You become mentally stronger by taking care of yourself and also working on a number of character traits. The result? You feel good about yourself and can perform better in the workplace.
In this article, you can read everything you want to know about mental strength and becoming mentally stronger:
- What is Mental Power?
- What are the basic conditions to be mentally strong?
- How can you become mentally stronger?
What is Mental Power?
Mental strength helps you stay afloat when life challenges you. Being mentally strong means you can manage your feelings, thoughts, and behavior. You take control and do whatever it takes to achieve your goals.
Mental strength has to do with resilience. You can take a beating. If something unexpected comes your way, you know how to face it at that moment. The right coping strategies ensure that you can deal with the situation in the moment. And when the situation is over, your mental resilience allows you to bounce back so that you can pick up the thread again.
Mental strength is a big component of a strong character. In a blog article about strong characters, we showed that people with strong character possess resilience, perseverance, discipline, courage, integrity, optimism, and independence. You can also see a number of these character traits in the set of traits associated with being mentally strong.
Being mentally strong comes from:
- Leadership: taking control, taking responsibility, and setting boundaries
- Discipline: self-discipline and self-control
- Optimism: realistically positive attitude towards life
- Resilience: Take and bounce back, and have relationships to fall back on
- Perseverance: persisting and enduring
- Self-confidence: self-knowledge, specific skills
What are the Basic Conditions to be Mentally Strong?
In addition to the set of qualities you need to be mentally strong, there are important basic conditions. The better you meet those basic conditions, the better you are able to be mentally strong in life.
The basic conditions to be mentally strong:
01. Sleep
Lack of sleep has a significant impact on your mental well-being. Sleep deprivation affects the functioning of your brain: your memory becomes weaker, you have difficulty expressing yourself, your reaction time decreases, and your decision-making ability deteriorates.
It also impairs your sense of time and space. Being mentally strong becomes much more challenging when you are (chronically) tired. Therefore, ensure an adequate amount of sleep to be better equipped to handle your day.
02. Nutrition
A well-rested body isn’t enough. Healthy nutrition also plays a major role. When you consume an adequate amount of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, you’ll have more energy and better physical resilience.
Your physical condition impacts your mental state. So, when you eat healthily, you’re automatically working on your mental strength.
03. Exercise and training
In addition to getting enough sleep and eating healthily, your physical fitness is also important. The best way to stay fit is to incorporate enough exercise into your daily routine. There are hundreds of blogs written about this, so we’ll limit ourselves to the tip of moving daily (e.g. taking a walk or cycling), getting up regularly if you have a sedentary job, and doing strength training exercises 2 to 3 times a week. At home or at the gym, whichever suits you.
04. Breathing
Lastly, we mention breathing as a fundamental requirement. This might seem obvious, as without oxygen, you wouldn’t last long. What we actually mean is that with calm breathing, you can lower your stress levels.
A frazzled mind is too busy to be mentally strong and balanced. That’s why stress management is a foundational aspect, and calm breathing is the quickest way to reduce your stress levels. Try to take 4 deep breaths and exhale as long as possible. Bet you’ll feel a positive difference?
How Can You Become Mentally Stronger?
Anyone who wants to achieve something in life needs discipline, perseverance, resilience, and self-confidence. Plus a dose of optimism to overcome setbacks and leadership skills to keep control of your own life. How can you become mentally stronger would be a nice lesson for a primary school in that regard. You will reap the benefits for a lifetime.
Where do you start if you find that a lack of mental strength is getting in the way of your career growth?
Getting mentally stronger takes time and attention. That starts with good sleep, healthy eating, enough exercise, and rest in your head. Because then you are fit enough to use your mental strength at all.
But what else can you do to stimulate mental strength? Are there exercises to become mentally stronger? We have listed a number of tips to develop mental strength:
01. Think Positive
Train yourself to see the positive sides of every negative situation. And if you really can’t think of anything good, know that everything will pass by itself and after rain, there will always be sunshine.
The first and most important tip is that you have to believe in yourself. Even when things go wrong.
As long as you think positively, you radiate strength and confidence. You know that a solution can be found for many problems.
And the good thing is: that positive energy also comes back to you. That’s because it’s contagious. People around you also tend to show their best side more quickly. Nice prospect, right?
02. Stop Complaining and Putting the Blame Outside Yourself
Choosing the victim role is a sign of mental weakness. So stay away! Getting mentally stronger lifts a positive attitude and taking responsibility.
03. Accept your shortcomings
No one is good at everything and everyone makes mistakes. Let go of unrealistic expectations about yourself and embrace the art of failure. Becoming mentally stronger has nothing to do with being perfect, but everything with self-knowledge and knowing where your strengths and weaknesses lie and accepting them.
04. Take control
Don’t wait and see, but take the initiative and take responsibility for your actions. And remember: problems are there to be solved.
Mental strength arises when you take full control of your own life. Not everything can be directed. However, you can decide for yourself how to deal with difficult situations.
Do they happen to you or do you take responsibility for resolving them as far as possible?
When you adopt a constructive, active attitude, you automatically feel stronger mentally. Even if you don’t get the result you hoped for. You still did everything you could to move on.
05. Set Boundaries to Yourself
Determine where your limits are and guard them. Setting boundaries will make you mentally stronger (after all, it takes courage to say ‘no’). An additional advantage is that you command respect when it becomes clear that you will not be walked over and say ‘yes’ to all the rotten chores and overtime.
06. Set Boundaries With Others
That direction is not only important when it comes to yourself. Even if others threaten to cross your boundaries, you must respond adequately.
Setting clear boundaries benefits both you and the other person. The other knows where he stands, while your self-confidence grows. You regain the sense of control and self-esteem. You matter!
Self-esteem is the basic ingredient for growing mental strength.
07. Do What You’re Good At
It costs you less energy, you enjoy what you do and it boosts your self-confidence.
Do you remember when you used to have to prepare those difficult tests for the subject you were least good at? You’ve probably felt like the klutz in class.
Of course, it’s fine to improve a little on the things you find difficult. The problem is: that you only have one energy jar.
If you put all your energy into difficult, less fun things, little energy will come out of it.
Therefore, develop the things you are good at. They not only give you energy but also success experiences and therefore self-confidence.
08. Do What You Are Not (Yet) Good At
Pushing your limits every now and then, trying new things, making mistakes, and learning from them are excellent opportunities to train your mental strength.
09. Don’t Waste Time Worrying
Ruminating is a typical example of unnecessary energy wastage. You keep mulling over and over, unable to let go of your thoughts. Meanwhile, you’re not making any progress on your journey to finding solutions for your problems at home or work.
Don’t get me wrong: reflecting on difficulties is fine. A constructive thinking process brings you closer to a solution. However, ruminating is not constructive. You’re just replaying negative scenarios and all possible consequences.
In short: stop worrying, and start thinking constructively. You become so much stronger for it.
Worrying never brings you to a solution. Think constructively.
10. Reflect Regularly
Regularly look back at the day or an event. What happened, what did you do and what can you learn from it for the future?
11. Improve Your Relationships
Mentally strong people don’t do it all alone either. They can build and rely on a small group of people with whom they have a meaningful relationship. That connection with others helps to reflect on situations and process events and ensures relaxation and pleasure.
12. Collect Inspiration
What inspires you? If you want to develop a healthy body, you need a healthy diet. The same goes for a healthy mind. You need healthy thoughts.
Inspiration is the source of nourishment for healthy thoughts. How often do you get inspired? What do you get energy from? Surround yourself with inspiring books, audiotapes, quotes, and people. You could see all these things together as a course to become mentally stronger.
Make it a habit to spend time on inspiration. More inspiration means more mental strength. And only in this way can you become stronger and tougher in life.
13. Celebrate Small Moments of Success
Every day, reflect on small actions you’ve taken towards your goals. A running workout, your first written sentences for a blog, a moment of meditation or a few pages read from a book.
No matter how small the moment, enjoy it. Everyone has a small moment of success every day. However small. Even if it’s just a small smile for the fact that you don’t think you’ve had a moment of success today. Celebrate it!
By giving yourself a small reward every day, you develop more discipline. Learn discipline? Change your behavior with this 1-minute strategy.
14. Keep Your Own Promises
This tip is also one of the 3 Most Powerful Mindset Exercises for More Mental Energy. Increase your mental resilience by keeping promises to yourself.
Do you want to go to the gym three times a week? Do it. Do you want to meditate every day? Do it. Do you want to eat healthier? Do it.
Doing things you want to do will strengthen your mental status faster than you think. You get more confidence, more focus, and a better mindset.
15. Use the past as a lesson for the future
“Past performance is no guarantee of future results.” You’ve probably heard that statement. Yet you can learn a lot from your own past.
How did you deal with difficult situations before? Was the outcome successful? In particular, ask yourself which decisions from your past have worked out well. Not necessarily in the short term, but especially in the long term.
The difficult points on your future life path may not be exactly the same as those of the past, but they are often comparable. So feel free to use your own life path as a teacher.
16. Do Things Alone More Often
Do you want to be stronger in your shoes? Then look yourself up more often. Without others, your smartphone or other distractions. Just you and yourself.
For example, take a walk in the woods, meditate, or find silence somewhere. You will notice that it makes you calm, but also more powerful.
Traveling alone has a similar effect. It doesn’t have to be far or long. During such a trip you are really on your own. You decide where you go and when you eat your lunch.
More importantly, even in the event of problems, you are on your own. Not always fun, but very good for your self-confidence. Because whatever choices you make, they are yours.
17. Copy the Art of Others
Are you not managing to get the self-confidence out of yourself? Then take a look around you. Which people come across as powerful? Who is in balance?
Talk to these people about the path they took to come to their powerful selves.
- What was their starting point?
- What did they do to get where they are today?
- What things could also work for you?
Sharing knowledge only makes the world a better place. So don’t be afraid to ‘imitate’ people. Think of it as a stepping stone to the improved version of yourself.
18. Turn problems into challenges
Problems are more often than not fixable. As long as you use the right mindset. Therefore, always ask yourself two things when you encounter a problem:
- How can I solve the problem?
- If a problem cannot be solved, how can I make my situation more acceptable?
In both cases, you take matters into your own hands. You decide what your life looks like. And if you get strength from something…
You become mentally stronger yourself
It may have become clear to you that only you can make yourself mentally stronger. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t use help, but the core is in you.
All these tips are to observe mentally strong people and learn from how they approach life, look at situations, and what strategies they use to deal with difficult situations.
Get started with these tips and let me know which one helped you the most!
