You’ve probably identified some mentally strong people at some point, and others who are mentally weak, right? But… have you ever wondered what this means? Mentally strong people are those who do not let others influence them, who know who they are, and who are proud of their personality. Mentally strong people know themselves and do not let others change them.
Maybe you don’t know if you are strong or not, or maybe you are looking for a way to become one. Today you will learn ten things that mentally strong people do. We hope it will help you become very strong!
Remember that the strongest trees grow against the wind.
#01. They know when to say ‘no’
Something very difficult for many people, because we have learned to always say ‘yes’. If we don’t do this, we think people will find us rude, or perhaps even unfriendly. Our desire to be accepted makes us yes-men.
You have to learn that saying ‘no’ is not a negative thing. You have every right in the world to refuse to do something or to admit that you don’t feel like doing something. It’s hard to say ‘no’. What if you start today by refusing to do something you don’t want to do?
#02. Different view
To boost your mental strength you simply need to change your outlook on life. When the going gets tough, mentally strong people suffer just as much as the rest. The difference is that they understand that you can also learn many valuable lessons from difficult moments. Ultimately, it is those lessons that give you the strength you need to succeed.
Ultimately, Duckworth concludes, developing mental strength is nothing more than regularly doing the things no one else wants to do. If you don’t do the following things regularly, you should do them. Because they are exactly what mentally strong people do.
#03. They embrace the future
Mentally strong people know that failure equals experience, and every experience is a new way of knowing what we did well, what we did not do well, and what we need to do to move forward.
Without failures, there is no success. Without failures, we stand still. Without failure we are overconfident.
Sometimes success looks like a big failure. Don’t regret it before you have to. Have faith.
#04. Fight when things get tough
You have to fight when you just feel defeated. A good example is Muhammed Ali. A reporter once asked the boxer how many sit-ups he did every day. Ali replied that he did not know. “I don’t count my sit-ups, I just start counting as soon as it starts to hurt. Because that’s when it matters when it hurts.”
The same goes for success at work: you have two choices when the going gets tough: you grow beyond the obstacle and become mentally stronger. Or you let it beat you. People are creatures of habit. If you always stop when things get difficult, it will be so much easier to stop again next time. On the other hand, if you persevere, you have just taught your mind that success is possible if you keep going. When you push yourself through a challenge, no matter how difficult, your mental strength grows.
#05. Procrastinate
That seems like a fact that doesn’t suit goal-getters, but what exactly you postpone is your enjoyment. Postponing work is a bad idea. But people with the greatest mental strength are masters at delaying gratification, making it a habit.
An experiment at Stanford University in which children were put in a room with a marshmallow shows this. The children sat alone in a room with a marshmallow, under camera supervision, for fifteen minutes. Before the researchers left, they told the children that if they could wait to eat the marshmallow, they would get two afterward.
The result of the study was impressive: the children who could wait for the researcher to return had a better life. They achieved higher test results, more success in their careers, and even a lower Body Mass Index. The point behind the research is that children who make a habit of delaying their pleasure are more successful.
Being able to do that is a sign of mental strength: you must therefore be willing to put effort into your project.
#06. Their happiness does not depend on others
We believe that to be happy, others must be happy too. In short, our happiness always depends on others. This is a big mistake. Your happiness is yours, and yours alone. If you let others depend on you, you will find yourself drowning in emotional ups and downs. This will make you feel unhappy and frustrated. Happiness is within you. Still don’t see it? Then do a good search…
#07. Make mistakes – and then try again
One of the habits that mentally strong people have is that they are not afraid of making mistakes. That means you should actually get in the habit of falling on your face and then get back up and try again. Being afraid of making mistakes is perfectly normal, but people who make a habit of making mistakes know that there are also positive sides, that failure is rarely as bad as it seems, and that you just learn from it.
A study at the University of William and Mary shows that the most successful entrepreneurs share two critical characteristics and habits. That study interviewed 800 people, the majority of whom had a hard time imagining themselves failing. That doesn’t mean they had a hard time with it: they just didn’t think failure was necessarily going to happen.
A second characteristic of successful entrepreneurs is that they do not care what other people think of them. In other words, the most successful entrepreneurs don’t have the habit of stressing about failure: they see it as a small but necessary step in the process of achieving their goals.
#08. They take the positive out of negative things
There’s no point in being a drama queen. We always attach more importance to the negative things that happen to us, but are they negative? Mentally strong people know that they can get something positive out of every negative event. That something is always there, but you can’t see it. Open your eyes. We learn from the negative, we learn from it…
To see the rainbow, you first have to go out into the rain.
#09. Keep your emotions under control
It may sound bizarre, but negative emotions mainly mean that you strain your mental strength every second. Of course, it is not possible and even inadvisable to completely block your emotions, but it is advisable to control them a little. When you let your emotions take over your rational mind, it is very easy to let go of your determination.
For example, being bad-tempered can cause you to get angry over the smallest things. That in turn can cause you to deviate from your goal. But high peaks in your emotions can also harm you: they can give you too much self-confidence and make impulsive decisions. To combat this, keeping your emotions somewhat under control is a good habit.
#10. They resist fear
Mentally strong people recognize fear as an emotion, but they know it can be paralyzing. This is why mentally strong people resist fear and use it to their advantage. They use fear to resist and overcome themselves in all aspects that they fear. They test themselves! That is the way they become strong, the way they gain mental strength.
#11. Make the decisions you’re afraid to make
Choosing is losing, they say, but that is not the case at all. On the contrary: whoever does not choose loses the potential of both options. Sometimes we know we have to do things because it is the best choice in the long term, but we don’t want to or dare. A dismissal, calling a strange person, working through the night because someone fell ill, or even dropping a project completely to keep the rest of the company afloat: sometimes these decisions just have to be made.
The most important thing to remember in this kind of situation is that you have to make certain decisions anyway: not choosing means losing. By postponing a decision, you often do not come to different conclusions, you have simply escalated the situation. So step away from the emotional component of the decision and just make it. Afterwards, you just have to execute.
#12. They are emotionally intelligent
They can understand and identify emotions, something that is extremely difficult. These are people who have a lot of empathy. Do you know how to control your emotions? Do you know how to recognize them and use them to your advantage? If so, maybe you too are emotionally intelligent.
Emotionally intelligent people know how to express their emotions.
#13. They trust their gut feeling
How do you make the right decisions? Once you have all the information, let it sink in for a moment and ask yourself: what does my gut feeling say? Often there is no one right decision anyway: it is a matter of how you interpret the facts and what your preferences are. But someone has to make the decisions and in this case, you are the right person for the job.
So trust your gut feeling. If the facts don’t provide a clear direction (and to be clear, look at the data in front of you first) then each choice has its pros and cons. Then go for the project you believe in the most. Trust in your ability to make the right decision. Mentally strong people know that mistakes can happen, but rely on the fact that they have the skills to make the right decisions.
#14. They are confident in their abilities
We are human and at any time our self-confidence can be dented. Are we sure we can do what we want? Can we make it happen? Emotionally intelligent people have confidence in themselves at all times and do not allow their self-confidence to be destroyed. Self-confidence is important if we want to be strong.
#15. Focus on the details
Detailed data, such as long data series, gives most people pause. Especially when you are tired, your mental strength is tested. Mentally strong people are challenged by this kind of detailed work, they are not afraid of it, on the contrary.
Often we don’t want to look at the fine print because we think the task ahead is too difficult. But mentally strong people make it a habit to appear strong just then. They know that there is important data in those details and will then show their strongest side by focusing on the details.
#16. They neutralize toxic people
Toxic people are all around us and sometimes they cause a transformation within us, turning us into something we don’t want to be. If you are emotionally strong, you will know how to neutralize toxic people.
All you need is confidence in yourself and the strength and pride necessary to distance yourself from them and stand up to them if necessary. Don’t let yourself be overwhelmed by them, by toxic people.
Some people are like clouds: when they disappear, the day becomes brighter.
#17. Be kind, even to rude people
How tempting can it be to look for a good comeback against someone who just showed their worst side to you? A sarcastic sneer or a well-placed verbal slap in return may be helpful, but someone who is mentally strong does not need that. Mentally strong people do not allow themselves to be walked over, but they also do not lower their level to the level of unfriendly individuals.
Even more: those who are mentally strong make it a habit to treat everyone kindly as a standard. The golden rule is clear: be kind to others, and treat them as you would like to be treated. And don’t allow other people’s negativity to affect your mood or day. You can’t change others, but you can have an impact on how you handle situations.
#18. They accept change
Sometimes we are afraid of change, of leaving our comfort zone, because that is scary. But emotionally strong people know that all changes are positive. Don’t be afraid of the unknown, because every change means something good. You just have to see it. Open your eyes, accept changes… Accept being a mentally strong person.
