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Innermost Recommends: November 2020

30th November 2020

Health Life

30th November 2020

By Allison Strang

This month at Innermost, we’ve been thinking all about the idea of resilience, staying strong throughout tough times, and powering through to optimise our body and mind. While this year has taught us one or two things about perseverance and overcoming obstacles, we wanted to find out more by reading, watching and doing this month. With books, TV shows and more, we've found ways to be inspired to keeping pushing through. We love sharing our finds with the Innermost community, so without further ado here’s what we got up to in November.

Reading

The Art of Resilience by Ross Edgley
“From being the first man to swim entirely around Great Britain to running a marathon while pulling a car, Ross Edgley definitely knows a thing or two about breaking down mental and physical barriers. This book gives a look into how we can all become more powerful from the inside out.” - Shiv

 

 

The Obstacle is the Way: The Ancient Art of Turning Adversity into Advantage by Ryan Holiday
“I love a good guide to get me through the rough patches. This book just makes me want to keep going, because giving up is way too easy. Hearing how to be resilient during setbacks from the perspective of the Stoics makes the philosophy much clearer.” - Allison

Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado-Perez
“This book goes into the gender prejudices of the world, from government policy to the temperate of corporate workspaces. It shows the resilience of women as we battle against a society that wasn’t built with our wants, needs or issues in mind." - Caitlin

Watching

The Pursuit of Happyness
“This inspiring, biographical movie shows how someone can really climb out of a low place in life to be successful for themselves and their family. It’s one that will have you thinking about it days later.” - Shiv

 Queen's Gambit
“The show follows orphaned Elizabeth Harmon as she grows up to dominate the 60's chess scene, shaking up the game as the first female chess player to take it all the way to the top. Fictional sure, but a super inspiring show of how passion and determination can take you to heights that society didn't want you to know about.” - Cash

 Finding Nemo
“I don’t care how old I am, there’s something about these old childhood films that teach me more life lessons than any how-to guide. This movie specifically not only still makes me cry, but it reminds me to never give up until I grab a hold of what I’m searching for.” - Allison

Doing

Digital Detox
“I’m trying to cut down the hours on the dreaded ‘screen time’ update. It really slaps you in the face seeing exactly how much time you spend on your phone. But it’s still not easy…a digital detox takes some resilience I’ll tell you.” - Caitlin

 

 
Bodyweight Exercises
“I’ve been really trying to challenge myself in my workouts without using extra weight. I remember that I used to think that I needed dumbbells and kettle bells to break a sweat, but let me tell you, some bodyweight exercises can be more challenging than anything.” - Allison

 Workout Plans
“To make sure I'm keeping consistent with staying fit during the endless lockdown (now with added difficulty of it being freezing outside and dark by 4), I've been making sure to use a workout plan that will help to guide me and keep me focussed on my goals.” - Cash

That's all for November. But if you want to see what we got up to last month, you can check out October’s recommendations here.

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Once you identify your negative thoughts and the beliefs that fuel them, you can start to work on overcoming them.  Christina suggests using a technique called cognitive reframing, which involves replacing your negative thoughts with more positive and realistic ones.  This could include something like:  I deserve this success because I worked hard for it and I have the right skills and qualifications.  I don't have to know everything, no one does. I can learn from my mistakes and ask for help when I need it. I deserve love and a fulfilling relationship because I offer kindness, respect, and genuine care. I don’t need to be perfect in a relationship; no one is. 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