Mental Fitness: 15 Rules to Strengthen Your Body and Mind

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Remember that nothing endures. Try to take the long view. Whatever you’re going through now won’t last forever. It will soon be little more than a memory. Don’t get caught in the kindness trap. The sooner your kids get exposed to the world’s rough edges, the better they’ll be able to deal with them. The lessons he echoes are crucial to not just a life demanding physical and mental toughness but generally any meaningful life. Here's what I took from each lesson: You can learn to control your emotions. If you don’t make that effort, they will end up controlling you.

Energy never lies. We’re all constantly giving off energy that tells other people who we really are. No matter what we say about ourselves, the energy we throw out will always tell the truth. Don't give bullies a chance to infect you with their misery- but use confrontation when it's needed.

7. Track your progress

Confidence is not a natural trait. Confidence isn’t a quality that some people are born with and others aren’t. Everyone who is willing to put the right work in can become confident. Don’t wait for somebody else to tell you what you’re capable of; go out there straight away and prove it to yourself. You fit 100 per cent into your own skin. Learn as much as you can from other people, but never try to imitate them. You can push yourself through pain if you harness your mind and develop an excitement towards physical discomfort. To push yourself to your limits- you have to work hard to develop a strong harmony between your mind and body. Discover as much as you can about the way pain affects you. The more you know about how your body responds to extreme discomfort, the more control you’ll be able to exert.

Your mind and body are not separate, they’re all part of the same system. When you’re struggling physically, it will affect you mentally. If your mind isn’t strong, your body will suffer. We are all a work in progress. None of us is perfect, none of us is the finished article. We all have so much space to grow and change. Embrace your potential, shrug off your fears and take another step towards becoming the best version of you.Lie beget lies. One lie leads to another. Then another. Then another. Before long, your whole existence will be a fabrication. Is that what you really want? Work out what is and isn’t in your hands. Use your time and energy to focus on what you can control. Don’t dwell on what you can’t control.

Don’t get trapped in the world of ‘what if?’ We can’t predict the future. We can’t change the past. So work hard to live in the moment. Failure is the best teacher there is. When you open yourself up to failure, you’ll super-charge your ability to learn and grow. You won’t become confident overnight. Nothing worth anything comes together instantly. You build your confidence step by step.Your confidence should be based on what you know you’re capable of, not the opinions of others. When you have internal confidence you’ll be more resilient, more willing to try new things, and you’ll be able to take whatever life throws at you in your stride. Every relationship is a shared project. The true value of that bond isn’t in how good it is in the first month, it’s how it looks after five, then ten years. Your emotional make-up is unique to you. Only you can do the work of becoming intimately familiar with your emotions. Break what you’re feeling down. What is it? Why is it happening now? Keep asking questions until you know those feelings inside out. Lies don’t work. You might be able to stay out of trouble for a little while by telling a lie, but your dishonesty will always catch up with you.

Being a parent isn’t a part-time job. It’s the most important role you’ll ever play – more than your job, more than anything. You have to give your children the best of you. When your mind and body are in harmony you can push yourself to your limits … and beyond. Work hard to make them operate in unison, and you’ll soon see the benefits. No body is ever perfect. Everyone has parts of their physique that they dislike. Work out what you can change, make peace with the things you can’t change. You’re responsible for what you say and how you say it. You’re not responsible for how the other person reacts. Be as kind and considerate as possible, but don’t let the fear of hurting their feelings stop you from telling them what they need to hear. If they get upset, that’s up to them. Pay attention to people you invest in relationships with and talk about things you actually care about.What he is an expert in is pushing through the most difficult circumstances. I learnt a lot from his experience of extreme physical and mental pressure and how to find your limits. Set up good habits when you’re young. The older you get, the harder it becomes to change the way you eat, sleep and – most importantly – exercise.