Mental Fortitude Is Necessary to Get Success. Here Are a Few Ways to Build up Your Mental Strength.
Success doesn’t come easy. A big part of the journey is developing mental fortitude, which means you’re able to remain focused on the outcome without letting adversities or challenges cause you to quit prematurely, and we’re going to tell you how.
Welcome to Alux.com – the place where future billionaires come to get inspired. If you’re not subscribed yet, you’re missing out.
Reading a long article on this heavy topic requires a lot of brain strength. Switch over to the video version of this article instead:
With that said, let’s jump right into the article.
1
Developing Mental Fortitude Includes 4C’s
Aluxers, when building mental strength, there are 4 words beginning with C that you need to consider. They are:
– Control
– Commitment
– Challenge
– Confidence
Let’s touch on each of them.
Control refers to how in control of your life you feel. Do you have a good handle on your emotions? Do you have a purpose in life that motivates you each day? Are you comfortable with yourself and in which direction your life is going?
If you’re experiencing the opposite of this and feel like you have no control of the events that unfold or you have little influence over the outcomes in your life, then this is an area that needs attention.
Commitment refers to your focus and reliability. If you’re high on this scale, you’re good at setting goals and achieving them and you’re not easily distracted. If you’re low, you struggle to prioritize and get into good habits needed for success.
Challenge refers to your adaptability and your drive. Instead of seeing problems, you see them as a challenge – something to get through to achieve your goal.
When you’re low, you see challenges as a threat and often make excuses as to why you’re unable to move forward.
Confidence meaning how comfortable you feel pursuing your goals. You take things in your stride and you inevitably know that you’re on the right path. Having little confidence means small setbacks are hard to overcome and that you have little to no influence over others.
2
Small Wins Create Mental Fortitude
Aluxers, how many times have you missed a workout because your mind said, “Not Today, I’m too tired.” Probably too many to remember. And how much easier is it to keep making excuses thereafter, until you realize, “Sh*t, I haven’t had a workout in 3 months!
Now, how about celebrating the small wins here. Your mind says, it’s not up for gym today – but you go anyway. Afterwards, you feel great, don’t you? You’re proud of yourself.
And then, it’s much easier to go back to the gym the next day.
But you need to make the choice. You need to choose to go to the gym. You need to choose to study an extra chapter. You need to choose to skip the party and catch up on work instead. Only you can make the decision for yourself.
Remember to subscribe to our channel Aluxers – we want to share our journey with you and we’d love to hear yours too.
3
Goals Are Great, But It’s the Steps to Get There That Are Important
Canadian writer, Robin Sharma once said, “Discipline is built by consistently performing small acts of courage.” Let that sink in, Aluxers.
We all have goals and dreams, but we don’t all have an action plan to achieve them. Actionable steps need to be put in place and how they will be executed. Remember that these steps need to align with your beliefs and values, both of which you never want to compromise.
Your action plan will be a huge part in developing mental fortitude. It will be easy to see how far you’ve come when you’re feeling a little low, and you can enjoy the small successes along the way.
We’d highly recommend you watch our video, 15 Steps to Reinvent Yourself and Start Over, for some great advice on taking small steps, plus there’s a challenge waiting for you to sign up to.
4
Train Your Thinking Towards Toughness
Just like you need to train your body to get fit, the same applies to your brain. The American Journal of Psychiatry posted the results of a study proving that US Marines who took part in “mindfulness-based mind fitness training” were able to significantly recover from stress after completing the course. Part of the training was 30-minutes of mindfulness and self-regulation every day.
Just like training for a race, it takes time and energy and doesn’t always come naturally… but take those small steps, and work on it daily and before you know it, you’re crossing the finishing line and receiving your gold medal.
And Aluxers, when we say toughness, we don’t mean you’ll be an unsympathetic bast*rd, we mean that you strengthen your mind, your thoughts no longer dwell on the inconsequential cr*p and you’re able to control your thinking whereas before it would run amok, causing undue stress and anxiety.
5
Practice Controlled Exposure
There’s no denying that this is probably not the most comfortable part of building mental fortitude, but it must be done to progress. By putting yourself in situations that would usually break your confidence, in small doses, will help you improve in those areas.
Stepping out of your comfort zone is a big part of building mental strength and Forbes.com confirms this by saying “New challenges and experiences rewire your brain and make it more adaptable, stronger, and healthier,” “Each milestone makes it easier to tackle another milestone,” and “You will become more resilient and prepared for whatever comes your way.”
There’s no need to start big. If you are not keen on speaking to strangers, start by simply saying a few liners to the person serving you coffee, or the garden service mowing your lawn. Work your way up from there. We promise, it does get easier.
6
When You Slip up, Don’t Let It Dictate the Rest of the Day, Week or Month
Aluxers, your mistakes don’t define you. So, sure, you might not be proud of your lack of drive at the moment but that doesn’t mean you don’t have drive and passion in you. It’s just a glitch. It’s temporary. You can change and you can fix it.
When you’re mentally strong, you will acknowledge this and be able to move past the slip up quickly, effortlessly and without being too hard on yourself.
There’s a quote that sums it up perfectly. “It’s not about how many times you fall, but how many times you get back up.” If you keep picking yourself up, can you imagine how much stronger you will become. And even if that strength means deciding to “quit” a certain part of your life, that’s ok too because essentially, you’re still moving forward, albeit in a different direction.
7
Work on Self
This is a key area for mental fortitude.
– Self-Care – and Aluxers, we’re not just speaking about bubble baths and cups of tea. We’re speaking about getting the right nutrition, enough sleep, exercise, quiet time for self-reflection and meditation, proper medical care and opportunities to laugh.
– Cultivate gratitude – Having a grateful heart is a beautiful way to boost your mental health. It helps you realize that some problems are not problems after all.
– Connect with others – You need a tribe that’s going to support you and be there for you. Friends that are happy in your successes and are there when you’re having that slip up. They’re the people who will call you out over your sh*t, because they want to see you grow and improve.
Self care also means motivating yourself to accomplish your goals. Check out 15 Steps to Master Self-Motivation.
8
The Road to Resilience Doesn’t Mean You Don’t Care
When people think about the term mental strength, it can often have a negative connotation attached to it. It’s assumed that the person is uncaring, unsupportive, unsympathetic or is unable to show empathy… which is incorrect.
When you’re building mental fortitude, this is what you will find.
– You’ll manage emotions better. So, when people come to you with a problem, you won’t get wrapped into the problem emotionally, but be able to take a step back and see the situation for what it is and support from a confident place.
– Perseverance – You don’t just throw in the towel. Not with work, goals, friendships or family. However, you know when to call it a day and move on.
– It gives you courage. So, instead of believing the haters or worrying about what others think – you remain focused on your goal and moving towards it.
As written by Amy Morin for Forbes, “The stronger you become, the more likely you are to reach your goals, live according to your values, experience the most joy, and contribute to society in a meaningful way.”
9
Watch Your Rhetoric
As powerful as what our brains are, they can really fu*k with us in ways that don’t do us any favours.
“You’re such an idiot.”
“You don’t know what you’re doing.”
“You’re so fat, so ugly, so boring…” and we can go on.
Aluxers, you know the sh*t you say to yourself. Do you think you’re building mental fortitude while saying those things? Not a chance.
So, it’s up to you to start saying pretty things to yourself. Start small… and work your way up. You’re in no way being vain or narcissistic, but when you feel good about yourself, you help others feel good about themselves -and your mental fortitude is having a f*cking party inside your head!
Still to come, another great hint to help build mental fortitude.
10
Don’t Get Caught in Repetitive Cycles
Learn from your past.
The beauty about the journey to mental strength and fortitude is that you become aware of repetitive cycles. You will find it easier over time to recognize when you’re returning to what didn’t serve you in the past and nip it in the bud immediately.
When we find ourselves stuck in this repetitiveness, we don’t see possibility and have little perspective. And let’s not fool ourselves, sometimes this repetitive cycle serves us. We have an excuse to not go out and do what scares us.
But by following these steps listed in our video, you’ll be able to break free from that cycle and gain huge momentum in your life.
Question:
What advice can you give to others building mental fortitude? We’d love to hear from you.
