Going through life, there will always be seasons of uncertainty – times that make us feel out of control, vulnerable and reactive. And that’s okay. That’s just part of the journey, however, I know that if we decide we want to – we can become mentally stronger with consistency and the right strategy. Today, let’s look at 4 habits of mentally strong women.
Of women, who stay authentic to themselves and keep going no matter the circumstances. Women who don’t let the opinion of others define them and dictate their lives. Women who welcome obstacles with “I’ve got this”.
1. Failure Is A Natural Part Of Life.
I’m not sure at what point in evolution we decided life was supposed to go smoothly and if you fail at whatever it is, you’re a giant loser who won’t achieve anything in life.
“OMG, you’re just starting to walk and you fell? That’s embarrassing, don’t you ever try doing it again, you tiny cute loser.”
I mean if you’ve ever said this to a baby who’s starting to walk, you need to get some help. Yet, when we’re starting something new, we don’t think it’s natural to fall. We’re afraid to ask for advice and we want to look like “professionals” from the first try. Because we’re grown-ups, and we’re educated and we have all of this information, that if we don’t consume it all before we get into action, we’re stupid and it’s our fault if we fail.
This is the reason people procrastinate and don’t follow through on the things they want. This is why the world is full of half-written books, half-made movies and talented people who do jobs they hate.
But that’s not life. Life is trial and error. You live and you learn. You don’t first learn, get all A’s, know everything and then live. It’s a completely mixed up concept. There’s no university you can graduate from to prepare you for the challenges that will come throughout your lifetime.
The truth is, when you’re doing anything, whether it’s looking for a job or trying to make new friends, whatever it is – you will fail sometimes.
There will be people who will not like you, there will be jobs you’ll never get and that’s okay. After all – do you like everyone? Do you want to do every job out there? Probably not.
When you accept that you’ll immediately start feeling mentally strong. On the bright side, there will be people who you love and who love you and jobs you get that you actually enjoy.
Always keep that in mind, it wasn’t a failure, it was just a try.
2. Progress everyday.
Practicing patience is essential if you want to become stronger mentally. You can’t have everything you want in 5 minutes. Things take time.
You need to realize that you might not achieve your dreams as soon as you want, but you can have them or something better soon enough, when you make progress every day.
Making progress on something you want and tracking that progress can really help with developing patience. Now you’re enjoying the trip and not stressing about how far away the finish line is. So focus on progress and developing patience.
3. They Enjoy Spending Time Alone.
Mentally strong people don’t need others to tell them who they are, what to do and how to feel. They know their values and their truth. Whatever they do, it’s authentic to them. They do it because they want to do it, not to please others.
In such a noisy world, to be mentally strong we need to start spending time with ourselves – a few minutes everyday to connect to what’s inside. To connect to what’s true to us.
A walk in the park, sitting a little bit on your own in the morning, cooking is a great way for me, maybe journaling for others. Spend some time on your own, to get clear what is going right, what is not going right and what you can do to keep making life better.
4. They protect their energy.
So how fun are you to be around when you haven’t slept enough for a few days? How good are the decisions you’re making? How good is your work?
Lack of sleep (and energy) is the one thing that can weaken your immune system and also your physical and mental strength. You’re more emotional, reactive and sensitive to what others might say to or about you.
Now, even if you’ve gotten enough sleep the last few days, energy can leak out in many unexpected ways, if you don’t protect it. Are you dwelling on the past or on a recent problem? Are you complaining about everything? Or are you neglecting the healthy daily habits that you know you should be doing, because you’ve been keeping yourself so busy and stressed out that you lose sight of the big picture?
If yes, you’ve got to stop it. Being mentally strong is about directing your thoughts and actions toward the things you want and not the things you simply can’t control. Sure things can go wrong always, but when you focus on the good everyday when you focus on what YOU can do when that’s the important thing for you, you feel in control and you feel empowered.