Today we are going to learn about 7 habits to become mentally tougher. Now, let’s begin.
- Cultivating Willpower
Your life is filled with distractions and temptations. Between video games, online shopping, and social media, it’s a wonder we get anything done. Every day, we’re forced to choose work and play, between short and long-term reward. But what goes inside your brain every time you make this difficult decision?
The rational part of your brain wants to do the right thing; but there’s a battle raging inside your head—a battle between your rational mind and your biggest temptations. Most people aren’t strong enough to overcome those temptations. They make lazy, impulsive, and undisciplined decisions because they don’t have the willpower to win this mental war.
So how do you cultivate willpower?
How do you strengthen your rational mind?
To become mentally strong, you start small and work your way to the top. At some point in their lives, every mentally strong person lacked the willpower to fight for their goals, but they practiced and trained until they could overpower their temptations.
To strengthen your rational mind, take advantage of the small hurdles you face each day. Let’s say you walk past a sink full of dishes. The rational part of your brain encourages you to put those dishes away, but you’re tempted to procrastinate. The two forces battle for your control inside your brain, and the winner decides how you behave. In moments like these, you need to empower your rational brain. Wash those dishes right away. Don’t listen to that lazy voice in your head. Instead, listen to your rational mind, and little by little, your willpower will grow stronger.
Practice this important routine every day. At first, you’ll accomplish small chores and goals, but those goals will grow larger, until suddenly you’re chasing your lifelong ambitions. Forces like willpower, self-control, and self-discipline revolve around consistency and momentum. If you encourage rational behaviour day after day, your willpower will grow strong and disciplined, and your distractions will fade into the past.
- True Commitment
What gets you out of bed in the morning? Do you have a goal, an image, or an idea you pursue every day?
Mentally strong people begin every day with a vision in mind. It could be a vision of their future career. It could be something they want to create, learn, or teach to others. Whatever their vision, they have made a commitment to achieving that goal. Instead of chasing random opportunities, they have chosen a path, and they spend everyday pursuing that path to the best of their ability. This is an area where many people struggle.
You struggle to build strong habits because you don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish. You may not know what motivates you. You may not know what gets you out of bed in the morning. But these are questions you can answer all on your own. Choose a vision and commit to that vision each day. We call this true commitment because it’s a lifelong promise to yourself. Anyone can commit to a goal for a couple days, but only the strongest people follow through week after week.
Before you make a lifelong promise to yourself, you need to find a goal that matters to you. You may already have one in mind, or maybe there’s a goal you’re too afraid to pursue. Either way, make a true commitment. Write down your goal somewhere you can see it and remind yourself of your commitment every single day. By honouring this commitment to yourself, you not only give yourself a purpose… you inspire yourself to stay motivated for years to come.
- Understanding Emotion
Here’s an element of mental toughness that’s often neglected. Mentally strong individuals understand themselves on a deeper level. Ultimately, that’s where their mental toughness comes from. They’re strong because they know who they are. They persevere through the greatest failures because they understand what motivates them to succeed.
To cultivate a stronger mindset, try to improve your emotional intelligence. Deepen your relationship with yourself by reflecting on your values, goals, and beliefs. You can also learn emotional intelligence by connecting with others. New friends will expose you to different perspectives, novel stories, and unique experiences. Don’t be afraid to explore yourself and others, because the more you learn about the world… the stronger you will become.
- Seeking Adversity
Do you take the easy road? Do you hide inside your comfort zone? Mentally strong people are unsatisfied hiding in their personal bubbles. They want to achieve more than what they know. They want to put themselves to the test, to dive into the unknown without any idea if they’re going to succeed. Because that’s when mentally strong people do their best work. When the odds are stacked against them, a strong person creates something extraordinary. So how do you become mentally tougher?
Do things you’ve never done before. Take on challenges you never expected yourself to take. When life gives you an opportunity to do something difficult, don’t back down. Don’t take the easy road. Rise to the occasion and flourish outside of your comfort zone.
Not only is this a great way to boost your confidence, but it also teaches you to adapt to uncomfortable situations. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know what you’re doing. If you believe in your ability to adapt and succeed, you can face any obstacle with the odds on your side.
- Absolving Pity
Self-pity is a trap every single one of us has fallen into. When something goes wrong, you want to feel sorry for yourself. You want to blame others for your problems. You want to wallow in the mistakes you couldn’t control; but self-pity is the enemy of progress. By pitying yourself, you ignore your problems instead of confronting them directly.
If you want to become mentally stronger, emotional confrontation is unavoidable. Practice challenging your fears, mistakes, and weaknesses. Every time you want to run away… every time you make an excuse to avoid something difficult… turn around, grit your teeth, and lean into that challenge.
You may be afraid of failing. You may worry you’re going to make a mistake or look stupid. But don’t pity yourself. Don’t make excuses; otherwise, you will never grow as individual. Every challenge is an opportunity to become
stronger, to stand up to your fears. It does take practice to confront challenges. And it takes even more practice to avoid the trap of self-pity. But if you can face even the smallest of your fears, you’ll find yourself one step closer to real, mental strength.
- Withholding Judgment
What is the greatest waste of your time and energy? It’s not watching TV. It’s not scrolling through social media. It’s something simpler that most of the world does every day.
How often do you criticize other people?
When you see someone walking down the street, do you pinpoint their physical flaws?
Do you concentrate on everything they’re doing wrong?
When you meet someone new at work, do you make fun of them behind their backs?
Here’s something most people don’t realize about judgement and criticism. When you recognize a flaw in someone else, you’re projecting the same flaws in you. In other words, we criticize other people because their weaknesses remind us of our own. We embarrass other people for the same reason. We’re trying to distance ourselves from the flaws we cannot accept about ourselves. But judging others doesn’t resolve our problems. It creates deeper denial.
You become entrenched in your insecurities. You lose sight of your flaws and weaknesses. Worst of all… you fail to understand yourself. That’s why mentally strong people don’t judge the weaknesses of others. They don’t project their insecurities onto friends, co-workers, or even strangers. Instead, they look inward. They challenge their judgements, and they identify their weaknesses. Because your flaws are nothing to be ashamed of.
Whenever you pass judgment on another person, step back and ask yourself a very simple question:
Why do I care?
Does it matter how they look, think, or act?
Oftentimes, your judgments reflect your opinions of yourself. By examining the qualities that you criticize in others, you gain a better understanding of your own psychology.
- Emotional Humility
Mentally strong people don’t have the world figured out. They don’t possess any wisdom that you don’t have. What separates you from someone with incredible mental strength… is humility. If you want to become mentally tougher, you need to set aside your ego. Don’t worry about whether you’re right or wrong. Don’t get offended when other people correct your work. Because you don’t have it all figured out. You don’t know everything, and the sooner you swallow this simple truth… the stronger you’re going to get.
To put it simply, mentally strong people are willing to make mistakes. No one knows everything they need to know, and no one ever will. But that’s a good thing. You learn the most from your failures. You understand how to do something right by screwing up first. But there’s something even more important you need to know.
Yes, it’s valuable to accept your mistakes. But it’s essential to receive and learn from alternative views. You may not know the answer to a question, but someone else might. They may have an opinion or an idea that revolutionizes the way you think. If one habit can make you mentally tougher, it’s this.
Listen to other people. Ask for help. Don’t make every decision on your own. The world is full of people whose strengths compliment your weaknesses—people whose perspectives will expand your own. If you stay humble and collaborate with different personalities, you’ll learn more. You’ll grow faster. And you’ll find confidence in both your strengths and your weaknesses.
Thank you for reading!
credit: TopTink
