How To Become Mentally Stronger In Life: 10 Ways

 

Keeping your head straight becomes unbelievably difficult in a world where you’re constantly being pressured to succeed, change, and grow. Mental strength seems impossible to achieve when competitors are better than you, you are at risk of failure, and you fear the possibility of a challenge that could destroy everything you have worked for. When adversity abounds, how does one keep faith in oneself and one’s abilities? A person’s strength and confidence might seem to be innate, but these are all qualities that can be cultivated. The answer… lies in the little things. Read on to find out exactly how you can become the kind of mentally strong person you’ve always admired…

 

1.       Take Responsibility For Your Actions

There is something you can learn from the greatest success stories you’ll read: the sharpest people don’t give themselves any slack when it comes to themselves. Putting blame on others for failures you are responsible for may seem like a good way to save your skin at the time, but in the long run, it doesn’t work for you at all. It is important to look back at what you have already achieved and the things for which you are responsible if you are to fortify yourself and actually try to do better. As long as you make that habit, you’re less likely to get intimidated by catastrophes.

 

2.       Take A Risk And Step Outside Of Your Comfort Zone

When you feel the most secure within a three-kilometre mental radius, things are always great. However, staying within that mental radius sets you up for failure. Whenever you don’t know what you’re doing or experiencing, you’re completely thrown and it takes its toll on your mind. Start by frightening yourself with little things–and build up from there. Take your first solo trip, learn how to do your taxes with CA, ask to take on a task outside your purview at work; nothing’s too small.

 

3.       Take A Look At Your Mistakes And Analyze Them

Mentally strong and successful people also break down the mistakes they make. Making mistakes is part of life, but how you deal with those mistakes is what matters. The more you run away from your mistakes, the more likely you are to make them again and lose more confidence. Instead, look back and figure out where you went wrong instead of running away. Next time you find yourself in a similar situation, you will be much more confident about what to do.

 

4.       Learn How To Say ‘No’

The act of pleasing others seems natural to most of us non-confrontational folks, but nothing can be more damaging to your mental health. If you say yes to challenges, you might succeed (and we’ll talk about that later), but saying yes to everyone all the time is terrible. Get into the habit of saying ‘no’. You’ll quickly become known for your inability to turn things down and find yourself overloaded with other people’s demands. It’s been said to you a thousand times before, hasn’t it?

 

5.       Don’t Waste Time And Energy On Toxic Friends And Relationships

It’s not just toxic people who waste your time, but they drain your energy and emotional bandwidth as well. As we grow older, certain people become our ‘weaknesses’ and quickly learn to exploit those vulnerabilities. You’re the one who must separate the wheat from the chaff. Think of it like cleaning the fridge, with more friendship and relationship components. You’ll find many things have gone bad, and shouldn’t be in the fridge anymore, but you haven’t had time to do so. Your mental and physical space will be freed up for the things that matter.

 

6.       Identify Your Weaknesses And Accept Them

The art of knowing and playing to your strengths is a well-known one, but it is equally important to know and take into account your weaknesses. Thinking you are invincible will only set you up for a higher fall, which is then difficult to mentally recover from. Smartest, strongest minds in a room often know exactly what they’re good at and what they’re not, so they can plan accordingly. If you do not believe something exists, then you cannot work on it.

 

7.       Maintain Control Over Your Emotions

There is no doubt that getting emotional is the most human thing in the world. However, what becomes disruptive is letting those emotions steer you in the wrong direction. It’s not about becoming a feelingless robot that doesn’t care about anything; rather, it’s about controlling your feelings so they dictate how you act. In the same way that others may feel things, mentally strong people will keep those feelings in check when making tough choices.

 

8.       Make A List Of What You Need To Accomplish

Mountain tops might seem daunting and insurmountable from afar, but when you get close, they seem like simply a big piece of rock you need to scale, and as you climb, you succeed. The worthwhile challenges are always big and scary, but you won’t be able to rise to them if you look at them as one daunting whole. Instead, break them down into smaller steps and tackle them one by one.

 

9.       Set New Goals Every Day

It is simple to say; complacency kills strength. As with physical strength, mental strength also requires rungs to climb. For example, when you master lifting 10 kilograms of weights in the gym, you progress to lifting 15 kilograms and then 20 kilograms. It’s not so different with mental tenacity; every big challenge you conquer makes you stronger; and you’re able to take on a greater one the next time. Instead of sitting back and believing you’ve reached your limit, set new goals for yourself instead of sitting back and believing you’ve reached it.

 

10.   Face Your Fears And Plan For Them

Getting over your fear, or thinking you are not capable of it, is the most normal feeling in the world. That’s the quote by Nelson Mandela that sums it up; courage is not the absence of fear, but the victory over it. In contrast to the people who seem unafraid and tackle the world, the former do not shy away from acknowledging and dealing with their fear. Consider the worst possible outcome if you try–and will it really be worse than if you don’t try at all? Dismantle your fear and ask yourself: What is the worst possible outcome if you don’t try?