Mental toughness is about your habits, not your motivation!
Some people seem to quickly bounce back from personal failures and setbacks or do you find yourself completely overwhelmed with little confidence in your ability to deal with the challenge? Our resilience is often tested when life circumstances change unexpectedly and for the worse — such as the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, or the end of a relationship. Such challenges, however, present the opportunity to rise above and come back even stronger than you were before. Do not confuse being mentally strong with acting tough.
Mental Strength is the capacity of an individual to deal effectively with stressors, pressures and challenges and perform to the best of their ability, irrespective of the circumstances in which they find themselves (Clough, 2002).
It’s great to talk about mental toughness, grit, and perseverance, but the question has to be raised what do those things actually look like in the real world?
Habits of Mentally Strong People
Mental toughness is an abstract quality, but in the real world it's tied to concrete actions. You can't magically think your way to becoming mentally tough, you prove it to yourself by doing something in real life. According to Forbes the following is the top seven habits of mentally strong people.
They have a proactive approach to life.
They move on from things they can not control.
They embrace the unexpected and make the best of it.
They look at the past, but they live and enjoy the present while planning for the future.
They calculate risks.
They do not gossip.
They are kind.
Mental Toughness, refers to the ability to stay strong in the face of adversity; to keep your focus and determination despite the difficulties you encounter. A mentally tough individual sees challenge and adversity as an opportunity and not a threat, and has the confidence and positive approach to take what comes in their stride (Strycharczyk, 2015).
Mental toughness begins when you choose to take notice of what’s passing through your mind, without identifying personally with those thoughts or feelings. Then, finding the determination to evoke optimistic thoughts about the situation at hand.
According to Strycharczyk and Cloughe (n.d.), techniques for developing mental toughness revolve around five themes:
Positive Thinking
Anxiety Control
Visualization
Goal Setting
Attentional Control
Optimal mental health helps us to live a life that we love, have meaningful social connections, and positive self-esteem. It also aids in our ability to take risks, try new things, and cope with any difficult situations that life may throw at us.
Learn to Become Resilient for Life?
If you want to become resilient for life, it’s best to start with building your resilience in the present moment! The silver lining to experiencing adverse life events is that the more you are able to flex your resiliency muscle, the better you will be able to bounce back again the next time life throws you a curve ball! If you feel like you need professional support to start your journey to becoming mor resilient in life, contact me via email at drantonkruger@gmail.com, alternatively Skype consultations can be arranged.
