Life isn’t easy. That’s a fact. And there are three components to all of our lives physical, spiritual, and mental (which includes emotional) and they are all interconnected. There are times in life when one will be called on more than the other and times when you’ll find that you’re lacking strength in one area or the other. Maybe you find that you seem to be immune to getting sick and have the will of a hero yet find that you break apart mentally under certain circumstances.
And maybe you find that you want to remedy this. You want to have control of your mind and your thoughts as much as possible. You want to be able to use it as an asset for you instead of an enemy working against you. If so then you’ve come to the right article. While I’ve always been physically strong and fit I can’t say the same mentally and this is something that is still somewhat of a struggle for me.
However I have found certain things that have given me mental strength that I never knew that I had and that have helped me deal with situations that I never thought I’d have the strength to deal with. I should also note that these aren’t thing that’ll make you mentally numb but mentally strong. So that way you’ll be able to stay sharp while also being ready to deal with the ups and downs that life throws at you.
Mental Strength Exercise #1 – Meditating
So the benefits are meditation are myriad, just do a quick search on benefits of meditation and you’ll find pages and pages of research and testimonials to the effectiveness of meditation. From helping with depression, to calming one’s nerves, to dealing with stress, and about a million other things. In particular mindfulness meditation.
Even ten minutes a day can make a huge difference in one’s outlook on life as well as one’s emotional and mental resilience. All you have to do for mindfulness meditation is take a few minutes (say 10-15) and focus on one’s breathing counting in and out. Here’s what I recommend. Count each inhale and exhale up to ten and then start back at one (otherwise you’ll mindlessly drift off into the hundreds and so on).
And set a timer (or music) for 10-15 minutes while you do this. Then when the timer goes off or the music has stopped you’ll have gotten in your meditation for the day. Now don’t expect this to turn you into superman overnight it’s a process that takes time and is like a muscle that you’ll be building up. Just keep at it and over time you’ll start to see a marked difference in your mental and emotional resiliency.
Mental Strength Exercise #2 – Competing
Now this is something on the other side of the coin. I recommend competing in a sport or profession of your choice. Maybe it’s powerlifting, maybe it’s boxing, maybe it’s a contest of some other kind. Just find something to compete in that is going to make you stay sharp and put you under controlled pressure. Competing isn’t easy and can be nerve wracking which is why it’s so beneficial to the mind (when done properly).
By putting yourself under pressure and overcoming that pressure you train yourself to overcome in general. You’ll find that you’ll push yourself further than you thought you could (as well as be put there by opponents and opposition). In the process you’ll come out stronger, smarter, and sharper. Competing is a crucible to make you better.
So when you prepare for it and right before you go it’ll be unpleasant, no doubt about that. But you’ll come out the other side stronger and better for it. So my recommend is chose something that you enjoy, a hobby of sorts. And find a way to compete in it. There are very few things that people don’t compete at so find one and make it part of your life.
Mental Strength Exercise #3 – Journaling
Humans have a need to communicate and talk with one another, and no this doesn’t just apply to women but to men too. There is a need for bonding and social interactions. Without these bonds and connections we lose mental and emotional health. While we can’t always have those close to us by our side something we can do to express ourselves and get things out is journaling.
The act of writing something out and getting your thoughts all down on paper is helpful in freeing the mind and mental well being overall. This is something that you can do nightly and then review it during the day. Or just do when you feel like it. Pen and paper work best but even a word document when you really need to get something out can work wonders.
Something that I used to do is called a “thought dump” where I’d open a word document and just write and write and write what I was thinking/feeling for a set period of time (say 10 minutes) or for a certain word count (say 1,000 words) and then come back to it later and read it seeing what I could glean from it. But you do what works for you.
Mental Strength & Well-Being
Don’t underestimate the power and value of having mental strength and well-being, especially in the modern world where these things are getting rarer and rarer. Rise above the noise and don’t get dragged down by the crazy thoughts by implementing the things above. You don’t have to do all of them but I recommend doing at least one consistently in your life to keep everything where it should be.
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-Charles Sledge
