Focusing on your health is a lifelong pursuit. However, in today's fast-paced world, many people struggle to find the time or motivation to do everything they feel they need to do to stay healthy and fit.

While it is important to adopt a “progress, not perfection” mindset, sometimes it can be hard to find motivation within ourselves to keep pushing forward and working toward our goals.

This is where inspiration comes in. By finding the right book, story, or even just a quote, we can reignite our passions and experience the many benefits focusing on our health has to offer.

One of the benefits of reading about our goals or passions is that it allows us to explore new ideas and perspectives. By reading about the experiences of others, we can gain insight into different ways of thinking and problem-solving and learn techniques we weren’t otherwise privy to. This can help broaden our perspectives and find innovative solutions to our challenges.

Another benefit to reading about a subject we are working towards is that it allows our brains to process and adjust our aspirations when we are not able to work towards them physically. Our knowledge can grow and habits can solidify even while we are not actively working on our goal.

For example, if you are working towards a goal of completing a marathon, it seems like running is the only way to achieve it.

But, while you are ‘resting,’ you can pick up new tips and tricks to take your running to the next level by learning how others get through a marathon, proper running techniques, or even just pure motivation by “living out” someone else’s experience of completing the marathon

The next time you go for a run you may find drastic improvements to your form, pacing, or mindset purely because you engaged in reading about your goal.

Here at Mint Condition Fitness, we always recommend two books to our clients and include them in every client’s sign-up package because we value them as great sources of motivation and mindset support—especially for people looking to start working toward their goals.

Mo Gawdat is a remarkable thinker and the Chief Business Officer at Google’s [X], an elite team of engineers that comprise Google’s futuristic “dream factory.” Applying his superior skills of logic and problem solving to the issue of happiness, he proposes an algorithm based on an understanding of how the brain takes in and processes joy and sadness. Then he solves for happy.

In 2001 Mo Gawdat realized that despite his incredible success, he was desperately unhappy. A lifelong learner, he attacked the problem as an engineer would: examining all the provable facts and scrupulously applying logic. Eventually, his countless hours of research and science proved successful, and he discovered the equation for permanent happiness.

Thirteen years later, Mo’s algorithm would be put to the ultimate test. After the sudden death of his son, Ali, Mo and his family turned to his equation—and it saved them from despair.

In dealing with the horrible loss, Mo found his mission: he would pull off the type of “moonshot” goal that he and his colleagues were always aiming for—he would share his equation with the world and help as many people as possible become happier.

In Solve for Happy, Mo questions some of the most fundamental aspects of our existence, shares the underlying reasons for suffering, and plots out a step-by-step process for achieving lifelong happiness and enduring contentment.

He shows us how to view life through a clear lens, teaching us how to dispel the illusions that cloud our thinking; overcome the brain’s blind spots; and embrace five ultimate truths.

No matter what obstacles we face, what burdens we bear, what trials we’ve experienced, we can all be content with our present situation and optimistic about the future.

This is a groundbreaking and fascinating investigation into the transformative effects of exercise on the brain, from bestselling author and renowned psychiatrist John J. Ratey, MD.

Did you know you can beat stress, lift your mood, fight memory loss, sharpen your intellect, and function better than ever simply by elevating your heart rate and breaking a sweat? The evidence is incontrovertible: Aerobic exercise physically remodels our brains for peak performance.

In Spark!, Ratey embarks upon a fascinating and entertaining journey through the mind-body connection, presenting startling research to prove that exercise is truly our best defense against everything from depression to ADHD to addiction to aggression to menopause to Alzheimer's.

Filled with amazing case studies (such as the revolutionary fitness program in Naperville, Illinois, which has put this school district of 19,000 kids first in the world of science test scores), Spark! is the first book to comprehensively explore the connection between exercise and the brain. It will change forever the way you think about your morning run—or, for that matter, simply the way you think.

Whether you are reading to learn more about your goal, improve your mindset, or simply find inspiration, reading about your aspirations is a great way to help take you closer to your goals when you can’t physically work on them.

Need some external motivation to help you reach your health and fitness goals? Mint Condition Fitness not only provides fitness expertise but nutrition support as well. Check out our 28-Day Kickstart program!

In this program, you will get:

• Full fitness and goals assessment
• Personalized fitness coaching to teach you the exact exercises you need to safely and effectively build lean muscle
• A simple meal plan to help you burn fat and balance hormones
• 1-on-1 success coaching to help guide you as you work to change your diet, exercise, and lifestyle

You can take charge of your health and wellness; you just need a program that can show you how to build the habits needed to reach your goals.

Click here to learn more and take back control of your health and fitness today!

Mint Condition Fitness empowers purpose-driven men and women to lose weight, get out of pain, and do more of the things that make life meaningful.