Keeping Up with Downtime – Mental Toughness
Do you consider yourself mentally strong? Hard times don’t necessarily make or break an individual. But, economic downturns can certainly reveal what people are made of. Stressful times can bring out the best and the worst in a person. You didn’t ask for hard times and…
It is a fact that some things are under your control and others are not. The key to mental toughness and getting what you want out of life each day is knowing what you can do.
Psychologists tell us that our success is intimately tied to how we are programmed from childhood to adulthood. Beliefs and attitudes can be a huge asset or they can be a significant unconscious limitation, unless you are willing to see things differently.
Learn to see things differently
Plain and simple programming forms thoughts. Thoughts involve feelings. Feelings generate actions. Actions lead to life results. You cannot change your past, what happened yesterday at work, at home, or on the stock market.
But you can change your thinking about it, you can change your perceptions.
You can learn to see things differently.
In short, mental toughness is how you think or perceive the past, the present moment, and the future to get what you want in relationships, health, home, finances, and work.
Let’s explore six specific ways to adopt a toughness that will give you an edge no matter what the economy reports.
Six Common Sense Tips for Mental Toughness
1. Develop a superior attitude. Regardless of what is happening in the economy, with your job, your family, or your personal life, decide that you will not let external circumstances dictate your mood.
Make a clear and definitive decision to focus on what you really want, period. If you inadvertently find yourself thinking about what you don’t want, let it be a guide to remind you what you do want. Yes, it takes real courage.
2. Start each day on a positive note. Wake up to positive music or an uplifting CD. Read something to lift your spirits first thing in the morning, like a self-help book, the Bible, or something inspiring. Save the newspapers for later. You won’t miss a thing.
Speak affirmatively to yourself in the mirror every morning. Don’t let negative self-talk rule your day. Instead, tell yourself, “Every day, in every way, I feel better and better.” If necessary, lie to yourself until you believe it. Remember that you will see it when you create it for the first time.
3. Nourish your body. A healthy body gives you more energy, stamina, and the will to succeed in life. The energy is transferable to others! Avoid eating dead overly processed junk food. Eat more organic live foods for health and energy. Exercise, walk, jog and stay relaxed. Flexibility and adaptability are fundamental to mental toughness.
4. Nourish your mind. Give yourself an occasional break to relax. Take a couple of 7-15 minute mental vacations each day. During this time picture yourself successful. Feed on positive goals and information. Can you really afford to think negative thoughts?
5. Date upbeat people. Apologize to negative or cynical people. Don’t make mistakes because they are doing the best they can with what they know, just don’t allow yourself to be complicit in their cynicism, avoid the blame game. You are not a helpless victim. You can choose to see things differently, right?
6. Express gratitude and appreciation. How is it possible that life wants to give you more if you are not grateful for what you already have? Get in the habit of showing gratitude and appreciation for anything and everything.
Even the smallest things like your eyesight, your ability to move, to breathe, the good people in your life, your family, friends, etc. Gratitude is magnetic for all good things. If you don’t believe it, focus intensely on the opposite for a period of time and watch the results. It’s called cynicism and it repels others along with the opportunity.
it’s not magic
It is common sense that if you choose to focus exclusively on what is missing, not right, or not working, guess what you will attract… more of the same. Instead, focus on what you can give, how you can help and what value can be added at each moment of the day with your family, in the supermarket, in the restaurant, with your work team and, of course, with your friends. customers. An attitude of gratitude and appreciation will put you in an attractive vibrational state.
Put each of the six ideas on an index card and review them daily. Be the change you want in your life and opportunity will eventually find its way to your door. It’s not magic. Avoid the blame…instead, focus on what you want and…not what you don’t want.