If you want to create better success and live a more fulfilling life, then you must learn to build your mental strength and become tougher. Why? Because mentally stronger people are more resilient, able to bounce back faster, and have a stronger will to succeed. And these are the qualities of a successful individual.
Let’s face it. We all have goals to achieve and dreams to pursue.
However, achieving extraordinary results in life may not be a walk in the park. It can be difficult, but that doesn’t mean it is impossible, right?
And that’s why you want to learn to develop your mental strength so that you can overcome whatever obstacles and setbacks that you will definitely face in the journey.
Becoming mentally strong means you will have a greater ability to endure difficult situations, put yourself to work on your goals and dreams even when things are not going your way.
The question now becomes – how do you build mental strength? How do you become mentally tougher? Here are 10 tips on how you can do that…
That’s right, start with a strong, emotional, and empowering ‘why’. When your purpose is powerful, nothing can stop you.
In my article, Why “Knowing Your Why” is Important to Your Success in Life, I shared a simple analogy to help you understand better…
Imagine if I put a 10-inch wide and 30-foot long plank on the ground and ask you to walk on it and I’ll give you $50, will you do it?
Of course, it’s as easy as drinking water.
Now, what if I take the same plank and put it between two 20-story buildings, making it a “sky bridge”, will you cross it for $50?
Most people will say no. This is because the risk has been greatly increased. You can fall and you can die, right?
However, if your child is on the opposite building and that building is on fire, will you walk the plank to save him?
Without a doubt, you will cross the plank and to the other to save your child, with or without my $50, you will do it.
So why is it that you will want to cross the plank the second time and why you don’t want to do it when your child is not there?
What has changed? Well, your “why” has changed.
As you can see, your purpose or your reason for doing something is extremely important. It will directly influence your mental toughness.
When you have a strong and empowering purpose for doing something, you will do it even when things seem impossible.
But when you have a weak ‘why’, you will never do it even when things are easy.
Read this book from Simon Sinek to understand more about why finding your ‘why’ is crucial to your success:
If you want to build stronger mental health, you need to challenge yourself and do something uncomfortable from time to time.
Challenging yourself to venture out of your comfort zone is one of the fastest ways to grow your mental toughness.
Why? Because you are training your mind to see problems and things that are uncomfortable to you, but you do it anyway. That will expand your comfort zone and make you someone mentally tougher.
One of the most challenging things that people can do is admit they have a problem and ask for help. Maybe they drink too much, eat too much or have more serious problems like a substance abuse disorder.
People trapped in a cycle of addiction can find it hard to get out because it is easier to remain addicted than to do the hard work of getting help. But, addiction can be life-threatening.
Even though it may seem like it, going to a rehab center does not have to be difficult. People may be scared and have questions like how long does rehab last and how much does it cost? The thing is that there is no concrete alcoholism recovery timeline. Rehab can take as long as you need it to last. But what is rehab for than to challenge yourself and find out what you are capable of doing?
Here are a couple of things you can challenge yourself to do:
Here’s a good article you should read: 15 Ways How to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone and Live Great
Becoming mentally stronger doesn’t need to always come from within, you can also change your environment and surrounding so that you can set yourself up to win.
One of the most underrated factors of success is the environment you’re in.
When people succeed, they credited things like habits, willpower, motivation, and networks. And when they fail, they blame everything. Most people don’t realize that their surroundings actually affect their moods, emotions, and ultimately, their successes too.
Learn to build an environment that makes you successful. Here are some examples:
Do you now see how your environment and surroundings can help you become mentally tougher?
When your environment is supportive, you don’t have to tax your willpower and motivation and feel exhausted.
This will keep your mental energy high and so with your momentum. You are setting yourself up to succeed.
Read: 9 Tips How to Change Your Environment for Greater Motivation
I believe you have heard about the Marshmallow Experiment before. Kids who delayed gratification were given 2 marshmallows instead of 1. And the study discovered that those kids who delayed gratification were able to do better in life in almost every area.
When you train yourself to delay gratification, you are flexing your mental muscle and making them stronger.
It is an exchange of short-term discomfort for long-term rewards.
Think about people who spend their future money, like taking loans or using the credit card for expensive purchases just for instant gratification. These people are doing it backward by exchanging their future for short-term gain.
On the contrary, people who delayed gratification, people who choose to endure the short-term discomfort for future rewards, tend to be more successful.
For instance, saying no to a bowl of hot chocolate fudge now will keep your body in shape in the long term.
The same with investment. If you choose to save your extra money and invest it, you will have an increase in net worth. But if you choose to spend the extra money, you will never have it anymore.
Read: Why Delayed Gratification is Important to Your Success
Another way to become mentally strong is to learn to manage your thoughts through reframing.
Negative thinking is common. You will experience negative emotions and thoughts every day, but the key is not in avoiding them, but in learning how to cope with them.
One way to do so is to reframe its meaning.
For instance, if you constantly think that you are going to fail, you have already convinced yourself you will.
So, you want to avoid this kind of negative mentality and replace it with something positive and empowering.
Rather than thinking, “I’m going to fail”, or “I can’t make it”, change your thinking to “I can do this”, or “I’m destined for bigger success”.
Reframing your thoughts may not be easy. First, you need to be aware of your thoughts. Whenever you feel you are negative, you need to change it. Don’t let yourself wander in the sea of negativity because it will affect every area of your life.
Either you change your thinking, or you reframe the event or situation with a different meaning. Rather than looking at a problem as a roadblock, look at it as an opportunity. Ask yourself, “What can I learn from this?” Or “How can I benefit from this?”
Here’s a great guide you should check out: 3 Fundamental Principles How to Turn Failure Into Success
The next tip to increase your mental toughness is to make friends and network with people who are more successful and better than you.
Birds of the same feather flock together. If you want to fly with the eagles, stop swimming with the ducks.
Extraordinary people make friends with other extraordinary people. That’s how things work. And if you want to become great, you have to make friends with great people too.
This is easy to understand – your conversation will influence the way you think.
And if you make friends and spend time with other successful people, their thinking patterns and beliefs will influence you. As a result, you will think and act as they do.
According to National Institute on Drug Abuse, teens whose best friends drink alcohol are twice as likely to try alcohol themselves.
Friend factor plays an important role in shaping who you are and what you do in life. If you surround yourself with people who smoke, you are more likely to smoke too.
And what if you surround yourself with mentally tougher people, people who are more successful than you?
You know the answer – You‘ll become more successful too.
Do you know that reading is one of the easiest ways to build mental strength? When you read, you are focusing on the words. You can’t multitask while reading. When you read, you will have to put 100% focus on the words because your mind needs to interpret the meaning of those words.
You can’t talk while reading. You can’t sing while reading too. You can only do it one thing at a time.
This is why reading is a great way to build mental strength.
Besides, reading helps increase your knowledge. The more you read, the more you will learn. And the more you learn, the more places you can go.
Agree?
Therefore, schedule time for reading. Make it a commitment to read at least 30 minutes every day.
Read: Why Do You Need to Read Books and the Benefits of It
Do you know that exercise not only benefits your physical body but also builds your mental muscle as well?
According to research, exercise improves mental health by reducing anxiety, depression, and negative mood and by improving self-esteem and cognitive function.2 Exercise has also been found to alleviate symptoms such as low self-esteem and social withdrawal.
And if you read this book from Laura Vanderkam, What The Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, you will notice that most successful people spend their time exercising before they go to work.
In the book, Vanderkam wrote, “These are incredibly busy people. If they make time to exercise, it must be important.”
So, if extraordinary people like Richard Branson, Disney’s CEO Bog Iger, Jack Dorsey, and more, spend their morning exercising, don’t you think it is an important habit to do so as well?
I know you have heard about this a gazillion times, but meditation and being mindfulness are great methods to increase your mental strength.
The Mental Health Foundation says:
“Mindfulness is a way of paying attention to the present moment, using techniques like meditation, breathing, and yoga. It helps us become more aware of our thoughts and feelings so that, instead of being overwhelmed by them, we’re better able to manage them.”
The more mindful you are of your thoughts, the more you understand how you think, and as a result, you’re able to better manage your thoughts.
When you master your thoughts, you can master your life. You will become mentally stronger when you are more mindful of what goes into your head.
But how do you practice mindfulness? Meditation is one great way. And here are 4 tips from MayoClinic:
The last tip I want to share with you on growing your mental toughness is about getting rid of self-limiting beliefs.
You see, elephants are big and strong animals. In fact, elephants are the biggest and strongest mammals on land. But because of limiting beliefs, elephants can be chained by a puny leash and believed they can never escape.
Are you acting like an elephant? Stop being leashed by your own limiting beliefs. When you get rid of the beliefs that limit your potential, you can create breakthroughs in your life.
Most people are living in mediocrity because they choose to believe that they can’t amount to much. They have limiting beliefs that say, “It is too difficult”, “It is impossible”, or “I cannot do it”.
Once you get rid of these limiting beliefs, you will become unstoppable.
And this is why I suggest you attend this workshop and learn how to manage fear and uncertainty. By the way, the workshop is free.
These are the 10 tips on how you can increase your mental strength and become tougher.
Remember, the journey to success may not be easy, but when you have a stronger mentality, you can overcome almost anything. That’s why these tips are important.
Build your mental toughness and you will achieve greater success in life.
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