What’s holding you back from living your best life now? It may be the state of your thought life. In Get Your Mind Right, Todd Durkin shares 10 keys to help you live your best life now.
Get Your Mind Right is about changing the quality of your thoughts. Many external factors affect your thought life; things like your diet, level of exercise, quality of sleep, and the amount of rest you’re getting.
What Does Get Your Mind Right Mean?
When someone tells you to get your mind right, they’re saying you lack focus or are focused on the wrong things. One of the things that came out in this book is the importance of focusing on the quality of your thought life.
Studies have indicated that not only are most of our thoughts negative, they’re also repetitive. This means we’re thinking the same negative things on repeat. If we are going to live our best life, we have to break our mental patterns.
How to get your mind in the right place
So, now that you know you need to change your thought life, you may be wondering, “How do I get my mind right?” If that’s you, here are three tips:
1. Identify your thoughts
The first thing is to be aware of what you’re thinking. A lot of the times we’re thinking on autopilot but you can make a conscious effort to be aware of the thoughts that cross your mind every day. Once you know what you’re thinking, you can decide to think about more positive things.
I’ve been trying to tune into my thoughts on a daily basis, and man, some of my thoughts surprise me. I have had countless arguments with people who are not there and talked myself out of things that I should be doing. The mind is more powerful than you know and until you get your mind right, you may not accomplish what God has created you to do.
2. Meditate on more positive things
The thing about the brain is that it always wants to be doing something. If you’ve stopped it from ruminating on negative thoughts, you’ll have to give it something else to do. If you don’t, it will revert to old patterns. Retrain your brain to think about more positive things. One easy way to do this is to memorize Bible verses.
I’ve found the book Transforming Your Thought Life: Christian Meditation in Focus by Sarah Geringer a valuable resource for learning how to meditate on Scripture. This book is a great resource as each chapter focuses on a different topic many people struggle with and includes some helpful Bible verses for meditation.
3. Set small goals for yourself
One of the tips offered in Get Your Mind Right is to aim to get 1 percent better each day. Now you may be thinking, what’s one percent? How would you be able to measure that? But that’s not the point. The point is to focus on improvement instead of perfection. How many times have you not done something because you knew you wouldn’t be able to do it perfectly?
Well, now you can aim to get better so you can get started right away. There are several tips offered by Todd Durkin in his book Get Your Mind Right. Some of them may not work for you but I guarantee that you’ll find a few ideas that will.
My Review of Get Your Mind Right
Get Your Mind Right is part memoir, part motivation, part consultation with a personal trainer/coach (at least, as much as can fit in a book). Todd Durkin is enthusiastic about his passion and his passion is getting you to change the mindsets that have been holding you back.
The first chapter is prefaced by a quote from Rocky which you quickly realize is something of a mentor for Mr. Durkin. Like Rocky, he keeps going after what he wants until he either gets it or realizes it was not meant for him and he encourages you to do the same.
What I liked about this self-help book is that while it may be tailored for those who are not Christian, there’s a lot of faith work involved in the process of getting your mind right and the author is not afraid to talk about it.
Know God–your relationship with God is an important requirement if you’re going have a positive outlook. The author encourages you to spend time with God at the beginning of your day so you can get off to the right start. He is a proponent of not only reading the Bible but also time spent quietly journaling what God has revealed to you.
Know yourself–Mr. Durkin shares many recommendations that he believes are key to having the best possible mindset but he’s quick to point out that what works for one person may not work for another. It’s, therefore, necessary for you to spend time figuring out what works for you instead of trying to recreate someone else’s process.
Run your race–what do you need to improve the quality of your life today? Instead of trying to do what other people are doing, focus on trying to improve your abilities one percent at a time. If everyone focused on their own improvement, their lives would be incrementally better.
There were some parts of Get Your Mind Right that seemed inaccessible for the average reader. For example, in chapter 8 while talking about recovery, Mr. Durkin recommends a number of things from blackout shades to cryotherapy, to flotation therapy and stem cell replacement. Some of these items have a price point that may make it inaccessible to many people (my opinion). Still, there was some good, solid advice that anyone can use to improve the quality of their lives.
I received an advanced reader’s copy from the publishers through the Baker Books Bloggers program; a positive review was not required. Get your copy of Get Your Mind Right.
Get Your Mind Right: 10 Keys to Unlock Your Potential and Ignite Your Success
Publication Date: June 2, 2020
Publisher: Baker Books
Print Length: 237 pages
Ready to start taking on your challenges with confidence?
It’s time to get your mind right!
As the founder of Fitness Quest 10 in San Diego, California, Todd Durkin is used to pushing high-profile, high-performance athletes to their physical limit. But that’s only half the battle. A crucial aspect of creating any kind of success–whether in business, sports, health, or relationships–is having the right mindset.
In Get Your Mind Right, this world-class performance coach motivates you to work hard, grow in your faith, think like a champion, and be the very best version of yourself, through his top ten principles, including
· your thoughts ultimately determine your legacy
· life requires you to overcome obstacles
· habits will make or break you
· be the master your time, energy, and focus
· eat to get your mind right
· live a life worth telling a story about
· and more
About Todd Durkin
Todd Durkin, MA, CSCS, is an internationally recognized strength, speed and conditioning coach, personal trainer, body worker, motivational speaker, and author who motivates, educates, and inspires people worldwide. He is the founder of Fitness Quest 10 in San Diego, CA, a world-class facility that provides personal training, strength and conditioning, therapeutic massage, and bodywork, Pilates, yoga, nutrition, chiropractic and physical therapy programs.
He and his wife Melanie reside in San Diego, CA, with their three children, Luke, Brady, and McKenna. Connect with Todd on his website https://todddurkin.com/.
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