Your thoughts greatly influence how you feel and behave. In fact, your inner monologue has a tendency to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
If you quit every time you face a new challenge, giving up can change how you view yourself. You may begin to think you're weak or that you're a failure because you can't seem to stick with things long enough to see positive results.
A lot of problems stem from a desire to avoid discomfort. For example, people who fear failure often avoid new challenges in an effort to keep anxiety at bay. Avoiding emotional discomfort, however, is usually a short-term solution that leads to long-term problems.
The more you practice tolerating discomfort, the more confidence you'll gain in your ability to accept new challenges.
Resilient people aren't afraid to admit they have weaknesses. Whether an effective leader acknowledges problems within an organization, or an individual recognizes areas in need of personal growth, resilient people use failure as an opportunity to spot their weaknesses.
When it comes to physical strength, someone may have a stronger upper body than lower body, or a stronger right arm compared to the left arm. Similarly, we're likely to excel in some areas of mental strength while struggling with others.
People with a mental illness aren't mentally weak. In fact, many of them are incredibly strong. And just like everyone else, they possess the ability to create positive change in their lives.
Positive thinking is a valuable tool that can help you overcome obstacles, deal with pain, and reach new goals.
Somewhere along the line, positive thinking seems to have been confused with magical thinking. There's a notion that if you think positively enough, you can make anything happen by using the power of your mind. All the positive thinking in the world won't deliver good fortune or prevent tragedy from striking.
Thinking things like, 'I will never get hired for this job,' or 'Nobody ever listens to me,' can alter your behavior in a way that makes those predictions come true.
Mental strength requires a three-pronged approach - managing our thoughts, regulating our emotions, and behaving productively despite our circumstances. While all three areas can be a struggle, it's often our thoughts that make it most difficult to be mentally strong.
Building mental strength is about learning to regulate your thoughts, manage your emotions, and behave productively despite whatever circumstances you find yourself in.
Idealizing the reality of past romances won't do you any favors as you face Valentine's Day alone.
Being stuck in a rut can kill your creativity, stress you out, and zap your productivity. Doing the same thing over and over again causes your days to blend together.
We all have vulnerabilities that can sidetrack us from reaching our goals. Recognize the times when you're most likely to give into temptation, and make it harder for a single moment of weakness to sabotage your best efforts.
Just because you're struggling with self-discipline doesn't mean you have to raise the white flag and declare your self-improvement efforts a complete failure. Instead, work to increase the chances that you'll stick to your healthier habits - even when you don't feel like it.
Feeling sad or lonely isn't a bad thing. But those emotions increase the risk that you'll cross the line into self-pity.
Whether you want to exercise more often, or you're hoping to become debt-free, real change happens in stages. Slow and steady progress is great - as long as you're taking steps in the right direction.
Acting tough is all about developing an attitude and a persona that says, 'Look at how great I am.' But often, that tough exterior is meant to hide self-doubt. Mentally strong people invest more energy into working on their weaknesses rather than trying to cover them up.
Mentally strong people don't shy away from change - nor do they expect immediate results.
