Have you ever wondered how things in your life can be at an all time high one moment, and then suddenly feel like you have hit rock bottom the next? From time to time, we crash. I know, from personal experience, this overwhelming feeling of helplessness, during these times of unpredictability. I often find myself emotional and my brain overwhelmed with uncertain outcomes. How do I move forward? Then I realize that although I am presently dealing with these issues, I have the ability to find a solution. I need to persist in the face of these issues in order to find the solution. The solution is ‘stamina’. Stamina is the ability to sustain prolonged physical and/or mental effort. This struggle of building stamina is ultimately what will help us succeed and achieve the goals we have set for ourselves. It can get you through challenges. Through it, we can figure out who we want to be. With stamina comes the increased ability to persevere. As is true of all things with anything worth having, developing stamina takes time, effort and most importantly, maintaining a balance. Once we understand the importance of balance, we can focus both on the time it takes to build stamina and the effort involved in building it. It may not be smooth sailing, but with effort, it is achievable. There are two components that are critical in terms of building stamina: one is maintaining physical health and the other is caring for emotional well being. Physical health is critical for our overall well-being. Our body was made for us to wake and to sleep. In order to restore and repair our bodies and to wake up the next morning renewed and repaired, we must sleep. This is a constant cycle. At times when we put our bodies under great stress, there is a point at which our bodies simply cannot function anymore. Our bodies get too tired -- a state that cannot simply be resolved with sleep. We should never underestimate recovery because in order to push ourselves, we must recover and restore. Our bodies tell us what they need. Bodies love to be hydrated and do not need counterfeit (sugar, caffeine) energy. Health Line has lots of information that tells exactly what our bodies needs to eat. Being able to eat in order to sustain glucose levels that are required for having energy for a full day, requires regular eating and foods with protein. But our bodies need more than just to be fed, they also need physical activity. NHS recommends ages 5-18 year olds get a minimum of 60 mins of physical activity per day. I cannot stress enough the importance of this. Some get their exercise through sports or dance, but for those we are not interested in breaking a sweat everyday, there are many alternatives. Even going for a 60 min walk makes a difference. In today's society, we multitask in order to complete our many jobs. We strive to achieve goals and the thought of failing may prevent us from giving up but overworking is unhealthy. When our emotional and mental state becomes overworked, we become overwhelmed. Humans need time to think and to rest. It is good to remember that being more efficient is better. Having many tasks at once is not bad as long as we know how to handle them. We must remember to give our bodies and our brains rest.
Physical balance, emotional and mental balance are crucial in building stamina. Whether we are aware or not, we are in a constant challenge with ourselves. Do not give up - eat, exercise, rest. While we are building good habits we are also building stamina. Do not overwork yourself -- give your brain time to think, listen to your body -- remember that we need recovery, and learn to maintain balance in your life. Not only will you build stamina, you will grow! Anna R
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