Like the Jedi master had once said, “Do or do not- there is no try.” And even if you’re not a Star Wars fan, you must admit that there’s quite some meaning behind this quote.
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All of us face challenges, struggles, and setbacks that seem almost impossible to get through, and it might take a mental and emotional toll on us. While there are many things that could help us get through these times, one of the best things to have would be mental toughness.
Thankfully, this skill isn’t hard to develop, and these 3 easy steps that could help us get started.
Know what NOT to think
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There’s an old proverb that says “As you think, so you are.” Many self-help book and gurus gather the power of positivity and optimism for a reason: because it really does help.
But during these times of struggle, it’s hard to think positive, so instead, do the contrapositive: Don’t think negatively.
Instead of worrying over the worst possible scenario occurring, have a “wait-and-see” approach instead. If you find something extremely difficult, don’t tell yourself “It’s impossible.” Instead, just try to see if it’ll work out. Remember, you dictate your own life, so what you think of it and yourself will determine what path you’ll go through.
Build your mental momentum
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Mental strength can go down if you’re deep in a hole, so the best way to rebuild that strength is to create small steps, one at a time, to get you out of that hole.
Create small wins and victories for yourself to make you feel better. Pay your bills, contact a new client, clear your email inbox, complete a videogame, any small victory will help. Write down what you choose to do, and cross it off once it’s done to build your mental momentum, soon you’ll find yourself accomplishing even greater and harder tasks, until you’ll finally be able to get over that one big hurdle that was bothering you all this time.
Channel your role model
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Finally, pick someone as your role model. Someone who embodies mental toughness. Someone who had to go through several life struggles before succeeding. It could be Founder of Microsoft Bill Gates, who had to drop out of law school. It could be pop star Lady Gaga, who worked at nightclubs as a stripper to pay off her bills. It could even be Barrack Obama, who suffered the loss of his father in a car accident when he was 21.
After that learn about your role model’s life, and all their hurdles and struggles, and think to yourself on how they got through all of these. Tell yourself “If they had to go through all of this before achieving success, then I can too.” Learn about their beliefs, perceptions, and the motivations that drove them to move forward, and apply it to yourself. They’re called role models for a reason.
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