New Reminders: Fitness

According to Wikipedia, “Physical fitness is a state of health and well-being and, specifically, the ability to perform aspects of sports, occupations and daily activities.  Physical fitness is generally achieved through proper nutrition, moderate, vigorous physical exercise, and sufficient rest along with a formal recovery plan.”

“Mental fitness is defined as a state of well-being and having a positive sense of how we feel, think, and act.  It means keeping your brain and emotional health in good shape. It doesn’t mean acing a test or practicing memory games or thinking puzzles, but rather exercises that keep you mentally well and build up your resilience to stress.” Dr. Andrew Miki, CBT Psychologist

Emotional fitness is part of mental fitness. It is what separates people who are simply able to think and perform well from people who are resilient to stress, who are able to act appropriately and control their actions in difficult or painful situations.  Emotionally fit people use their emotional energy in positive ways, to rise above pettiness with balanced and responsible behavior. For example, an emotionally fit person who is cut off in traffic controls his or her emotions and does not retaliate but is thankful that no one was hurt.

Spiritual fitness can also be part of mental and emotional fitness, in that it provides an avenue for developing positive thinking and appropriate behavior.  It provides a basis for knowing right from wrong.  It is a means to develop good character traits that help us not only think and act appropriately but to go beyond what is socially acceptable to what is required by a loving God. 

Becoming fit, in all areas, is a journey that requires discipline and hard work. No one becomes fit without practicing the types of healthy behaviors and exercises necessary to develop the body, brain, emotions and character.

For Christians, fitness in all areas is essential to our ability to carry out God’s commands and to become the kind of person we ourselves want to be.  We need to guard against a tendency to overdo in any one area of fitness to the exclusion of others.  We should also be careful not to become obsessed with building certain attributes associated with any fitness area to the extent that it interferes with other areas of our lives.  A balanced approach is critical.  It is a healthy way of living!  Its aim is to create our personal balance among physical, emotional, mental and spiritual factors.  These factors can play an important role in shaping our overall health.

Ephesians 4:15…speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.