upset, then immediately start breathing in and breathing out evenly, so that your brain receives enough oxygen to function with better mental clarity.
7. Spend More Time With Family And Friends
Family and friends are always the best people to turn to when you are feeling down. In your quest to build mental strength, you must remember that you’re never alone. There would always be a network of people who are there and ready to catch you when you tumble. So, rather than keeping all things to yourself, why don’t you try to open up to those who are closest to you? Not only would they cheer you up, but also share their thoughts and advice on what to do and how to feel when you’re down.
After experiencing a bad break-up or being fired, many people choose to be alone and turn to alcohol or drugs to drown their sorrows. However, they should remember that their family and friends are there to help, and it’s the best time to reach out to these people whom they trust the most. Merely talking to a trusted friend is a million times more uplifting than drinking alone, and it’s much healthier too!
8. Give Up A Bad Habit
Everyone has bad habits. Habits like staying up late, smoking, drinking, or overeating. Some people find bad habits harmless, but for most people, bad habits happen because of weak willpower. Because they were not able to fight the temptation of a few shots at the bar, a bag of chips after a long day, or a pack of cigarettes. So you find that having a few bad habits might help you unwind after a long hard day. However, they are not very helpful. Instead, they are destroying both your physical and mental health, they make you feel exhausted, defeated and sad for an extended amount of time, and some of these habits may directly harm other people, like how smoking can harm other people around you. So rather than having the feeling of keeping these indulges, you should act on it as soon as possible. If you want to cut down on smoking, try to stop buying cigarettes. If you stay up late, set a timely reminder to go to sleep earlier. Also, throw out all the alcohol from your fridge that is always tempting you to drink. Soon, you would find that without these items, your mind will be more relaxed and at ease.
9. Having An Actionable Plan To Change
The main reason people fail to accomplish resolutions is that they push themselves and set unrealistic goals without a proper plan of action. Just like real resolutions, mental strength training is not a 1-day, 2-week or 3-month regime. It’s a life-long process. This means there is never a deadline for your quest except for the one you set. So, rather than saying “I’m going to become mentally stronger in the next three months”, just say “I’m going to become a mentally stronger person”. A deadline for your goals are great but don’t look at it as a failure if you failed to reach the target. A good plan for mental strength building should start with specific things within a reasonable period. Things like “I’m going to be less angry this week”, or “I will keep a journal of all the good things that happened today”, then continue with broader, more time-consuming goals such as “I will spend every weekend with my family this month”, or “I will plan a surprise trip for my kids this week”. By starting small, then progressing to something bigger, you put less pressure on yourself and build up durability that grows your mental strength.
10. Accept That You Can’t Control Everything
Being responsible for what you do is a sensible thing but trying to take control of everything will only drive you crazy. People who are mentally strong never try to control everything, because they understand that there are things outside of their capacity. Take the weather, for example. You plan out a perfect trip for Sunday, but suddenly, the news forecasts rain on that day. So, are you going to go mad and shout at everyone? No! You should accept that things such as the weather and other people’s feelings and opinions are entirely outside of your perception.
When you accept that you are not in control of everything,