You Need To Stop Doing These Things If You Want To Be Mentally Strong
We're constantly being told how we can improve our physical strength. For example, you could join a gym, lift weights or eat a healthier diet. However, when it comes to mental strength, it's not so straightforward.
The principle behind building strength is essentially the same for both: You need to exercise healthy habits and routines.
However, in order to build physical strength, you need to exercise your body. But with mental strength, it's all about exercising your mind.
In the same way external things hold us back from exercising our bodies, there are several factors holding us back from exercising our minds.
Here are some of the things we find ourselves doing that stop us from becoming mentally strong:
1. Pitying Yourself
When things go wrong, we find ourselves wallowing. If we take the focus away from what's going wrong and instead look at how to take action against it, we can take these hardships and find ways to learn from them.
It's very easy to complain about the situations we end up in. However, a lot of the time, we don't do anything to change them.
2. Making Comparisons
Comparing yourself to others isn't going to lift you up: If anything, it's only going to damage the way you view yourself.
If you compare your life to someone else's, you won't go anywhere on your own. Remember: You can't compare your first chapter to someone's 10th chapter.
Also, most of the time, the things you find yourself comparing are the highlights of someone's life. In reality, we only want to share the good things with the world. So, don't be fooled into thinking people don't share the same daily struggles you do.
3. Taking Things For Granted
We really don't know what we have until it's gone. This could be relationships, finances or family.
When we look around and realize how much worse we could have had it, it's difficult to be ungrateful for the small things in life we do have.
Gratitude is something we should be practicing every day. So, stop focusing on the things you don't have; life is really too short for that.
4. Dwelling On The Past
You can play scenarios in your head of how different things could have been. But in reality, realize they won't be.
The past is gone, and it can't be changed. If you have regrets, forgive yourself. Find peace with your past and accept it.
Dwelling on it only pulls your focus away from the positive things that lay ahead.
5. Trying To Please Everyone
No matter what you do in life, you will always have someone who doesn't agree with you. When you try to please everyone, you only end up having to dumb your ideas down in order for them to fall in line with other people's opinions.
Have confidence in your own ideas. Stop focusing on other people's standards, and start raising your own.
6. Not Saying "No" Enough
A lot of us fall into this trap.
"Can you stay later at work?"
"Can you help me finish this project?"
These seemingly innocent requests can sometimes result in you being taken for granted. You are responsible for the boundaries you create, so saying "no" more often may not please everyone.
But remember: You can't please them all anyway.
7. Worrying About The Future
We can't predict the future or control it. Too many of us fear the unknown, and we ponder the uncertainties of life.
Most of the things we worry about will probably never happen. But if they do, worrying unnecessary about them now is only going to stop you from enjoying the present.
