Mental strength is one of the best personality traits you can be blessed or groomed with. It helps you go through life’s ups and downs with ease, and that means a lot.
There are things which mentally strong people do every day without even realizing it. These actions and habits help them stay grounded and keep their cool in the long run.
let’s see what those important behaviors are:
1) Creative expression
How do you become and stay mentally strong?
One of the ways is to do things you love every day and by having a creative outlet.
Strong-willed people besides managing their jobs or business as usual use creative outlets like art, writing, or music to process emotions and explore their inner thoughts and feelings. If you are in a hobby job or profession that is like an icing on the cake.
This helps them stay level-headed as they go through life’s challenges because they have something else to fall back to.
2) Balanced Social media usage
It’s well-known that social media is often very harmful to our mental health. However, we still stick to it as a way to escape our everyday worries.
Many mentally strong people I know use social media. But unlike others, they mostly use it professionally to market their products or brands or expand their network.
They don’t use social media for personal use to avoid comparison and negative influences, which impact mental well-being.
3) Learning from others failures.
“Those who cannot remember the past are forced by nature to repeat it.”
– George Santayana
Learning things on your own skin is the worst kind of learning. It’s far better to learn from the failure of others than to fail yourself.
Whenever I feel self-doubt or uninspired, I love turning to others’ inspirational stories.
Whether it’s a book or a Ted talk video, they get me fired up again as I gain a new perspective on what incredible things are possible to achieve.
Mentally strong people also seek out stories of resilience and triumph to gain inspiration and perspective.
They understand that challenges and setbacks are the best ways to grow and strengthen.
5) Talking to Yourself
Do you often talk to the smartest person in the room (you)? If not, you should start.
Mentally strong people often self-talk to reinforce positive affirmations, motivate themselves, or work through complex problems. This internal dialogue is a form of self-encouragement and helps them stay focused.
Self-talk is also a valuable tool for managing stress and anxiety. By telling ourselves, “I can handle this,” or “Take a deep breath; you’ve got this,” we can better handle our emotions and cope with pressure during times of stress.
6) Embracing discomfort
Eagles remove feathers and soft grass from their nest so that the young ones get uncomfortable in preparation for flying and eventually young one jumps/ flies when it becomes unbearable to stay in the nest.
Most people would bend over backward just to avoid feeling any discomfort. I should know because, for the longest time, I was also that person.
I waited for everything to fall into my lap and never wanted to take a leap.
But instead of avoiding discomfort, mentally strong people intentionally put themselves in challenging or uncomfortable situations to build resilience and overcome fears.
For example, someone with a stable job decides to leave the security of their career to start their own business. They embrace the uncertainty, financial risks, and challenges that come with entrepreneurship.
Or when a person who isn’t particularly athletic signs up for a marathon. They push their physical limits and adopt the discomfort of training and partaking in the event.
Leave your comfort zone, there is no growth there.
7) Regular exposure to nature
Mentally strong people seem to prioritize nature walks, camping, or other outdoor activities to recharge.
They consciously or subconsciously know that nature gives them a sense of peace and perspective.
Being in parks, forests, beaches, or mountains helps reduce stress levels and stimulates relaxation.
It also encourages a sense of mindfulness and being present in the moment.
8) Stay in the present
You don’t have to stay in past rather put it where it belongs ie past. Also future too is not in your hand, all you can do is to ensure your present moment is not being wasted. It’s harder than ever just to enjoy the moment, isn’t it? We’re constantly bombarded with notifications, emails, and even those annoying robocalls.
But you may have noticed one common denominator – your phone. By simply turning off your phone, you can save yourself a lot of this hassle.
It’s corny to say enjoy the moment, but that’s what we should all be doing. There will always be fears, worries, troubles and self- pitying; all of these are indications of weakness which ultimately results in failure, unhappiness and loss.
Mentally strong people practice mindfulness to anchor themselves in the here and now, preventing unnecessary worries about the future or ruminating over the past.
Staying present helps them fully engage with their current experiences.
9) Using humor as a coping mechanism
A good sense of humor is often the only thing that can raise us from the gutter.
When faced with stressful or tense situations, mentally strong people use humor to lighten the mood and reduce emotional intensity.
And by making others smile or laugh, they create a more relaxed atmosphere, making it easier to address the problem constructively.
Ultimately, they find ways to inject humor into challenging situations, recognizing that laughter is a powerful tool for stress relief.
Think about that for a moment.
10) Focus on solutions
When faced with challenges, mentally strong people avoid getting stuck in negativity or dwelling on the problem.
Instead, they proactively look for solutions, explore different strategies, and stay determined to overcome obstacles.
They also keep their emotions in check and avoid making impulsive decisions driven by frustration or anger, as such decisions often don’t lead to the best solutions.
But they also know that asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness. They aren’t afraid to reach out to experts or find guidance from others who can contribute to finding effective and practical solutions.
11) Engaging in “productive procrastination”
Engaging in “productive procrastination” is an exciting concept that some mentally strong people use in their daily routines.
It simply means that you channel the urge to procrastinate into other productive tasks or activities instead of completely avoiding responsibilities or necessary duties.
For example, if you’re working out but you are sick of the gym and with same old routine. Now instead of skipping exercise, you can try a new physical activity, like dancing, hiking, or yoga.
This will allow you to stay active while preventing workout burnout and maintaining your enthusiasm for fitness.
12) Accept imperfection
Being a perfectionist is often one of the main things that holds you back, it typically unnecessarily prolongs whatever you’re trying to achieve.
Rather than striving for perfection, mentally strong people understand that mistakes and flaws are a natural part of being human.
They learn from their errors, avoid self-criticism, and use setbacks as an opportunities for self-improvement.
Accepting imperfection also allows them to take calculated risks without the fear of failure holding them back.
13) Practice self-compassion
We are often too hard on ourselves. We don’t forgive and keep repenting our past mistakes and don’t have almost any compassion. While, mentally strong people treat themselves with the same kindness and understanding they’d offer a friend in distress.
Instead of engaging in harsh self-criticism or negative self-talk, they choose to be gentle and encouraging with themselves.
Being overly critical only damages our self-esteem and hampers personal growth. We must set realistic expectations from ourselves and mistakes / experimentation should not be overly thought.
14) Visualizing success
Visualization techniques are well-known tools that athletes and successful people use to imagine themselves succeeding in their ambitions, improving their self-belief and motivation.
Mentally strong people use it regularly by picturing themselves successfully navigating through tasks, facing challenges with confidence, and achieving their goals.
When facing self-doubt or fear, they use visualization to see themselves successfully overcoming those obstacles. As this technique helps them build resilience and deal with challenges head-on.
15) Practicing random acts of kindness
Last but certainly not least, mentally strong people make kind gestures for strangers or loved ones. One of the reasons they do it is their belief that it can create a positive feedback loop, boosting their overall sense of well-being.
It can be as simple as complimenting your co-worker about their appearance or outfit, for example.
That’s often more than enough to lift their spirits and leave them with a smile on their face. And who knows, they might “pay it forward” to someone else too.
Final thoughts
Mentally strong people obviously do many things right. I hope this article will help you unlock some of that potential you carry inside so you can achieve all the things you’re meant to achieve in life.
Thank you for taking time out to read! Stay blessed.