Friday, a day like any other Friday.  Tomorrow is our day off, and it will soon be here, and now we get to start our time off, huge deep breaths and relaxing time, fun time.  With all those thoughts going through our heads.  Where to plan our time off, which is tomorrow, not right now.  Tomorrow.  But we are still planning for tomorrow, now.  Not a good time to plan for tomorrow. What remains is the fact that we still have today to be productive and successful.  However, Fridays often lure people into “check-out” mode—mentally done with work, skipping workouts, eating whatever. This is our silent assassin.
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So that you have 5 days of success, you will look back on the week and smile at all that you accomplished and persevered through.  Choosing to finish strong on Friday gives you something rare: the feeling of winning before the weekend even begins.  You enter Saturday with pride, momentum, and no guilt to be on your “days off.”  This is your reminder that consistency isn’t built on the easy days—it’s built on the days you finish when others coast.

“You can always find a distraction, if you are looking for one”​

Thursday is now your distraction test, a day of temptations. Do I work, or do I think about social plans, where am I going to relax and unwind, even though there should still be 2 days of productive work to be done? There is a creeping sense of “almost Friday”, that can pull you off track. Your focus drifts toward convenience instead of commitment.

This is the perfect day to test your focus muscle and your ability to persevere. Ask yourself: “What matters more—instant comfort or lasting results, and tie this to your reputation?” Choosing the long-term win strengthens, your ability to stay focused, even when distractions feel loud.

Treat today like a mental workout, which is just as important as your physical one.
Get excited that you are completing two achievements, not one. You're almost finished for the week, which will end strongly, and you are beginning a section of the week that brings you relaxation and comfort.

Wednesdays are not bad as Mondays to some, but it can still have a negative effect, and is looked at, as those you’re stuck in the middle—too far from Sunday, the last rest day, too far from Saturday. This “midweek slump” often makes people skip workouts or make poor food choices because they’ve lost focus. Don’t allow yourself to think about the distance you are from either end of the week. You’ve made it to Wednesday, which is a huge positive. Your focus depends greatly on your attitude towards any day of the week, week of the month, or even which month you are in, and how fast time is flying by.

Wednesday is when champions are tested for their strength, determination, and perseverance. Choosing your focus here means recommitting to your goals even when it’s not exciting. Remind yourself: “I started for a reason. I will finish with a result.” Push through today, and you’ll find the second half of your week has more drive and purpose. Wednesday is a good time to look at what you accomplished and where you still need to go, not looking at what you’ve failed, and how much more of a workload you have. Begin and end with uplifting, encouraging re-focus.

Without realizing it, we often spend the day focusing on irritations, bad news, or what other people are doing wrong. We attribute this to keeping up with the news. Things that we deem important in order to stay in touch with our world. We have a tendency to take a potential scenario and run through all of the negative possibilities, listening to all the changes going on with politics and thinking as the people reporting the facts, and then thinking about how we can prepare ourselves for the worst. That is so we don’t look stupid and feel unprepared.

This drains mental and physical energy that could have gone into training, meal prep, recovery in the way of mental downtime, listening to something that builds us up and not down, or preparing ourselves for a positive uphill battle - days of conquests.  Choosing your focus means filtering your inputs. You decide which thoughts get your time. You decide to invest energy in things that make you healthier, not more anxious.

You decide which subjects you have a direct impact on, and not be part of the collective who can only say – “Yah, what they said”. When you notice you’re getting pulled into negativity, pause, breathe, and choose: “What will help my mind and body right now?”  That’s real mental strength.

Mondays are infamous for sluggish starts. You came off a relaxing day, and now it’s time to start grinding all over again. You wake up thinking about how tired you are, how much you “don’t feel like it,” or how far away the next weekend seems. How many of you have started planning the next weekend before you started planning your current week? This mindset sets the stage for a week of excuses. For the week and your entire current day. Every time you bring up a negative, you will need to work twice as hard to squelch it, just offset it. Then you have to put yourself in a positive mindset to be back on track, for the day and for the week.
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But Mondays are your tone-setters. It’s the day you prove to yourself that no matter how you feel, you can act with intention. Choosing a ‘focused start’, on Monday, isn’t just about today—it’s about sending your future self a message: “I’ve already won the week.”

​If you focus on a productive first workout, a good breakfast, and clear priorities, the rest of the week falls into place more naturally. Your first thought on a Monday does not have to be your first hour of work. It can be, how you set up your mind and body for success, by engaging a positive attitude, before you take on hour one.

"Choosing Your Focus" — Mindfulness for a Healthier, Stronger Life
In life—and especially in fitness—what you focus on grows.

If your attention is scattered, you’ll feel scattered.  If you choose to focus on what you can control, you’ll find momentum, discipline, and satisfaction.

But here’s the challenge: our focus is often hijacked by distractions, emotions, and low-energy moments.  

• Mondays can feel like a mountain, so much to do and so distracted as to where to start. 
• Midweek can feel like a grind, we’ve wasted 2 days and want to make up for it, and finish strong, but.  
• Weekends can tempt us to drift.  

The secret to sustained health—whether mental, emotional, or physical—is learning to choose your focus every day.  This week’s mindfulness challenge will help you notice where your attention is going and guide it toward something that fuels your health, your workouts, and your life.
 
Choosing Your Focus
Goal: Train attention toward the good and productive.
Day 1: Choosing Your Focus - Mondays
Day 2: Choosing Your Focus – Guarding Your Energy.
Day 3: Choosing Your Focus – Midweek Momentum.
Day 4: Choosing Your Focus – The Distraction Test.
Day 5: Choosing Your Focus – Last Day, Most Important Day.