Fitter: Why Sharpening Your Edge Starts With Pursuit

The bottom line...

We don’t grow by avoiding discomfort. We grow by pursuing what’s hard. In a world that equates wellbeing with comfort and preaches balance as the ideal, we’ve lost sight of something essential: the pursuit of becoming fitter. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally.

“Fitter” isn’t a finish line. It’s a mindset. A signal that you’re in motion. A human. Moving.

Mental Health Awareness Month reminds us of the cost of chronic stress, fatigue and burnout. The usual response? Rest, pause, pull back. But real strength is also found by moving forward with presence, creativity and intent.

Science, Practice & Wisdom

Too often, we treat wellbeing and performance as separate pursuits. We talk about mental health only after stress hits. We think fitness lives in the gym. But human performance - true, adaptive, sustainable performance - emerges at the intersection of the physical, mental and emotional. This is high performance.

It means capacity. And capacity is built, not born.

When I work with high performers, the pattern is clear: they don’t pursue ease. They pursue the edge. The hard thing. The next thing. The meaningful thing. Not recklessly - but deliberately. Most times unknowingly. With instinct. This is trainable.

Because they know that challenge isn’t something to survive. It’s the very thing that makes them more capable, more clear, more alive.

Let’s explore each fitness domain through that lens:

1. Physical Fitness: Capacity Through Effort

You don’t need a new diet or fitness tracker. Althought these do have utility. You need clarity behind your movement. Physical fitness builds more than muscle. It builds momentum.

It improves cognition, restores sleep rhythms, releases endorphins and trains your stress system to adapt. More importantly, it reaffirms self-agency. Every time you move, you reinforce your story. "I show up".

Deliberate physical challenge like walking hills, running in the cold, choosing the stairs are not punishment. It’s practice. For life.

2. Mental Fitness: Focus Through Friction

Most try to “think” their way out of stress. But mental fitness isn’t built by avoiding effort. It’s built through cognitive load.

This is your ability to focus, create, problem-solve and respond, not react. It’s forged in the margins:

• Managing inputs

• Doing deep work

• Naming your mental state

• Learning through uncertainty

  
  

The presentation you’re avoiding? The complex idea you’re skimming? The conversation you’re delaying? They’re not threats. They’re reps.

Each moment of discomfort wires the brain for adaptability. Mental fatigue is real, but so is mental endurance. You don’t get sharper by coasting.

3. Emotional Fitness: Regulation Through Real Life

This is the most overlooked domain. Emotional fitness isn’t built in calm. It’s built in chaos. When you stay grounded in the hard moments, you prove to yourself "I’m capable. I've got this".

Capable of regulation. Capable of empathy and boundaries. Capable of composure when the outcome is uncertain.

This is the mark of the modern leader. Emotional range - built through discomfort - is the root of clarity, creativity and sustainable leadership.

And through all of it? A Pursuit. Fitter people don’t wait to feel motivated. They move first, knowing action creates energy. They don’t chase perfection. They show up, adapt and refine. Because being in pursuit is what makes them feel most alive.

So What Does This Have to Do With Mental Health Awareness Month?

We’re right to talk about burnout and stress. But let’s not confuse the cause with the cure.

Mental health isn’t the absence of pressure. It’s the presence of capacity. To relate, regulate and recover. And that capacity is only developed by pursuing what challenges us. Not to break us. To elevate us.

When we avoid hard things, we shrink. When we pursue them, we grow.

Strategies to Build a Fitter, Better Leader (Without Burning Out)

Here are five practical ways to pursue fitter. Aligned with ambition, curiosity, presence and optimism:

1. Practice “No-Zero Days”

Do something - do anything - that aligns with who you want to be. 5 pushups. 2 pages read. 1 tough email. It’s not about intensity. It’s about identity.

Why it works: Keeps momentum alive, reduces friction, builds consistency.

Level Up: Daily, do something mildly uncomfortable, but meaningful. It trains self-trust and tolerance for discomfort.

2. Rebuild Your Mental Workspace

Set aside 1 hour weekly to clear your mental clutter. Close loops, reset intentions, name your priorities. Outline clear actions.

Why it works: Reduces cognitive load and boosts clarity.

Level Up: Focus on identity, not outcomes. Be someone who pursues, not just performs.

3. Schedule a Weekly “Creative Presence”

Block 90 minutes with zero distractions to think, design, write, reflect.

Why it works: Deep work enhances creativity, insight and curiosity.

Level Up: Use part of this time to pursue a challenging or emotionally complex problem.

4. Design Your Own Vitality Circuit

Example: 10-min walk > 5-min journaling > 5-min music, read or breathwork.

Why it works: Enhances brain-body feedback loop and mood regulation.

Level Up: Move daily with intention, not just to tick a box. Choose effort over aesthetics. A much better way to start the day than jumping from alarm into email.

5. Choose a Monthly Ambition Anchor

Pick one phrase like “Operate with calm” or “Lead with rhythm.” Align weekly actions to express it.

Why it works: Builds identity-based motivation and resilience.

Level Up: Write about one truth you’ve been avoiding. This is ackowledging an opportunity for growth.

My Final Word

This Mental Health Awareness Month, let’s keep talking about burnout. But let’s also talk about the pursuit. Because being becoming fitter isn’t something you wait to feel. It’s something you build. Through presence. Through motion. Through challenge.

If you're ready to reclaim your energy, sharpen your edge and build real systems for your work and life, I can help.

Explore my coaching programs or book me for your team session on personal excellence and high performance.

No fluff. Just science-backed performance strategies that deliver.

Lead better. Live better. Pursue being fitter.