Mental Fitness Mondays: Don't Work On Your Mental Fitness
2nd November 2026Another thing to work on? No thanks.
The other day I was with a group, talking about mental fitness, and I said something along the lines of, “these are things you can work on.”
It’s a phrase I use quite a lot and it sounds normal enough - we work on our fitness, our confidence, our careers, our relationships, our gardens, our pelvic floors (if we’re really committed!). But as I said it, I thought; hang on, I don’t actually want these people to work on their mental fitness.
They already work hard. Most of the people I coach and train are busy, conscientious people - they’re trying to support colleagues, keep services going, represent members, meet deadlines, care for family, keep up with the news without losing the will to live, and somehow remember to buy milk. The last thing they need is another worthy thing to add to the list.
Mental fitness is not a punishment
The word “work” can make mental fitness sound like something we have to grit our teeth and improve. Like we should be getting up at 5am, journalling beautifully, drinking green things, meditating without once thinking about cheese, and becoming a calmer, shinier version of ourselves by Thursday.
That is not what I mean by mental fitness.
Yes, there are times when it takes effort. Switching off emails at a healthy time can feel surprisingly rebellious. Saying no to a meeting you don’t need to be in can take courage. Not replying instantly to a message that has annoyed you can be an act of enormous personal growth. But mental fitness isn't meant to feel like a life sentence of self-improvement - it's much more ordinary and much more enjoyable than that.
The things that count
Mental fitness might be reading a book you genuinely want to read, not the impressive one on the bedside table that has been silently judging you since Christmas.
It might be sending a message to the friend you keep meaning to contact and then feeling glad you did.
It might be watching a sitcom that makes you laugh out loud, rather than another grim documentary about how everything is collapsing.
It might be going for a lunchtime walk and not turning it into a step-counting performance review.
It might be making a decision that feels good in your body.
It might be switching off your laptop and letting tomorrow’s version of you deal with tomorrow’s problems.
It might be refusing to doom scroll, because you have finally accepted that reading one more angry thread is unlikely to bring about world peace.
It might be thinking something kind about yourself, even if your brain initially objects.
It might be planning a holiday, booking the yoga class, making soup, cancelling something, wearing the comfortable shoes, or leaving the WhatsApp group that has become a tiny pocket of daily irritation.
These things don’t sound like exercises, they sound like life, but they all support mental fitness.
We notice the failures more than the support
What I find interesting is how often people miss the good things they're already doing. Ask someone how they are looking after themselves and they might immediately tell you what they’re not doing: they haven’t eaten well this week, and missed that email. The run they'd planned didn't happen and they snapped at their child. We're very good at collecting evidence against ourselves.
The same person may also have checked in on a colleague, got through a difficult conversation, made a decent meal, laughed with a friend, walked instead of driving, or stopped themselves sending a sharp reply. That counts too. Mental fitness is not the impressive moments, it's sustained in the small choices that help us recover, reconnect and feel a bit more like ourselves.
Do or do not
A favourite quote for many Star Wars fans is Yoda’s: “Do or do not, there is no try.”
I think people like it because it cuts through all the striving. Switch off the laptop, or don’t. Go for the walk, or don’t. Send the message, or don’t. Get the early night, or work late. It's up to you, but make peace with your choices.
Sometimes “trying” keeps us stuck in negotiation with ourselves.
So perhaps don’t work on your mental fitness this week. Instead, pioritise it, invest in it, and enjoy it where you can!
Start by asking yourself: What is one thing I could choose today that would genuinely do me good?