How To Develop Mental Toughness ?

Mental toughness is a major factor in most of the important outcomes of your life. It can prove to be your biggest asset or your worst enemy. Hence giving utmost heed on strengthening mental muscle becomes a matter of great importance to keep you on the path of success and accomplish your cherished goals. 

Here are some to the tips which will help you to increase your mental toughness.

1.     Take Risks

Remaining in comfort zone connotes weak mental toughness to challenge the status quo and discover new experiences. Take calculated risks and move ahead with it. Don’t get paralyzed by obstacles coming on the path rather see it as signals to imagine different routes. Every attempt to take such routes will increase your mental capability to fight against the odds. Slowly your fear of failure will obliterate and you will be mentally braver than you believe and stronger than you think.

2.     Say No

Saying ‘no’ is essential tool to inherit mental toughness. It depicts your strong character. Cultivating this habit will enable you to become mentally tougher, respect yourself and keep you on driver’s seat. Hence be courteously firm and straight in telling ‘no’ whenever situation demands. Don’t ponder over fear of rejection, hurting someone’s feelings or disappointing someone. Saying ‘yes’ when you actually wanted to tell ‘no’ will mean punishing your heart and brain by doing things you actually don’t want to do. 

3.     Forgive and Forget

When you forgive, you heal your mental toughness by clearing the shadow of what ached you in the past and when you forget you enable your cerebral power to grow and become stronger. Holding onto anger and bitterness are signs of weak mental strength and it consumes you and not them. Don’t ruin a good day by thinking about a bad yesterday. Forgiveness will free you and give you the strength to march ahead in life. Mentally tough people move on and don’t let little things in life hold back.     

4.     Be Adaptable

Start each day with a mindset that that you are prepared to handle whatever might happen that day. Don’t creep over changes or fluctuations coming on your way. Rather take it opportunity to showcase your adaptability to the same and taste the ultimate triumph. Being adaptable means being resilient and being resilient will take you far in boosting your mental toughness. Only those who embrace changes can be mentally tougher, venture into new domains and taste the ultimate success.   

5.     Exhibit High Emotional Quotient

High emotional quotient score can be the most potent weapon in the armoury of developing your mental toughness. Understanding and tolerating negative emotions in unfavourable circumstances and remaining balanced and productive during the same will train your brain to boldly counter obstacles. Change happens in the boiler rooms of our emotions so find out ways and means of lighting fires rather than getting depresses and dejected.

6.     Express Your Thoughts and Needs   

It’s proven scientifically that not expressing your thoughts and needs can impair your mental toughness. Hence never dull the shine of your brain for someone else. Don’t care much of what others may think when you express your thoughts and wants. Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Train your brain to overcome shyness or fear while expressing your thought. 

7.     Set Your Boundaries

Setting boundaries and sticking to the same is essential for developing mental toughness. Identify the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual boundaries required for meeting your objectives of life. Inculcate the habit of refusing things that demands crossing boundaries set by you. Don’t let others make you cross the same. Also practice not to give yourself permission to cross it even if you have the most lucrative offers. It requires courage and practice but once you start honouring your boundaries you are bound to march towards becoming mentally tougher.

8.     Be Accountable

Take full accountability of things happening in your life. Have the courage to face the taste of failure and don’t shift the blame to someone else just to evade criticism. Don’t complain others for your own setbacks as you don’t have to worry about burning bridges, if you are building your own. Cultivating the habit of being accountable of your actions will steadily increase your mental toughness and enable you to overcome unpleasant situations rather than escaping from it by putting it on others’ shoulders.

9.     Maintain Healthy Lifestyle

To keep the body in good health is a duty, otherwise you will not be able to keep your mind strong and clear. Also, mental health is the foundation of overall health. Hence eat variety of fruits and vegetables, do regular exercises, yoga and meditation, stay on top of your calorie maintenance, drink plenty of fluids, reduce salt intake, refrain yourself from smoking, tobacco, alcohol and other related things, diet if required and have enough sound sleep. Practicing it would make your mental toughness stronger than ever. 

Experiencing improvements in mental toughness is a tough game and requires great courage and consistent practice. It requires change in the way you think, feel, behave, act and live. Relentless rehearsing of above mentioned steps will definitely enable you to feel this experience.