Engaging in good habits 90 percent of the time, while indulging in bad habits 10 percent of time, places you at risk of being like a hamster running in a wheel. Despite all the energy you're exerting, you won't move forward. You'll never be able to outrun your bad habits.
— Amy Morin
Pay attention to how your thoughts change when you're faced with negative people. The more time you spend dreading, fretting, worrying, and rehashing, the less time you'll have to devote to more productive things. Make a conscious effort to reduce the amount of mental energy you expend on negative people.
It'd be nice to learn enough from each mistake that we'd be guaranteed to never repeat that same mistake twice. But, how many times have you said, 'I'll never do that again,' only to find yourself right back at it a few days later. Learning from our mistakes requires humility and a willingness to look for new strategies to become better.
Being mentally strong doesn't mean you don't experience emotions. In fact, mental strength requires you to become acutely aware of your emotions so you can make the best choice about how to respond.
Building mental strength is about regulating your emotions, managing your thoughts, and behaving in a positive manner, despite your circumstances.
Achieving a balance between career and children doesn't necessarily mean the time is split evenly. Successful parents understand there will be times when their family will need more attention and times when a career will demand more energy.
Somewhere along the line, positive thinking seems to have been confused with magical thinking. There's a notion that if you think positively enough, you can make anything happen by using the power of your mind. All the positive thinking in the world won't deliver good fortune or prevent tragedy from striking.
It can be easy to get swept up into catastrophizing the situation once your thoughts become negative. When you begin predicting doom and gloom, remind yourself that there are many other potential outcomes.
Mental strength requires a three-pronged approach - managing our thoughts, regulating our emotions, and behaving productively despite our circumstances. While all three areas can be a struggle, it's often our thoughts that make it most difficult to be mentally strong.
If you want to become physically stronger, you'll need healthy habits - like going to the gym. You'll also have to give up unhealthy habits - like eating junk food. Building mental strength requires healthy habits - like practicing gratitude - while also giving up unhealthy behavior, like giving up after the first failure.
Many of life's problems and sorrows are inevitable, but feeling sorry for yourself is a choice.
Sleep deprivation robs you of mental strength and impairs your ability to deal with stressful events.
The quantity and quality of your sleep plays a major role in your ability to learn new information.
Idealizing the reality of past romances won't do you any favors as you face Valentine's Day alone.
A lot of problems stem from a desire to avoid discomfort. For example, people who fear failure often avoid new challenges in an effort to keep anxiety at bay. Avoiding emotional discomfort, however, is usually a short-term solution that leads to long-term problems.
When self-doubt creeps in, don't ignore it - address it. Respond to harsh self-criticism with something more compassionate. Talk to yourself like a trusted friend and refuse to believe your unrealistic, negative inner monologue.
As a therapist, I've worked with many high-achieving people who don't feel worthy of their success. Whether it was a recent college graduate who had landed a high-paying job or a mature adult who had just received another promotion, all of these people suffer from impostor syndrome.
While ignoring your bad habits may help you feel good initially, that avoidance will eventually catch up to you. When you don't address the unproductive and unhealthy things you're doing alongside your good habits, you'll stagnate.
Spending time with negative people can be the fastest way to ruin a good mood. Their pessimistic outlooks and gloomy attitude can decrease our motivation and change the way we feel. But allowing a negative person to dictate your emotions gives them too much power in your life. Make a conscious effort to choose your attitude.
The more you practice tolerating uncomfortable emotions, the more confident you'll become in your ability to tolerate the distress that may be necessary to reach your full potential.
Although most of us don't spend time thinking about our thoughts, increasing your awareness of your thinking habits proves useful in building resilience.
Parents who achieve a successful work-life balance don't live and breathe to make their kids happy. Instead, they strive to raise independent children that will grow to become responsible adults.
While managing a career and family leaves, some parents feeling guilty and frazzled; others seem to be able to effortlessly balance parenthood with full-time work. Parents who are able to raise well-adjusted children while also maintaining a career make sacrifices to keep the peace.
Just like it's not healthy to think overly negative thoughts, exaggeratedly positive thoughts can be equally detrimental. If you overestimate how much of a positive impact a particular change will have on your life, you may end up feeling disappointed when reality doesn't live up to your fantasy.
Sometimes we see things as being black or white. Perhaps you have two categories of coworkers in your mind - the good ones and the bad ones. Or, maybe you look at each project as either a success or a failure. Recognize the shades of gray, rather than putting things in terms of all good or all bad.
People with a mental illness aren't mentally weak. In fact, many of them are incredibly strong. And just like everyone else, they possess the ability to create positive change in their lives.
Building mental strength is the key to reaching our full potential in life.
Whether you're working on becoming a more patient parent or you're striving to become an elite athlete, building mental strength will help you reach your goals.
Sleep deprivation impairs everything from your motor skills to your reaction time.
Feeling sad or lonely isn't a bad thing. But those emotions increase the risk that you'll cross the line into self-pity.
One of the major dangers of being alone in February is the tendency to dwell on past relationships. Whether you're daydreaming about that 'one that got away,' or you're recalling the fairy tale date you went on last Valentine's Day, romanticizing the past isn't helpful - nor accurate.
Thinking things like, 'I will never get hired for this job,' or 'Nobody ever listens to me,' can alter your behavior in a way that makes those predictions come true.
Reminding yourself of your strengths can help chip away at your core belief that you aren't good enough to be successful.
It's difficult to look on the bright side when you're surrounded by negativity.
Don't allow negative people to steal your time and energy. Rather than complain about people you don't enjoy, choose to strike up conversations about pleasurable topics.
Empowering yourself is an essential component to building mental strength and creating the kind of life you want to live.
Wasting brain power ruminating about things you can't control drains mental energy quickly. The more you think about problems you can't solve, the less energy you'll have leftover for more productive endeavors.
When you're feeling overtired and stretched too thin, it may seem incomprehensible to squeeze in a little 'me time.' But, the times when you feel like you can't possibly spare a minute for yourself, are likely the times when you need 'me time' the most.
Idealism doesn't prevent problems.
Positive thinking is a valuable tool that can help you overcome obstacles, deal with pain, and reach new goals.
As we go about our daily routines, our internal monologue narrates our experience. Our self-talk guides our behavior and influences the way we interact with others. It also plays a major role in how you feel about yourself, other people, and the world in general.
When it comes to physical strength, someone may have a stronger upper body than lower body, or a stronger right arm compared to the left arm. Similarly, we're likely to excel in some areas of mental strength while struggling with others.
Empowering yourself is an essential component to building mental strength and creating the kind of life you want.
Recognizing and replacing the unhealthy thoughts, behaviors, and feelings that may be sabotaging your best efforts is the key to building mental strength.
Lack of sleep greatly impairs your ability to make good decisions.
While reflecting on past relationships and learning from them can be helpful, February isn't the best time to try and gain insight.
The more you practice tolerating discomfort, the more confidence you'll gain in your ability to accept new challenges.
Your thoughts greatly influence how you feel and behave. In fact, your inner monologue has a tendency to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
If you've ever felt like you aren't good enough, you're not alone. However, if you're not careful, those feelings can keep you from reaching your greatest potential.
