
What you feed your mind matters
This week, I was privy to some not-so-great things and suddenly didn’t feel like eating well. Wiped out momentarily, I wanted pizza and, God knows, what else. However, I realized it was just a coping strategy, and not the right one, and giving in would only make things worse. The key is to catch these moments and find an alternative solution to address them. If you let negativity sabotage your mental well-being, you are feeding it a form of junk food. This “fueling” can happen in sneaky ways. For example, consider social media.. Every scroll is either fuel or foe. Ask yourself:
What am I following?
Does the content lift me or leave me feeling “less than”?
If we are not careful, platforms like Instagram and YouTube can become the mental equivalent of eating Doritos daily. We may survive on it, but we won’t thrive.
Consider:
The most important opinion of you is your own.
You are responsible for how you respond.
Protect your mental plate the same way you protect your food choices.
Life will throw things at you, and you’ll have tough days. It is. How. It. Is. But instead of letting these moments spiral into food choices that make you feel worse, fight back with productive action.
Here are 10 things you can do if you are caught in the crossfire:
Go for a 20-minute walk without your phone, just in the air.
Make a high-protein snack.
Blast some music and move.
Drink a big glass of water or make a cup of tea.
Prep a meal for tomorrow.
Stretch and breathe.
Write a grocery list.
Clean up your kitchen space or another area that is bothering you.
Consider these acts as defences, strategies that will keep you on track to reaching your goals, even when situations try to knock you off course.
To Do:
Pay some extra attention this week to what’s coming into your mental space. Not to avoid hard things, but as a way to protect your focus and filter out what doesn’t serve you. If in doubt, ask yourself: “Do I want this [comment/content /energy] served on my mental plate?” “Is it helping me?”
If the answer is no, adios.
Into the trash it goes, my friends.
