Ildi Nielson’s “18 Things Mentally Strong People Do” graphic is a new and interesting way to think about mental toughness. Being mentally tough can mean different things to everyone. We often assume mentally tough people don’t let bad things affect them or are always confident no matter what; though, being mentally tough doesn’t always mean you have to be resilient or confident 24/7. In fact, taking a quick look at the graphic, words like productive, invest, and embrace is written throughout. Mental strength is a process and is something you can achieve over time, and these 18 habits can be vital in learning more about yourself too. It’s not your job to convince everyone else you’re mentally tough, and mental strength isn’t about putting on a front. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Learning more about yourself, how you respond to challenges and failures, and pushing yourself to progress are just a few of the important things that can help build mental strength.
Reflecting on Progress & Embracing Change
Progression is one of the defining factors of life. If we aren’t progressing as humans, what exactly is the point? Reflecting on how you’ve changed, whether that be within your career, your relationships, or within yourself, understanding how you’ve changed and what you’ve done to do so is vital in continued progress. Maybe you look back and realize you haven’t progressed, maybe you’ve stayed the same or even regressed. That’s okay too. What’s important is that you’re open to embracing change and looking forward to the progress you’re going to make in the future. Thinking about how and why you want to change and embracing it as it comes is vital in keeping up your mental strength.
Expend their mental energy wisely & Willing to take calculated risks
We become mentally strained and stressed when we expel a lot of mental energy. Whether we become overwhelmed with one task or ten – some things aren’t worth us draining ourselves mentally. Being overwhelmed is something that can really bog down our mental health, and finding a balance within our busy lives is vital. Prioritizing the most important things in your life is the first step to creating a better mental space for yourself.
Tolerate discomfort & Willingness to fail
We often become the best versions of ourselves when we are willing to take ourselves to uncomfortable places, and sometimes even fail. Any successful person will tell you that some risks they took in life turned out to be the best decisions they could have made. And let’s face it, a lot of the time we learn more from our mistakes than our successes. Staying within your comfort zone can often limit you and your opportunities, but once you become willing to take those risks, it’s important to accept that stepping out of your comfort zone might not always mean you’ll be one hundred percent successful. But, much of our mental toughness comes from learning how and why the risks we take succeed or fail so that we can make progress for the future.
Enjoy their time alone & Invest their energy in the present
Life is fast-paced, and we can often get lost in our busy schedules to take time for ourselves and focus on the present. Building mental strength also means taking care of your mental health. Learning how to be alone and taking time to spend time with yourself is vital in keeping you happy and healthy. Taking even ten minutes a day to spend time with yourself, and focus on the present moment, can help keep you grounded and grateful.
Accept full responsibility for past behavior & Evaluate their core beliefs
Emotional and mental maturity is vital in building mental strength. We aren’t perfect by any means, but one of the most important aspects of mental toughness is learning to accept responsibility when you’re wrong. Taking responsibility for mistakes is something we all have to do, and it can often give you an opportunity to self-reflect. In fact, self-reflection is vital as we continue to grow our mental strength, and evaluating your core beliefs can help you stay on the right track toward the goals you work for. Understanding what you believe and why can help keep your priorities on track, and ground you while also pushing you to be better.
Staying Kind & Celebrate other people’s successes
Emotional Maturity continues to be at the forefront of mental strength. Kindness is such an underrated quality within the fast-paced and self-centered world we live in. And being kind doesn’t have to mean you going out of your way to do something for someone, but even daily acts of kindness can help you and those around you enjoy their day a little more. On the other hand, kindness also reflects inward, as it’s just as important to be kind to yourself and those around you. We are often too harsh on ourselves. Recognizing how we talk to ourselves inwardly and keeping positive self-talk is a huge component in keeping mental strength up. Your outward actions matter, and it’s important to remember that it’s a good thing that other people around you are succeeding. Whether that be in the workplace or within your own personal relationships, supporting those around you when they’re doing well shows respect and emotional maturity. And you can’t expect support from others around you when you’re succeeding if you don’t celebrate their successes as well.
Keep control & Move on
Keeping control of your life can be really hard. Feeling out of control inwardly often contributes to the chaos of life outwardly. One important way to keep control is staying present, and keeping yourself out of auto-pilot mode. Day-to-day life might feel monotonous, and we often lose control when just go through the motions. Staying present, and just taking a moment to enjoy life can often help us feel in control of ourselves and feel more confident about the environments we occupy. Dwelling on any past mistakes or mishaps can often keep you bogged down. While it’s important to acknowledge your feelings and thoughts about past experiences that affected you negatively, staying in that negative headspace can inhibit you from moving forward. Moving onward and upward, and staying positive mentally will have positive and long-lasting effects on your mental health and strength.
It’s important to remember that mental strength is not achieved overnight, and mental toughness can mean different things to different people. Delving deeper into the “18 Things Mentally Strong People Do” graphic, a particular theme among these 18 Things stand out: emotional maturity. Whether we need to work on embracing change, tolerating discomfort, accepting full responsibility, or moving on, many of these subjects can be difficult to overcome. What’s most important is that you’re making progress toward the person you want to be, and building mental strength along the way. We are all going to struggle with particular components that help us build mental strength. It’s worth spending some time to understand what you do well and what you struggle with, and how you’re going to improve on the qualities you might be lacking in.
