Your mind is your most powerful weapon. Use it.
Mental strength is one of the most common traits of happy and successful people.
Life can be tough, and at least from time to time, we all face significant challenges. In those moments, our attitude and the strength of our mind decide whether we fall or rise.
Mentally strong people have inner peace and can emotionally detach from harmful situations. They don’t get involved in drama and negativity but instead keep a fresh mind. They often take the step outside of their comfort zones and continuously develop themselves in order to cope with new challenges.
For many years, I was awfully sensible and lacked mental strength. I put too much weight on what others thought or said, and I was overwhelmed whenever I faced new challenges. Instead of seeing the opportunities that arose, I feared the possible negative outcomes.
I realized how the journey to mental toughness is a long one. In fact, it’s a continuous process that never ends, but it’s totally worth it.
Here are eight similarities that mentally strong people share and how you can apply them:
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They enjoy their time alone
You are the most important person in your life. Period.
Therefore, getting along with yourself very well makes sense, right?
Most people would rather starve instead of sitting in a restaurant all alone.
Being alone means being undisturbed and having space for your thoughts, regrets, and fears. That’s precisely what most people fear, as suppressing our honest thoughts is much easier when we are around people.
Mentally strong people don’t only accept but enjoy their me-time. They actively seek alone-time to be able to fully concentrate on themselves without disturbances.
For mentally powerful people, being by oneself is not just an add-on, but a must-have. By being alone, they practice self-reflection and align themselves with their biggest visions.
They are not afraid to face their fears or even their faults but instead honestly reflect on all their lessons.
How to do it:
At first, spending time alone might seem weird, but you will get used to it quickly.
The good news is you don’t need to go outside and spend time in a restaurant. You can simply schedule some me-time at home.
Instead of scrolling through newsfeeds or binge-watching Netflix, use that time to learn more about yourself.
Allow your honest thoughts and emotions to arise and accept them as they are.
For me, the easiest way to start the practice of being alone was journaling.
Writing down my thoughts, emotions, hopes, and fears on a blank page helps me to understand myself and strengthen my mind. Through journaling, my mind becomes clear, and my worries fade away.
They hold themselves accountable for their actions
Just until two years ago, I was exceptionally good at accusing others of my unhappiness and my failures.
Instead of showing courage and taking responsibility for my life, I was blaming my family and my boyfriend for everything that went bad in my life.
It seemed like an effective solution, but the truth was that by blaming others, I was giving away control for my life. Instead of creating my own happiness, I made myself dependent on others’ actions.
Thankfully, at some point, I decided I don’t want my happiness and success to depend on what others do. I wanted to be the only person who affects my mood and my accomplishments. I wanted to be independent.
And I am not alone. One of the few desires almost any person on this planet seeks is freedom.
Yet, what most people don’t understand is that freedom comes with taking responsibility and being accountable for your actions.
Once you decide to take liability, you’ll have all the freedom you need to create a life you love.
How to do it:
Taking full responsibility for all your actions is not easy. Been there, done that, it’s tough, I know.
It’s a challenging process, especially if you’ve been used to blaming others, just like I was.
However, the good news is that you can start by making tiny improvements.
In my experience, taking responsibility comes with the ability to make quick decisions, and that’s something you can start training right now.
Every time you need to make an insignificant decision, force yourself to do it quickly.
Ordering food in a restaurant? Give yourself two minutes to check the menu.
Need to decide on a new pair of shoes? Limit your choice to two of them and flip a coin.
Not sure if you want to go out or stay at home? Decide quickly and make a move into the direction of your decision, e.g., if you decide to stay in, put your pajamas on, and don’t hesitate about your choice any further.
They celebrate the success of others
Mentally strong people know that life is more fun when you connect with like-minded persons. Even though they appreciate their time spent alone, they have a trusted circle of individuals they deeply support.
What truly differentiates those with a powerful mind is their ability to celebrate others’ wins.
They don’t see others’ as a competition but instead support them on their way to success.
Once the right people surround you, you will quickly realize there is no competition anyway. We are all living on an abundant planet that has more to offer than we all could possibly wish.
Sharing experiences and supporting each other on the path to success is undoubtedly more fun than a dog-eat-dog mentality.
How to do it:
The first step is to surround yourself with the right people. If you are around people who don’t aim for any big goals in life and prefer binge-watching Netflix instead of working for their dreams, you’ll obviously not be able to celebrate their successes because…there won’t be anything to congratulate.
If you are, however, around people who aim high and work on becoming a better person every day, you will have a lot to celebrate together.
Life is much more fun if we share our wins and failures with like-minded people. Stop fearing competition and start building a tribe of people who support you on your way to the top.
They surround themselves with greatness
While most people strive for the average, mentally strong people choose greatness.
They don’t settle for anything less than the best because they know they deserve it. Through average tools, employees, and techniques, you can maximally reach average results.
If you, however, want exceptional success, you need to chase what’s beyond average.
Mentally strong people know their worth, and they don’ settle for anything that doesn’t meet their criteria. They stay true to themselves and make decisions that help to level their game up instead of putting them down.
How to do it:
Appreciate yourself so much that you don’t settle for anything less than great anymore.
Your self-worth is solely defined by how you treat and value yourself. It’s up to you to chose what’s best for you. Nobody else can help you in doing so.
Go for healthy options instead of junk food.
Surround yourself with people who make you feel great.
Quit books that you don’t like and spend your time reading the best ones.
Do anything that makes you feel good and become a better person day by day.
They have great health habits
Mentally strong people are also physically strong.
No, you don’t have to hit the gym seven days per week and double your protein intake.
Yet, taking care of your health surely sharpens your mind.
Most of the time, we can improve our health through tiny changes in our everyday lives.
A healthy body ensures a strong mind, which again assures good decisions and even more healthy choices. Once you manage to make daily, little changes that benefit your health, you will soon find yourself in a loop of positive effects that don’t only affect your body but also your mind.
How to do it:
Let’s think of yesterday. How did you spend your day in regards to your health? What did you do in order to stay fit, healthy, and strong?
Imaging re-living yesterday hundreds of times. How is that going to affect your health? If the answer is not very uplifting, you might want to consider doing a few little changes.
Walk at least 10,000 steps per day.
Stretch your body for at least 10 minutes per day.
Add veggies on your daily meal plan.
Replace soda with infused water.
Grab some nuts or dried fruits instead of processed sweets.
The list goes on and on. There are so many small choices you can make every day in order to support your body and your mind to operate at their best level.
They embrace and create challenges
Those who are mentally strong don’t shrink back from challenges. They know they can get over anything and solve problems no matter how big they are. Thus, they even actively seek challenges.
Through every challenge we face, we become a better version of ourselves. Every confrontation leads to growth and enables us to unleash our full potential.
How to do it:
Next time you find yourself shrinking back from an unexpected challenge, pause for a minute, and take a deep breath.
Be aware that there is nothing to lose but everything to win and promise yourself to give your very best to solve that challenge.
Instead of avoiding difficult situations, put yourself in them, and force yourself to grow.
They invest time and energy into the present moment
Most anxieties arise because we are not living in the present.
Instead, we are concerned with something that happened in the past, or we are busy fearing the future.
Yet, we can’t influence any of them, neither the past nor the future.
What we can do, however, is fully enjoying the present moment and focusing our mind on what we have right now.
Mentally strong people practice meditation regularly and are great at keeping their minds focused on the present moment.
Of course, they are ambitious to create an even better future, but they don’t get overwhelmed by fear.
How to do it:
Being fully present at any moment is not easy. It needs some time and surely some training, but it’s totally doable through small steps.
Mindfulness can be practiced through easy habits that you can repeat every day.
Meditation is one of the most common ways for training your mind to be present and focused, yet, you can also go for other options like journaling, sports, or any other meditative activity that helps you to concentrate on the present moment fully.
They are able to focus
Mentally strong people are more productive than others.
Instead of creating distractions and keeping themselves busy, they train the ability to focus their minds on specific activities over a longer period. By doing so, they can get their work done more efficiently and have more time for other activities.
How to do it:
Mentally strong people can keep their focus better, but vice versa, those who can keep their focus also become mentally stronger over time.
Allow yourself to concentrate on one task after the other instead of doing ten times at a time. Multitasking doesn’t work anyway, so it surely makes sense to train your focus.
Get rid of time-wasters and instead build routines that help you boost your productivity in the long run.