MENTAL
TOUGHNESS
LEARN, THROUGH THE PRINCIPLES OF SELF-DISCIPLINE AND STOIC PERSEVERANCE, HOW TO DEVELOP AN UNBEATABLE MINDSET, BOOST YOUR SELF-CONFIDENCE AND ACCOMPLISH YOUR GOALS IN LIFE AND WORK
Brian J. Leader
Copyright 2020 - All rights reserved.
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Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude
from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man
with the wrong mental attitude
Thomas Jefferson
Contents
Introduction
One of the biggest reasons we live a life of disconnect is because we carry around a lot of emotional and spiritual pain. We may or may not have a reason why we do this but, believe me, many of us are in some kind of pain. Sometimes our hearts are weak, and our spirits are broken, but still, we get up and go about the day and push down the pain. Maybe we were born with spiritual pain, or we have unresolved issues that we havent let go of, and we hold them inside, not knowing how to let go. Some believe in past lives and that we are born with pain, and this pain is a punishment from a past life. For those who are Christian, they dont believe this, but believe that we can remove the pain by giving it to God. Give it to something or someone and let it go if you have it. Its not worth holding on to. Without being mindful, we hold on to pain so tight that it leaves us exhausted.
Most of the pain is only in our minds, and it is a dialogue we have with ourselves. I am not saying things didnt happen to you in your past. Maybe you cant even remember or pinpoint anything. I couldnt imagine some of the circumstances people have gone through and are still able to live each day. I have had hardships, but I am blessed that my pain is not as deep as others pain. All pain needs to be let go of, though. The point here is to give yourself the gift of seeking out help to rid yourself if you are in pain. Start fresh again, even if only once in your life. Make the choice to be free.
If you are in pain, the only way out of the darkness is to release the pain and let it go through you and then let it go. We must stop burdening ourselves and others with our pain. No more stories to tell others about why we are in pain. We protect ourselves from feeling the pain, and we carry the baggage. We dont understand how much we suffer and, conversely, we dont know what it is like not to suffer. We expose ourselves to our pain by virtue of being in pain in the first place. We constantly think about the pain of the past, the present, and the pain we will endure in the future. We dont know we are in pain most of the time; however, we feel it but dont recognize it until we have a problem, and it affects our behavior.
I was talking with a friend today, and we were laughing and joking about things in her life. We were talking about our kids and men, but as soon as we got on the topic of men, her body shifted, and her eyes got sad. She then began to tell me how angry she still was at her ex-husband for all the deceitful things he had done to her. She said every day she thinks about how dumb she was and how all men are dishonest and that she would never get married again.
Chapter 1. What Is Mental Toughness?
Mental toughness is the strength of the mind to fight against circumstantial pressures, stressors, and challenges in which you are staying. It is an exercise of the mental power to overcome the shortcomings that create problems for you without blaming others. Mental power exercise, when practiced regularly, helps you to perform better to a large extent against the prevailing difficulties and barriers. The Todays hustle and bustle activities have indeed made life more complex and stressful. If you look 100 years back, you could see that people would live their lives in a poor habitable and dietary condition. They were unhappy but not stressed because they were mentally sound and strong. Today people feel more stressed than their ancestors due to lack of mental strength.
Key Components of Mental Toughness
The main characteristics of mental ability can be sub-divided into three components viz., emotion, behavior, and confidence. These three components play a key role in helping you become a more resilient and self-driven person. Lets discuss the components one by one.
Emotion It is a state of mind that involves a feeling in a situation or relationship with other people. Your feelings in a situation involve almost all activities surrounding you. It extends from home to your workplace and even to your societal relationships. Similarly, the relationship with others involves a relationship with your family members and even your colleagues and friends. It also includes your neighbors. Without emotion, you cannot connect with the people or the situation.
Lets take an example. You have prepared a new project for your company in which you are emotionally involved. You have been asked to give a demo of the project before colleagues and higher officials. It can bring a new opportunity which can expand the companys business and profit. If the project becomes successful, the chances are that you will be promoted to a superior post. Here, emotion is your mental strength. Now, when you are demonstrating your project, few colleagues pass on negative remarks and opinions asking some questions. You strongly argue in favor of your project logically, and at the same time, you ignore their questions and do not hear them with due respect. Being ignored by you, the colleagues and higher officials altogether can reject the project though it has a new possibility. Here, emotion is your mental weakness.