Four Things That Make You Mentally Weak

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Tons of companies are working day and night to find out the best way to grab and trap your attention for hours each day. Your attention and energy are literally a currency, and we give it away without ever thinking twice. It's time to become the master of your mind and gain full control of where and when you give your attention and time.

In this week's episode, Evan shares 4 things that are making you mentally weak. Evan breaks down why these four things are making you mentally weak, why mental strength is important, and how you can improve your mental strength. Tune in to learn how to take control of your time and energy, and learn how to spend your time effectively, efficiently, and most importantly in a manner of your choosing.

Do everything with good intentions and connect to your elements.

DISCLAIMER:

This podcast is for educational purposes only, it is not a substitute for professional care by a doctor or other qualified medical professional. Evan Roberts is not a medical professional and this podcast is provided on the understanding that it does not constitute medical or other professional advice or services. Statements and views expressed on this show are not medical advice, this podcast, including Evan Roberts and any guests on the show, disclaims responsibility for any possible adverse effects from the use of information contained in this episode. If you think you have a medical problem please consult a medical professional.

is simply just not enough time in

the day to get everything done.

2

And honestly, there's so

many task lists that I have.

3

And I literally can't get through

even one of them in a day.

4

I truly do not have

enough time in the day.

5

24 hours is not enough.

6

Maybe if I didn't have to sleep, I

could actually get everything done.

7

But even then, who knows if

that would actually work?

8

Does this sound like you, do you feel

like you do not have enough time in

9

the day to get everything that you need

or even want to get done in the day?

10

If this is you, it is likely that you

have an issue with your time management

11

and you probably have outsourced a lot

of your attention to things that do not

12

deserve your attention, or at least.

13

The amount of attention that

you are giving to those things.

14

So in today's episode, we're going

to cover four things that are making

15

us mentally weak in the modern day.

16

And I'm going to also provide a

few tips on how we can combat these

17

things so that we can regain control

of our time, our attention, and

18

ultimately become mentally stronger.

19

I am your host, Evan Roberts.

20

And this is the elemental Evan podcast.

21

Where I break down.

22

Complex health topics from

a holistic perspective.

23

So let's just go ahead and jump in to

the very first one, which is going to be.

24

Social media and yes, I'm

jumping right into the deep end.

25

Um, I'm also going to include our

phones in this because our phones do

26

have certain like video games on them.

27

And don't get me wrong.

28

I love social media.

29

I use it myself as well.

30

Um, I don't think it is 100% bad.

31

I don't think it's the

devil or anything like that.

32

Um, but I do think that we are

very inefficient with how we use

33

it and we are honestly not even

conscious of how much we use it.

34

And I think that's where the real

issue lies, but I think it's really

35

important for us to understand that.

36

These companies are working day and night

to literally figure out what is the most

37

effective way to grab your attention.

38

And then to entrap your attention and keep

it there for literally hours in a day.

39

It is wild.

40

How much time we spend on social

media and how much of our.

41

Attention, we just literally give to it.

42

And we don't even think about how much

attention and energy we're giving to it.

43

But.

44

Our energy and our attention is literally

like a universal currency, right?

45

It is what these companies

are fighting for is what

46

they're working to try to grab.

47

And it is literally money,

our attention or energy.

48

It is money for them.

49

So.

50

Of course, they are going to be

doing their best to make these

51

apps as addictive as possible.

52

And like I said, there are some good

things about these apps and I personally

53

love using them for things like keeping

in touch with people and, you know, seeing

54

some really amazing photos and videos.

55

Of course.

56

Uh, but nonetheless, we have to be very

conscious and aware of the amount of time

57

that we're spending on these social media.

58

Uh, applications.

59

I personally feel that the best

way to handle social media and

60

the time usage that we spend on

these is to set some very strong.

61

Boundaries or guidelines

around our time usage on them,

62

because how many of you have.

63

Pulled out your phone and before

you even know it, you're already

64

in a social media app, scrolling

through , videos and photos.

65

My hand is up in the air.

66

And I know none of you can see that,

but that's because I'm in that boat.

67

I literally have pulled out my phone

and without even paying any mind to

68

it, I click on the Instagram app.

69

And the next thing I know I'm scrolling

through, you know, stories or photos

70

or videos or whatever it may be.

71

And I had no intention of going

on my phone for that purpose.

72

I've even had it to the point where

I would wake up in the morning.

73

And one of the first things I would do,

or even the first thing that I would do is

74

open up my phone and look at social media.

75

Hop on Instagram, check out

what's going on on there.

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And it is just not a good thing to do.

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Right.

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We are losing our willpower in choosing

where we spend our attention and give

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our energy because that is really

one of the few things that we truly.

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Own in this life and we have

full autonomy over right.

81

So why should we just.

82

Give it out to anyone.

83

Uh, that can simply grab

our attention, right?

84

We should be actively choosing

where and how we give our

85

attention and spend our time.

86

So with social media, I personally

find that setting some really clear

87

guidelines and time restrictions

around social media is absolutely key

88

for gaining control of, you know, not

outsourcing your attention and just

89

letting it go, uh, to social media.

90

So what I usually do is I have a

general guideline where I just do not

91

use social media during the morning.

92

So usually 30 minutes to an hour after

waking up, I am not on social media.

93

I do not like waking up and just becoming

reactionary to whatever might pop up

94

on Instagram, whether it's good or bad.

95

I don't really care.

96

I personally would like to be the

person who sets the tone for the

97

day, you know, actively choosing

to, you know, start my day off.

98

Right.

99

So definitely not using social media.

100

First thing in the morning

is going to be a great idea.

101

And then if you are a person who is

really addicted to social media and

102

you have to start finding a way to

get away from there and reclaiming

103

some of your time and attention.

104

Then I would definitely recommend

setting some very hard start

105

and stop times to social media.

106

So let's say you're giving yourself

from three to four o'clock in the

107

afternoon to use social media.

108

That means that at three o'clock

you could hop on social media and

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all the way up to four o'clock.

110

You could literally just mindlessly

scroll through whatever it may be

111

up until four o'clock, but at four

o'clock you have to get off no matter

112

what, no matter how good the video

is, no matter whatever it may be.

113

That's going on.

114

You have to put that phone down

and get off of social media.

115

By setting those clear guidelines.

116

It doesn't allow for there to

be any gray area where, you

117

know, the video was so good.

118

So you might as well continue watching it.

119

There's only like a minute left on it.

120

And then all of a sudden what ends

up happening as you go on there

121

for another 20 minutes, you know?

122

And then you just get

caught up in that cycle.

123

So setting really clear time

guidelines is going to be crucial here.

124

Now, if you are pretty good with

your social media usage as is.

125

Then first off, kudos.

126

But second off, if you.

127

Are pretty good with your social

media usage, then maybe just set some

128

guidelines around the use of social media.

129

Like, you know, not using it

in the morning, not using it

130

when you're eating a meal.

131

So that way you can be present with

the food and with the company, um, you

132

know, maybe not using it when you're

supposed to be out on a date, right?

133

Like the things where we should be giving

our full attention to the present moment.

134

Uh, setting some guidelines around

that can be really beneficial.

135

Now number two is going to be

relying on TV and I'm going to

136

throw the phone in there as well as

our only source of entertainment.

137

So.

138

I know that there are some

incredible TV shows and movies

139

out there and don't get me wrong.

140

I absolutely love to watch them.

141

But how many times have you thrown

on the TV for a little bit of

142

background noise and all of a sudden

your favorite TV show is on that.

143

You've literally seen like a million

times, and yet you still just go and sit

144

down and you get a little caught up in the

TV show and all of a sudden, now you've

145

wasted another hour or two hours watching

the show that you've already seen.

146

And it's just a rerun, right?

147

Like this is something that

has definitely happened to me.

148

And it's happened to a lot of people.

149

That I know I've seen, I've seen it

literally happened to other people.

150

Um, so once again it is.

151

The inability of us to really control

where and how we give our attention right.

152

Where we spend our time.

153

So reclaiming that power

is going to be huge.

154

And one of the ways of doing that is.

155

Before you sit down.

156

To watch TV.

157

Once again, you could

set a time limit here.

158

You could say, Hey, I'm going

to watch TV for the next hour.

159

And you know, at four o'clock on the

dot, I am getting up, I'm turning

160

off this TV and I'm going back to

work or doing whatever it may be.

161

You could do it that way, or you

could also pick a show, right?

162

And don't get me wrong.

163

I mean, I know.

164

Picking a show is probably very

time consuming in and of itself.

165

Uh, but nonetheless, if you have a show

that, you know, you want to watch, you

166

can just say, Hey, like, I'm going to

watch one, maybe two episodes of the show.

167

And then after that I'm turning off

the TV and getting on with my life and

168

doing other things, because there are

tons of other ways to find entertainment

169

that do not involve using a TV or

even your phone for that matter.

170

One of my favorite ways.

171

Is a good old fashioned book.

172

And I know maybe books are out of style.

173

I don't know.

174

But, um, there is so much knowledge in

books and the time that you spend reading.

175

Gives you back so much, right?

176

It gives you so much knowledge

that you can apply to your life and

177

actually use in day-to-day experiences.

178

And don't get me wrong.

179

Of course.

180

I know when you watch a show, you

can go ahead and, you know, have good

181

conversations with people about that show.

182

I understand that there is

a connection there, but.

183

Truthfully reading a book

is just so powerful and you

184

can get so much out of it.

185

Plus there's tons of board games.

186

Um, you could go outside, do something

physical, which is going to be so much

187

better for your mind and your body.

188

And that also will help keep you

mentally strong by getting out and

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doing something physically demanding.

190

That's going to help build that

mental strength and mental resilience.

191

Now.

192

The third thing that is.

193

Making us mentally weak is our food.

194

And I'm going to also

throw in there, sleep.

195

Food and sleep are huge for our

mental strength and fortitude.

196

So when it comes to our food, If

you are eating foods that are highly

197

processed or ultra processed, which

if you eat the standard American

198

diet, which is abbreviated as sad and.

199

Yeah, it's a pretty fitting name

because it means that you're eating.

200

I believe it's somewhere around 60%

of all of your food in a processed

201

food form, which is really truly sad.

202

So when you're eating food, that

is deficient of these nutrients.

203

You are literally doing your body a

disservice, you're making it so much

204

more difficult to make these decisions.

205

Your.

206

Basically giving yourself the okay to

give in to the easier things in life.

207

Because when you eat these ultra

processed foods, what happens,

208

you typically feel super groggy.

209

You feel lazy, you feel like you

need to go take a nap even, and this

210

can last for like an hour or two or

three hours after eating these foods.

211

So what are you more likely to

do after eating these foods?

212

Well, you're probably more likely to

sit down and scroll on your phone or

213

watch TV or do something along those

lines as opposed to going outside and

214

playing sport or doing something active.

215

Right.

216

The food that you're eating is going to

play a role in not only the development

217

of your body, but also your mind and it's

the functioning of your mind as well.

218

Right.

219

And the ability to make these

harder decisions, instead

220

of just giving into these.

221

You know, short, uh, short

term enjoyments, but with

222

no long-term benefit, right.

223

So food is absolutely crucial

to building mental strength and

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when it comes to sleep as well.

225

I mean, it does not take a

doctor to understand that even

226

just one night of bad sleep.

227

Could lead you down this path of,

for one feeling super irritable,

228

number two, just feeling tired

throughout the rest of your day.

229

Like you just want to go back to

bed and curl up in a ball and sleep.

230

And number three, it's going to

make it a lot more difficult to

231

make the hard decisions, right.

232

Uh, even when you get a bad night of

sleep, you actually have higher levels of

233

cravings for a lot of the foods that you

probably shouldn't be eating, which, uh,

234

definitely a sugar is in that category.

235

So having one bad night of sleep

can make it all the more difficult

236

to make the difficult decisions.

237

And it's going to make you want to,

once again, do the easy thing it's

238

gonna make you want to just kind of

coast through the day it's going to

239

make you want to, you know, just hop on

social media and mindlessly scroll and

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just kind of do the easy stuff, right.

241

Which if you want to live a great

life, you got to do the hard things.

242

The hard things are what make us better.

243

Uh, so it's important for us to

keep that mental strength up.

244

And the few ways to do so are

improving our food and improving

245

our sleep and ways in which you can

improve your food is to just focus

246

on eating foods that are whole foods.

247

They come.

248

You know, from the closest

form to the earth as possible.

249

So literally vegetables,

high quality meats.

250

If you eat meat, Fruits.

251

, nuts as well these are the things that

we really want to focus on eating and

252

really move away from the Oreos and the

sour gummy worms and the Ritz crackers.

253

We want to move away from those things

and really focus on the foods that

254

are going to nourish our body and give

us the correct nutrients to function

255

properly and be able to make those

decisions that we know are going to

256

be better for us in the longterm.

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And then in terms of sleep.

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The best things I can recommend.

259

Number one, stop eating

so close to bedtime.

260

Give yourself at least two to four

hours before you go to bed where

261

you are not eating any food at all.

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Uh, you can have water.

263

You can, you know, for the most part,

have some liquids, as long as it's

264

not really, uh, something that you

have to digest, uh, very heavily.

265

But pretty much just stick to water.

266

Two to four hours before you

go to bed, that's going to

267

help massively with your sleep.

268

Uh, keep your room as dark as possible.

269

And if you are up for it,

try some mouth taping.

270

And I know that sounds weird, but trust

me, there is a lot of benefit in it.

271

I try to mouth tape as much as

possible when I go to bed and it

272

is super beneficial for your sleep.

273

It is also good for your

mouth microbiome as well.

274

So.

275

Go ahead and give that a try.

276

And then last but not least.

277

We do not spend enough time being

essentially bored or not entertained.

278

So in today's world, . It's

actually almost hard to not

279

be entertained in some way.

280

Right?

281

If you're in a car, you probably

have music on or a podcast,

282

which don't get me wrong.

283

That's where I listen to

most of my podcasts as well.

284

But.

285

. I mean, even when you go to the bathroom,

it's probably very likely that you are

286

also taking your phone to the bathroom

because it is not entertaining enough

287

to just be in the bathroom alone.

288

Using the restroom.

289

We also have to have our phones with

us to accompany us to the bathroom.

290

Uh, so it is very difficult for us

to, in a sense, be bored, right?

291

I mean, if you've ever been in a waiting

room and just looked around the office

292

at the people sitting in the chairs,

Uh, majority of the people are going

293

to be sitting there on their phone.

294

Right.

295

They're going to be entertaining

themselves in one way or another,

296

which, you know, two degree,

there's nothing bad with that.

297

But when we literally spend.

298

Practically our entire days

being entertained or just

299

giving our attention away.

300

And allowing our minds to just run all

day long and just keeping them occupied.

301

We never give ourselves the opportunity

to just simply sit with our mind

302

and actually try to practice a

little bit of mental control here.

303

Right?

304

Our mind can be a muscle as well

in terms of, uh, how we use it.

305

You know, when we have these

thoughts that are constantly running

306

through our mind all day long.

307

We can practice on.

308

You know, How these

thoughts affect our day.

309

Like if we even care to listen

to these thoughts, right?

310

Like these are things that you can

practice and get better at, but

311

they do take time and they also

require us to get a little bit bored

312

or, uh, maybe not even bored, but

rather just quiet with ourselves.

313

And so one of the best

ways that I have found to.

314

Really control the mind and

flex that muscle, right.

315

That mind, muscle and build

true mental strength of.

316

You know, not being reactionary

to our thoughts, not allowing

317

our thoughts to just control how

we show up in the world today.

318

You know, but actually actively choosing

what thoughts we allow into our mind

319

and, you know, allowing us to observe.

320

Our surroundings and respond incentive,

just react to everything that is

321

going on in our external environment.

322

And, you know, allowing the first

thought that comes to our mind, uh, be

323

the first thing that we say or do right.

324

So.

325

What I would highly recommend is

developing a meditation practice or

326

even just a mindfulness practice, or

if you don't want to do any of those,

327

just even get bored, just get away

from being distracted all the time

328

and just allow your mind to be bored.

329

These are very powerful

practices, especially meditation.

330

Meditation is one of my favorite practices

and truly you can develop the strength of.

331

Watching the thoughts come into your mind.

332

Right.

333

And actually being aware of the thoughts

that are coming into your mind instead

334

of just allowing them to happen.

335

And, you know, just allowing

your mind to run all day long.

336

Throwing these different

random thoughts in your mind?

337

Uh, Yeah, in your mind.

338

And, and, uh, of course that's a job,

but there's a lot of really pointless

339

thoughts that we have every single day.

340

And, and I know there's a

number, it's something like.

341

90% of our thoughts that we have our

reoccurring thoughts every single day.

342

And there's only like 10% of our

thoughts or even the less, I think

343

that are actually new thoughts.

344

So a lot of the stuff that you're thinking

is not a new revolutionary thought.

345

Something you've already

pondered in your mind before.

346

And so when you take some time to

sit down and actually be quiet and

347

still with yourself, You can become

aware of these thoughts as they arise.

348

And then you can also choose to

entertain those thoughts, or you could

349

choose to allow those thoughts to pass.

350

And this is literally flexing that muscle.

351

It is a mental workout.

352

And when you do this, your

developing the strength to.

353

Choose where you give

your attention to, right?

354

Because if a thought arises and you

give your attention to it, or you

355

just naturally allow your attention

to be absorbed in that thought.

356

Well, you're giving.

357

That thought all the power.

358

Right.

359

But if you can choose to take your

attention away from that thought.

360

Once again, we're

flexing that muscle here.

361

Right?

362

So it's the same thing with social media.

363

Instead of allowing social media to

just automatically grab your attention.

364

You can actively choose to use

social media or not use social media.

365

And so meditation can be a really

incredible practice for developing

366

some mental strength and fortitude

here and really taking back

367

control of our willpower and our

self-control of, of, uh, really.

368

You know, Allowing like social media

and television and all of these other

369

forms of entertainment to kind of

just control how we spend our time.

370

Right.

371

I mean, there's so many days that

I have lost hours to entertainment

372

that was literally mindless.

373

Gave me nothing back in return, except

for maybe a few chuckles here and there.

374

Right.

375

Whereas I could have been spending

that time, reading a book or,

376

you know, even working on this

podcast or whatever it may be.

377

There are so many other things

that I could have been doing.

378

So.

379

Meditation is huge.

380

And I have seen firsthand the

benefits of doing meditation, a

381

regular meditation practice for one.

382

It helps out with stress, but

obviously the big thing here is

383

it really strengthens our mind

and we're flexing that muscle.

384

So those are going to be the four things

that are making you mentally weak.

385

And of course there are

many other things out there.

386

But these are four of the really big

ones, in my opinion, and things that I

387

think we need to become more aware of.

388

And of course you can see that there was

a common theme here, which is essentially

389

just taking back control of our time and

our attention, and be more aware of how

390

we're spending our time and attention.

391

And really one of the best ways of making

sure that we're more disciplined is

392

by setting some really hard guidelines

and some time restrictions on.

393

You know how often we use social

media or watch the television.

394

So once again, I love to kind of just

go over and give a brief overview

395

of the episode here at the end.

396

So you can have some, uh, major key

takeaways and, uh, things that you

397

can implement into your life today.

398

So first off, the number

one thing that is.

399

Making us mentally weak is in

my opinion, social media and

400

basically our phone in general.

401

Right?

402

Because those also have some

little games on there that we can

403

play and crush a ton of our time.

404

On these.

405

Uh, different, uh, social

media apps and on our phones.

406

And then number two is going to be

relying on TV and our phones for

407

our only form of entertainment.

408

Uh, and then number three is

going to be food and sleep.

409

Getting poor food and poor sleep is going

to be detrimental to our mental strength.

410

And doing the opposite, getting

good food and good sleep is

411

going to really bolster our.

412

Um, our mental strength and make us.

413

Uh, much more equipped to

make the difficult decisions.

414

And then number four.

415

We are not bored enough or rather we are

not still and quiet with ourselves enough.

416

And that is something that we definitely

need to do in order to really build our

417

mental strength is we need to become

more aware of how we spend our time

418

and where we allow our attention to go.

419

So when we become more conscious

of that, and we can actually choose

420

where we want to place our attention.

421

That is when you begin to

build that mental strength.

422

And then become the best version

of yourself possible that is

423

in total control of their time.

424

And they have all the willpower in

the world to say that, you know what?

425

I don't want to waste my

time and spend my attention.

426

On social media for a full hour today,

you know, instead I'm just gonna use

427

it for a little bit, or I'm only gonna

use it in the guidelines that I've set.

428

So anyways, y'all, that is

going to do it for today.

429

Um, I really believe this

is an important episode.

430

Uh, we really do waste a lot of our

time on things that don't deserve it.

431

And personally, I think.

432

It's one of the few things that we

have in this world, like I said,

433

full autonomy over, and that is our

time and the choices that we make.

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So, uh, let's go ahead and take

that power back in our hands so

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that we can make the best decisions.

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Uh, for ourselves so that we

can live our best life ever.

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I really appreciate you all

tuning in today, please.

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If you haven't already subscribed to

this podcast on whatever platform you're

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on and share this episode with someone

who could benefit from hearing this, or

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could benefit from hearing the show in

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simply go in there and send a message

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Uh, very easily from

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And if you're on.

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Uh, apple podcast.

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And please go ahead and

leave a written review.

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I would love to see that and hear it.

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I always read all of those and honestly,

it's just super cool to see what kind

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of takeaways you have from the show.

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And yeah.

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So share this with a friend, family

loved one, whoever needs to hear it.

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And if you want to share this on social

media as well, I would love to see that.

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Go ahead and tag me on there as well.

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So I can go ahead and reshare your post.

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And y'all, if you haven't listened to

this show before I have a motto, and

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that is to do everything with good

intentions and connect to your elements.

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I appreciate the

listenership show so much.

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I hope you all have a beautiful

rest of your day and I will

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see you on next week's episode.

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RDL piece, have a good one.