Only if a person is mentally strong can they achieve whatever they desire in life and solve every hard problem. But the big question is: what does mental strength really mean?
Let me explain,
I heard somewhere a story,
A man was walking on the street. It was April. Suddenly, a wind started to blow. That man knew the wind would be heavy and destructive.
He knows he can’t stop that wind, as it is a natural process, but he can survive it with patience. Nearby, there was a tree. He went near it and held it tight until the wind stopped. He did it wisely without any comment, fear, or anger.
Yes, he knew the wind was a problem, and he also knew that some problems can’t be controlled. If we show patience, the problem solves itself. No fight, no blame, no worries, just patience and wise steps
This brief story has a deep lesson.
Life may bring sudden and unexpected problems, so that you can solve them and learn from them. Sometimes, you have to just remain emotionally controlled, and sometimes, you have to seek support.
However, instead of solving it wisely, if you blame others and try to escape from it, then you are a mentally incompetent person.
Again, I am repeating, life is full of problems. If you run away from one, you will face 2, 3, or 4 problems at once, which can be stressful and depressing.
How does a person become mentally strong?
A guy was afraid of heights. But he wanted to overcome that fear. He and his friends went to the fair one day. There was a Ferris Wheel. His friends decided to enjoy it. But that guy was afraid to try it because he was afraid of heights.
But his friends requested and forced him to try. Anyway, he finally tried. For the first few minutes, he thought it was the last day of his life, but after that, he enjoyed it a lot.
His fear disappeared. He enjoyed the Ferris Wheel many times later. Then one day he decided to try a bungee jump, a final trial to overcome all the fear. He did it. Nowadays, he is not afraid of heights.
Similarly,
A girl loved a guy with a heart. But she broke up with him. In the initial days, she cried too much and decided to end her life because he was her whole world. She got emotional support from her family and friends. She healed up. Again, she fell in love and broke up. But this time, her reaction was not like earlier. She stayed calm, as she knew that time changes and it will heal everything.
So, those two examples show that people become mentally strong over time with experience and struggle.
Besides experiences, here are other things that enhance our emotional and mental resilience:
1. Realization and acceptance of responsibility
Responsibilities are the life tests. Whether you are a husband, wife, employee, member, or whatever, you are given a responsibility. In the office or workplace, you know what your responsibility is because it is written in the paper, but in other places, you have to identify it by yourself.
Taking care of parents, giving time to spouse, showing the right path to kids, contributing to society, securing family, taking care of personal assets, and many more. However, most people fail to identify it. Or they identify it too late.
But when you realize that it is your responsibility and you have to do it yourself. Instead of running from it, if you accept it, your psychological strength enhances, and you become mature.
When a person becomes loyal to his responsibilities and works to fulfill them with heart, he becomes strong mentally, psychologically, physically and emotionally.
Responsible people have a healthy mindset. They don’t blame or curse anyone for anything. They always have a question: How can I do this?
2. Self-Confidence
There was a strict teacher who used to shout at students for mistakes. While checking homework, he punishes students verbally for mistakes.
On the other hand, there was a confident student who was not afraid of anyone. He was the only one in the class who interacted with that teacher. Although the teacher replied rudely to him, he communicated, asked questions, joked, and greeted.
All the students were timid. That confident student used to help his friend pass the assignment to the teacher. Everyone used to be afraid to interact with him.
Gradually, that teacher was impressed with him and became a good friend of his.
Then that student told one day, ‘If I can make him a friend, I can make a big community in my life.’ Nowadays, he is not afraid to interact with anyone, not even strangers.
This example proves that when you try something difficult by yourself, your mental ability to win any game increases.
Most of us are psychologically and mentally weak because we depend on others for minor actions instead of completing or researching by ourselves.
3. Fighting the situations
The man who has fought life struggles is resilient, wise, mature, and calm; they have good knowledge about managing stress and recovering from any depressing situations.
Life is not fair. The problems are not limited and predictable. Some life problems make us completely hopeless, lonely, and lost. But when a person faces critical situations instead of running away or blaming others, they become mentally strong and self-aware.
For example, you work somewhere. But due to a mistake, your company faces a big loss. Now the company gives you an ultimatum: leave the job or repair the mistake to recover that loss.
If you choose the second option, you can gain experience that can make you more expert. However, if you leave the job and jump to another company, who knows, you may make another mistake and never be forgiven because you don’t know how to solve problems.
Whatever the environment is, toxic, good, whatever, if you keep up with completing your responsibility, you become a mentally powerful person over time.
4. Being Broad-Minded
Being a mentally strong person means being a great problem solver, maintaining a stable mindset, and having emotional intelligence, whatever the situation. Mentally resilient when he thinks broadly and tries alternative things to survive.
Every problem has a solution; the only thing is that we have to find the root cause. Some solutions may be hard to implement, but the problem can be solved anyhow.
So when you practice to become calm, finding the root cause of issues, finding alternatives instead of worrying, stressing, and being depressed, your mind becomes stronger.
Problems come and go, but how you accept that problem, how you deal with it, what is your reaction, and what did you learn, are the big things you must think about to enhance mental toughness and move on without being negatively affected.
5. Letting go and Self-control
Letting go is one of the hardest decisions a man ever faces. In some parts of life, one has to let go of people, while in other parts, things. It is the compulsory process one has to accept. Some people experience these saddest moments early, while others late.
Realization and acceptance of this process are the mentally strongest people. The first letting go can be painful. Some people break down, some people forget their life goal, and some disappear forever. But those who stand like a rock and welcome every letting-go situation become internally brave and strong.
Letting go develops self-control, and self-control makes one emotionally stable. These two terms are interrelated. So, try to master these two things; life is not fair.
Final Words
Nobody is born with a strong mindset. It is a process, a system. Sometimes you have to practice, but sometimes life brings brutal situations to test your strength, to test how you survive that situation. If you successfully pass that life test, you become stronger; the more tested, the stronger.
You might have noticed that older people are wiser than younger. Why? Because they have more experience, they have faced many critical situations in their career, married life, academic life, family life, and society.
Another thing is that the hunger to stay in the comfort zone also makes a person mentally weak. If you compare those who stay in their birth house for 30 years and those who leave home and live in a rented room for a minimum of 3 years. You will find that the person who sacrificed his comfort zone is clever, wise, and practical.
Apart from that, how you see yourself also equally matters. For example, if you see yourself as a well-fulfilled person, other people also see you in the same way and behave accordingly. When people react positively to you, it gives you confidence and energy. So, learn to avoid self-doubt and try to judge yourself positively.
Overall, accept the pain, solve the life puzzle, learn from it continuously consciously, and remain mentally stable and strong.