4D Fit Friend: Alex practices self-care & self-acceptance to better serve others
Meet one of our 4D Fit friends, Alex Morrall, founder of the Twin Cities Wellness Collective™, a community organization comprised of 3,500 local business owners and practitioners, and growing. Alex shared how he practices self-care and self-acceptance to improve his mental fitness, to find meaning and purpose in his work, and to empower others to do the same. (Keep up the great work, Alex—and thank you for sharing!)
Q: What goal(s) are you striving to achieve?
A: I am striving to help others live a life of satisfaction and meaning. I founded the Twin Cities Wellness Collective to ignite a movement that empowers others to live their best life in the Twin Cities and beyond. I believe we are at a pivotal moment where the many tenets of well-being can be united to foster improved lives for everyone. Improved well-being for all can only be obtained through the support of a diverse and inclusive community. Part of our mission lies in continuing to find methods to unite others for the cause of improved well-being. Practically, the TCWC™ accomplishes improved well-being for all through events, podcasts, videos, expert interviews, assessments, and soon to come special membership offers.
Q: How do you practice mental fitness to support your goal(s)?
A: When you have lofty goals, like improved well-being for all, it can be easy to get discouraged. I tend to never celebrate any successes, which is a detrimental behavior. When I feel the huge amount of work I am doing isn’t making a difference, I reflect on the successes I’ve had. That can include the numerous conversations I’ve had where people have expressed support and encouragement or remembering where I started, which was a group of 0. Then, I feel grateful for where I am now, and gratitude helps me to feel uplifted.
Additionally, unwavering belief in the gravity of my work helps me to avoid focusing on the difficulties I’ve had along the way. I know that the work I am doing is tied to a greater purpose and I have been granted the opportunity to do this work. Purpose and meaningful work helps me to avoid feeling like nothing I do matters. So when I am caught in mundane tasks that I feel aren’t meaningful, it’s helpful to return the mission of the Twin Cities Wellness Collective.
Q: What helps you BE your best?
A: First and foremost, knowing that my work matters and that others truly need the work that I am doing. On a physical level, not eating sugar and eating mostly whole foods makes a big difference for me. Also, engaging in physical activity (i.e. lifting weights or challenging cardio) helps me to feel empowered to conquer the next task.
Q: What helps you DO your best?
A: Creating a routine that I can stick to and keeping it simple. I used to try to accomplish 50 different things before 9am, but redefining expectations helped a lot. An important discovery was learning that my energy is limited and continuing to work outside the bounds of my energy was robbing people of my ability to serve them in the future. To do my best work, I need to rest. And to rest, I need to schedule something or I will feel guilty for not trying to accomplish something.
Q: How do you stay motivated?
A: My motivation lies in my passion. I truly want to see people live better lives. When you know you have something that can help others, it’s hard to not wake up every morning and find a way to distribute your message or find a way to enhance their well-being.
Q: What advice would you give someone striving to be and do their best?
A: My mindset has been set on striving to be my best for most of life. I think it is incredibly important to always do your best in everything. However, I have fallen into the trap of allowing such a mindset to let me take on too much or expect too much of myself. When your expectations are too high, and you don’t hit your goals, it can be crushing. So, it’s important to know that you can’t do everything, and your energy is not boundless, but limited. Once I accepted that, I found that I was happier and didn’t feel like I was constantly missing the mark. For someone who wants to be their best, I believe you need to be self-aware to avoid running yourself into the ground. If you are overworked, you are never doing your best. Make sure to schedule time to recharge, so you can better carry out your purpose.
Also, know that the journey to being your best is endless. A pinnacle does not exist because it’s not a mountain. There will always be an area of improvement in your life. So embrace that you are human and will always have flaws, and that’s perfectly fine because so does everyone else. Focus on the areas you need to improve and work to make them better, but give yourself grace when you make a mistake. Then fix the mistake and improve. Know that mistakes will always happen, and you will never be immune to them. I believe being your best is not eliminating mistakes but finding ways to fix them when they happen. Leave room for error and for fixing the error.
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