--- title: 4 ways to make mental fitness part of everyday life description: Discover four practical ways to make mental fitness part of everyday life with small, meaningful habits that are easier to keep coming back to. image: https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/hubfs/iStock-2220526517.jpg --- [Back to smilingmind.com.au](https://www.smilingmind.com.au/) [![](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/hubfs/SM_BlogLogo_black.svg)](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au) [Login/Sign up](https://app.smilingmind.com.au/?_ga=2.99144346.505229074.1559522319-1047861382.1534989894) - Mindfulness - [Meditation](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/meditation) - [Informal mindfulness](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/informal-mindfulness) - [Mindful eating](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/mindful-eating) - [Self care](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/self-care) - [Tips & Tricks](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/tips-tricks) - At Home - [Children](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/children) - [Parents](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/parents) - [Family](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/family) - In Schools - [Students](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/students) - [Teachers](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/teachers) - [Schools](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/schools) - At Work - [Workplace](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/workplace) - [Business](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/business) - Mental Health - [Anxiety](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/anxiety) - [COVID19](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/covid19) - [Mental Health](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/mental-health) - [News](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/media-release) [Tips & Tricks](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/tips-tricks), [Self care](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/self-care), [Mental Fitness](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/mental-fitness) 3 minute read # 4 ways to make mental fitness part of everyday life ![Smiling Mind](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/hubfs/SmilingMind_Icon_RGB_Purple-Background.png) by [Smiling Mind](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/author/smiling-mind) ![](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/hubfs/iStock-2220526517.jpg) October 21, 2026 # **For Mental Health Month, Smiling Mind and Medibank share four practical ways to turn good intentions into small mental fitness habits that have a better chance of sticking.** Most of us know a few things that help us feel good. Getting some fresh air (bonus points if it comes with a walk). Taking a few slow breaths. Getting enough rest. Spending time with people who make us feel like our best-selves. Knowing what helps is one thing. Finding space for it on a busy Tuesday is another. That’s where small, intentional practices can help. Mental fitness is something we build over time by practising skills that support how we think, feel and respond to everyday life. And much like physical fitness, regular practice matters more than the occasional heroic effort. The trick is making that practice fit into a life that already has plenty going on. Habits are more likely to stick when they're meaningful, easy to repeat and connected to things we already do. So this Mental Health Month, Smiling Mind and Medibank are sharing four ways to give your mental fitness practise the best chance of becoming part of everyday life. ## **1. Give your habit a good reason to exist** Before deciding **what** you're going to practise, start with **why** it matters to you. Maybe you want to take a short walk each day because a little time outside helps you arrive home feeling more present with your family. Perhaps you'd like to practise mindfulness so you can notice what's happening in your mind before responding to a stressful moment. Or maybe you want to make more time for connection because the people you love are a big part of what makes life feel good. When a practice connects to something that genuinely matters to us, we have a meaningful reason to come back to it. **Try this:** Ask yourself, *What would I like a little more of in my life?* More calm? More connection? More energy? More space to think before reacting? Then choose a small practice that can help you build towards it. ## **2. Make it almost too easy** Ambition is great, starting small is often smarter. *I'm going to meditate every day* sounds straightforward enough. Then the questions arrive.When? Where? For how long? Before coffee? After coffee? And what happens when the morning goes completely sideways? Give your new habit fewer hurdles to clear. Try: **I'll do a quick belly breathing exercise for three minutes right before I start work.** Or: **I'll take a five-minute walk directly after lunch on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.** Specific, achievable practices give us more opportunities to follow through. And every time we do, we're building confidence and momentum. Your surroundings can lend a hand, too. Put your runners by the door. Leave your notebook somewhere you'll see it. Save your favourite Smiling Mind app practise so it's ready when you are. And create a smaller version for the especially busy days. Twenty-minute walk becomes five minutes outside? Great. Ten-minute mindfulness practice becomes three slow, intentional breaths? Also great. ## **3. Give your brain a cue** Life contains approximately 4,000 things to remember before lunch.\* Your mental fitness practice doesn't need to become number 4,001. Instead, connect it to something that already happens reliably in your day. For example: - **When I make my morning coffee, I'll take three slow breaths.** - **After I brush my teeth at night, I'll do a short mindfulness practice.** - **When I finish lunch, I'll go outside for a five-minute walk.** - **When I close my laptop, I'll take a moment to notice something that went well today.** These kinds of specific plans — connecting a situation or cue with an action — are known as *implementation intentions*. Repeating a behaviour in a consistent context can help it become more automatic over time. So look for something you already do without thinking too hard about it: making coffee, brushing your teeth, finishing lunch or closing your laptop. *\*Possibly not scientifically accurate. Emotionally, it feels about right.* ## **4. Repeat. Notice. Tweak.** Habits grow through repetition. Each time you return to your practice, you're giving it another chance to become a more familiar part of your day. Noticing what a practice gives you — a little more space, energy, connection or awareness — can strengthen your reason to return to it. Ask yourself: After a mindfulness practice: *What's happening in my mind and body now?* After intentionally checking in with someone: *Do I feel a little more connected?* After taking time to recharge: *What feels different?* Some days will go completely off-script, we treat those days as useful information and an opportunity to reflect on what got in the way to make the habit work in the context of *your actual life*. Shorten the practice. Move it to another time. Choose a better cue. Try something else. Then come back to it tomorrow. ## **One small thing is plenty** Mental Health Month is a useful prompt to pay attention to the things that help keep our minds healthy. You can start very small, choose just one thing that matters to you. Give it a reason. Make it easy. Connect it to something you already do. Keep coming back to it. Because mental fitness is built through practice — one small, intentional moment at a time**.** And there are plenty of ways to get started. **Ready to give your mental fitness a workout?** [Explore the Smiling Mind x Medibank Mental Fitness Toolkit today!](https://www.medibank.com.au/health-support/mental-health/mental-fitness-toolkit/) Are you a Medibank member? You can now find Smiling Mind practices in the Live Better Rewards section of the My Medibank app, with practical activities to help you and your family build mental fitness in everyday life. ![Smiling Mind](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/hubfs/SmilingMind_Icon_RGB_Purple-Background.png) ### Written by [Smiling Mind](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/author/smiling-mind) ### SIMILAR POSTS [![](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/hubfs/iStock-2224797241.jpg)](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/small-things-stack-up-helping-kids-practise-mental-fitness-in-everyday-family-moments) #### [Small things stack up: helping kids practise mental fitness in everyday family moments](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/small-things-stack-up-helping-kids-practise-mental-fitness-in-everyday-family-moments) [Tips & Tricks](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/tips-tricks), [Teachers](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/teachers), [Mindfulness](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/mindfulness), [Mental Fitness](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/mental-fitness) 5 minute read [![](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/hubfs/iStock-1340023775.jpg)](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/educator-wellbeing-5-ways-to-practise-mental-fitness-this-week) #### [Educator Wellbeing: 5 Ways to Practise Mental Fitness This Week](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/educator-wellbeing-5-ways-to-practise-mental-fitness-this-week) [Tips & Tricks](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/tips-tricks), [Teachers](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/teachers), [Mindfulness](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/mindfulness), [Mental Fitness](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/mental-fitness) 4 minute read [![Person sitting by a lake writing in a journal](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/hubfs/journaling%20for%20mental%20wellbeing.png)](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/how-to-journal-for-mental-health-and-wellbeing) #### [Journaling for Mental Health: Where do you Start?](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/how-to-journal-for-mental-health-and-wellbeing) [Tips & Tricks](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/tips-tricks), [Mental Health](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/mental-health), [Self care](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/self-care) 6 minute read [![A child running through a field smiling and laughing](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/hubfs/GP%20tips%20to%20support%20kids.png)](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/a-gps-top-tips-to-support-childrens-mental-wellbeing) #### [A GP’s top tips to support kids’ mental wellbeing](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/a-gps-top-tips-to-support-childrens-mental-wellbeing) [Tips & Tricks](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/tips-tricks), [Children](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/children), [Family](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/tag/family) 2 minute read [![4 ways to make mental fitness part of everyday life](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/hubfs/iStock-2220526517.jpg)](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/mental-fitness-everyday-life) Tips & Tricks, Self care, Mental Fitness 6 minute read ### [4 ways to make mental fitness part of everyday life](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/mental-fitness-everyday-life) by Smiling Mind ## Latest [![4 ways to make mental fitness part of everyday life](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/hubfs/iStock-2220526517.jpg)](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/mental-fitness-everyday-life) ### [4 ways to make mental fitness part of everyday life](https://blog.smilingmind.com.au/mental-fitness-everyday-life) For Mental Health Month, Smiling Mind and Medibank share four practical ways to turn good intentions into small mental f... 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