6 Unconventional and Easy Ways to Help You Become Mentally Stronger
Remember the last time you went to pieces? Wasn’t fun picking those up, was it? That time, on the road to recovery, you had promised yourself that you would do everything in your power to make yourself mentally stronger. If somehow your promise fell through, or all the things you tried didn’t make an iota of a difference, never fear.
Here are six easy-to-do tips and tricks to help you become a man (or woman) of steel – at least mentally that is.
1. Break it down
When faced with a “big” challenge, we tend to hide under the covers and visit our version of sweater town. Procrastinating will not make that challenge disappear – be it losing weight, getting a job, or becoming mentally stronger! What we need to do is break down that challenge into smaller, doable steps, and list them down in a logical order of doing.
2. Center yourself, now
In times of great stress, it helps to be mentally stronger and be Zen. This is why the yogis of yore meditated and were even able to win over basic human needs like hunger, thirst, or the need for shelter. Use a stress ball, breathe in and out, hop on one leg in private, even – do whatever it takes to center yourself and stiffen the backbone. Don’t be part of the problem, be the solution instead. Use the 4x4x4 breathing technique used by the Navy seals, the toughest bunch there ever is – breathe in for 4 seconds, breathe out for 4 seconds and do this for 4 minutes.
Better? Now get to work.
3. The silver lining
Clichéd? Sure. But so very true. When something bad happens to us, we over analyze it by asking, “why me?” We wonder what we ever did so wrong that something this bad, this unforeseen, and this challenging could happen to us. Be kind, rewind. Instead of looking at it as something bad, look at it as an obstacle that you simply have to cross. Instead of viewing it as a hurdle, turn it into a milestone. Basically, take a flashlight if you have to, and go look for that silver lining!
4. Count those blessings
On the days life knocks you on your back, pick up a journal and jot down three things that you feel grateful for. It could be something as deep as being alive, or something as basic (but cheery) as hot coffee on a cold day. It’s human to take comfort in what you have, so be thankful for it – not fearfully, but fearlessly.
Do this every day. Seriously, just write or type it down – make an excel sheet if you are more computer inclined. The power of those things that you may have been taking for granted will make you mentally stronger, one day at a time.
5. Taste your success
Visualize your completed product and eventual success to be mentally stronger. Different from just gadabout daydreaming, visualizing the successful completion of your goal in vivid Technicolor puts you in a charged and positive state of mind. It gives you a much-needed boost that makes you achieve those very dreams you thought were impossible to begin with. Instead of imagining the dastardly consequences of you not making it, visualize the wonderful fringe benefits of you being a winner! You’ll be surprised to see how much the mind can achieve, once it visualizes that achievement.
6. Surround yourself with positivity
Behind every successful person stands a group of positive people. To be mentally stronger, to be goal-oriented, you need people with positive thoughts who egg you on in a good way. Drop that end-is-nigh friend like a hot potato; you may need realists around you, but you don’t need pessimists who’ll knock that glass down just to be able to call it half empty!
So there you have six doable things that will make you mentally stronger and ready to take on the world, any time, any place. More power to you.
Featured photo credit: ObstacleRaceRevolution via static1.squarespace.com
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