Having drawn my first Mental Fitness Course to a close, I am setting out with a new goal, to develop a Mental Fitness Workbook, that builds on my previous content to provide a complete blueprint for self-improvement and self-development. The workbook would be made available in print and digital versions for all students. Ambitious maybe, but why the hell not?
I’ll be blogging the process of developing the Workbook, so you can see it take shape, almost in real-time. In this post, I outline what I think the structure of the workbook will be. This is subject to change but I have a fairly clear vision of what I want to achieve.
Mental Fitness Workbook – Table of Contents
Introduction
Who am I?
What is this workbook?
Why did I write this workbook?
Who is this workbook for?
What do I hope you get out of it?
Mental Fitness and Self-improvement – understanding the terminology
What is Mental Fitness?
Is it possible to build Mental Fitness?
Self-improvement as a type of ‘everyday’ Mental Fitness.
Is this program evidence-based and what does that actually mean?
What does ‘evidence-based’ mean?
Why is this an important term for you to understand?
What sources of evidence have been most influential on me in writing this workbook?
The longer-term goal for this workbook/program in terms of evidence.
The 7Ps of self-improvement
The better you can describe the self-improvement process, the more effectively you’ll be able to implement it.
1P – Purpose – why bother self-improving?
Reasons for self-improvement from the mundane to the life-changing
2P – Principles – what characterises successful self-improvement?
The kinds of patterns we see in those who successfully self-improve on a regular basis.
3P – Psychological and physical capacities – what things can you self-improve?
Different knowledge and skill domains where self-improvement is possible.
Advanced study skills/ learning
Mastering emotions
Caring for your body
Thinking effectively
Building positive relationships
Helping others
Self-awareness
Cognitive enhancement
Finding meaning and purpose
Personal safety
Shaping your environment
Work skills
Financial control
Unwinding and having fun
Presenting oneself
Creativity/ imagination
4P – Process – how does one self-improve?
Improve your efforts at self-improvement by understanding the process of self-improvement.
Attitude/mindset
Self-reflection
Problem conceptualisation
Setting goals
Knowledge acquisition
Skills acquisition
Resources acquisition
Self-experimentation
Habits and routines
Coping with failure and setbacks
5P – Problems – what can go wrong with a focus on self-improvement?
Self-improvement isn’t all amazing and awesome. What can go wrong with one’s efforts to self-improve?
6P – Personal plan – creating your own personal self-improvement plan
Get started on your own journey of self-improvement.
7P – Personal philosophy – making self-improvement a part of your personal philosophy
Could self-improvement become part of your broader road-map for how you live your life?
Starting points for self-improvement across different life areas
Not sure where to start your self-improvement journey? Try these uncontroversial starting points.
Final words
Review of key concepts and ideas.
Where to go if you want to further your self-improvement journey.