You have to get to work. You haven’t had a full night’s sleep in months. Life can sometimes be overwhelming. And it seems you can do nothing about it.
A solution does exist, though… It’s called mental strength.
Mental strength can’t be seen physically. Rather, it’s a concept. An idea that you can get through anything. You can persevere. But how do you build it? How do you turn your scared mind into a place of confidence and peace?
Here are 7 key stages to becoming mentally strong:
1. Be Consistent
To begin with, consistency is one of the keys to victory in almost any aspect of life.
You go to the gym to tone up. That’s fine and Dandy, but most people quit after two weeks. The consistency isn’t there. You won’t see the progress if you only work out when you feel like it. You have to be vigilant.
2. Positivity over Anxiety
Have you ever felt guilty for feeling like you’re not getting anything done while everyone else seems to be powering through their goals? This type of guilt is what leads to self-loathing and anxious tendencies.
This is where positive thinking comes in. Positive thinking may seem like a joke, but science backs it up.
Research has shown that positive thinking is a real skill, with real consequences. Positive emotions and thoughts affect both your physical and your mental perception of the world.
With busy schedules and our high drive to succeed, some of us experience anxiety on a daily basis. Anxiety brings emotional and physical symptoms like restlessness or irritability, insomnia, headaches, and fatigue – symptoms a lot of us accept as normal.
To deal with this anxiety, positive thinking can help. But positive thinking isn’t “being happy all the time.” Rather, it’s a way of thinking and believing when things go wrong.
Psychologists say that the most effective way to eliminate your anxiety is by learning how to change your thoughts and think with more positive energy.
Challenging these negative thoughts by focusing on what is rational, the positive, the beautiful and the pleasant helps you move forward in the right direction.
Life is going to hit you with unexpected events and circumstances. If you’re going to be mentally strong, it’s important to always keep a positive spin on things.
3. Experience New Things
You have something called a “comfort zone.”
It’s the place where you feel the safest. It may be a physical space (such as your room) or a more metaphorical place (such as the state of your life). While living in the comfort zone is nice, it doesn’t do a whole lot to help you grow.
In order to grow and learn, you need to experience different things in life. Start out small.
Take a different route to work. Order something from your favorite restaurant that you’ve never ordered before. Or ask that person out that you’ve always wanted to ask. You’ll be surprised at how much this can impact you in a positive way.
More importantly, these new experiences will show you that new experiences aren’t so scary, and that you can do it.
4. Evaluate Your Core Beliefs
In order to build your mental toughness, it’s important to know why you do what you do. Thinking about your core beliefs not only serves as motivation, but it also helps you establish yourself.
Who are you? What drives you? Knowing who you truly assist you in establishing your mental toughness. It’s a lot easier to fight for your values when you actually believe in them.
5. Focus on What You Can Control
So many times, you lose focus on life. You get distracted and stressed. While getting rid of success and distractions is impossible, there’s a strategy that can help you. When life gets to be a bit too much for you, shift your focus onto what you can control.
Many times, you get frustrated because your boss made you stay late for work. Or maybe traffic is backed up for the third time this week and you’re late for an appointment. These experiences don’t have to be frustrating.
Rather, simply admit to yourself that these situations are out of your control.
Relinquishing control to situations in which you have no control is one of the best things you can do. This step alone can vastly improve your mental toughness. Why? Because you don’t let things that you can’t control get to you.
When you focus on what you can control, you’ll find your mental strength will grow.
6. Measure Your Daily Wins
Small victories are much bigger than they may seem. In fact, daily victories can even be applied to your workplace. It’s been proven that small victories in business are some of the best ways to inspire creativity and confidence.
The power of the daily win results from the sense of progression humans rely on.
Known as the “progress principle,” the principle states that workers most value progression in their place of employment. They are more motivated to complete their tasks when they feel they’re working towards something. The same can be found in everyday life.
If you’re having a bad day, just getting out of bed may be a small win for you. If so, then treat it like one. Celebrate! Is your goal to socialize more? Just getting outside and saying “hi” to your neighbor may be your small victory.
Either way, you need small wins to feel a sense of progression. And this progression helps you build confidence, too. Naturally, more confidence will lead to better mental strength. You believe in yourself — thus, you don’t let many things bother you.
7. Reflect on Your Daily Progress
At the end of the day, look back on what you’ve done, how you did it and whether or not you reached your goal. This process of self-reflection helps you recognize both areas for improvement and your strengths.
Not only will this self-reflection show you your strengths, but you’ll also be able to see how you’ve grown. Reflecting is similar, in many ways, to measuring your daily wins.
Building your mental strength takes focus and dedication, but it’s worth it. And the best time to start building this mental strength is right now. Go out and take back your life!
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