Ever wondered what primary areas you should be focused on in your life? If so, this blog is for you! It is time to check your foundation and evaluate the areas you should be putting the most focus on. In this blog I will be discussing the three core areas of your life that should have your most attention in developing, how they are interrelated to one another, and why you should start being intentional about being more fit in all three areas today!

In life, we all have the same amount of time allotted to us. Yet, some people find themselves more successful than others. Success referenced here is more than just money and opportunities, but also includes overall wellness and wellbeing. There are 3 core areas that you must focus on to be all of who you were created and are called to be. These three core areas lead to you being able to actually pursue and fulfill your calling and purpose in every season and area of influence in your life. 

Core Area 1: Spiritual Fitness

The first and primary area of focus is your spiritual life. The level of your spiritual fitness determines your direction and focus in all other areas and components of your life. If you are lacking in the area of spiritual fitness, you will find yourself going in the wrong direction and pursuing the wrong things. Weakness in your spiritual life and fitness negatively impacts your focus. You begin to focus on things that are a distraction to you pursuing and fulfilling your purpose and calling. You also begin to lose sight of where you are going and where God is trying to lead you by His Spirit. 

Spiritual fitness should not come from a place of doing to be loved and accepted but from a place of gratitude knowing that in Him you already are. Spiritual fitness is not about doing enough to be saved or make it into heaven. Spiritual fitness should be rooted in a desire to pursue a deeper intimacy with God, which has been made possible through Jesus Christ, and experienced through the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us for those who have put our faith in Jesus. Doing spiritual things to be accepted by Him or fulfill a list of Christian duties to make us feel qualified, saved, righteous, or holy should not be the motivation behind the pursuit or development of your spiritual fitness goal. 

Out of intimacy with our Creator, we learn more about who He is and who He wants to be in and through us. Out of intimacy with Him we get direction and strategy to pursue purpose. From this place we develop and strengthen our focus. The things we do that reflect that we are believers of Christ and sent by Him are byproducts of establishing a deeper intimacy with Him, not a list of things we strive to do and consistently fall short in doing.

Core Area 2: Mental Fitness

The second core area is mental fitness. Mental fitness is grounded in your belief system. This shapes what we think as well as how we perceive and view things we face, see, and encounter. What we think and believe about God, others, ourselves, our abilities and capabilities all impacts our mental state and drives and influences our actions and our words. Mental fitness requires us to know who we are and who we are created to be. Mental fitness also deals with our belief about our abilities and capabilities. 

Your won't become the person you must be for your calling and purpose with the wrong belief system. You can't fully accomplish all that you are suppose to do not believing the right thing about God, yourself, your abilities/capabilities, or the people you are called to serve in your calling and purpose. More on this later when we discuss how the 3 core areas relate to one another.

Core Area 3: Physical Fitness

Though it comes in third, physical fitness is extremely important. For most people they either make this the primary area of focus in their life or completely nonexistent. Everybody isn’t called to be a bodybuilder but you can keep your body in shape and be healthy. We aren’t all called to be track stars or athletic professionals. However, there’s a level of exercise, nutrition, rest, and hydration we are all called to live out in managing our temples well. We only get one body that we have the responsibility to steward and develop to become fit to be all that we are created to be. No matter what your purpose or calling is, there is a level of physical fitness and care you must give attention to in order for you to fully be who you were created to be and do it well in excellence.

Focusing on physical fitness is not a vain pursuit. Take it to the scriptures! There are many examples of people who were fit, strong, beautiful, and handsome, and God used those aspects in their lives to bring about favor, deliverance, influence and victory. Yes there are people who pursue physical fitness for vain reasons but that does not mean that's going to be you. Don’t demonize getting in shape and taking care of yourself. Honor God by developing and properly caring for the body He given you for Him to live in and operate through. 

How The Core Interrelate

• Spiritual fitness impacts and should direct every other area of your life. 

• True mental fitness is rooted in spiritual fitness.
  • Bypassing spiritual fitness leaves you stuck relying on your own mental strength to pursue God sized things, if you even dare to continue to pursue them at all.
  • Without intimacy and a connection with Him, the beliefs you have about God, yourself, and others become shaky and susceptible to crumbling when crises, challenges, and tragedies hit.
  • Our identity, which should be in Christ (spiritual fitness), and confidence, the belief that we can do and accomplish what we set out to pursue (mental fitness), are two of the most prominent areas of attack.
  • A lack of faith and confidence will either halt or slow down your pursuit of the things you desire and know you are called to. Many people have strong mental fitness but are going after the wrong things in life because they are ignoring or not giving attention to their spiritual fitness. 

• Proper focus for physical fitness is derived from spiritual fitness and supported by mental fitness.
  • If you don’t know who you are, created to be, or called to do, you won’t care for your physical body properly or care for it in the way that best meets the needs of the purpose and calling given to you by God. 
  • Nutrition and hydration affects your brain and body operation. Exercise affect how well you are able to move, function, and handle various types of weight. Rest affects how well you are able to recover, focus, and grow. Rest is needed for your physical body and your mind.  

• Your mental fitness also affects your pursuit of physical fitness.
  • If you don’t believe you can actually grow, be fit, or achieve your physical goals, you will have a hard time committing to the work to go after it.  

• Some people are attempting to grow spiritually but because they won’t believe what the God says about them, who they are, and what they are capable of doing through Christ, they find themselves stuck. 

• There are those who are getting spiritually and mentally fit but are ignoring the physical fitness aspects of their life.
  • They have a relationship with Christ and have a strong belief system, yet they lack caring for their bodies in a way that keeps them strong, fit, and healthy for the life they are truly meant to live.
  • Physical fitness and caring for our body is just as much a part of our worship to God and proper stewardship as the other things He given us and expects us to grow and multiply. He gave you a body! How are you caring for it? 

Prioritize The 3 Core Areas of Fitness

Stop being hindered in your pursuit to be all that we are called and created to be. Make spiritual, mental, and physical fitness your priority areas of focus. Watch your life completely transform as you become who you but be in this season and the seasons to come. 

FITNESS BY DIGITS