August 31, 2016
5 ways to develop mental strength
A lot of people come to me and ask how they can develop mental strength. To be honest it is not something that is easy to answer straight up. Many people believe in things like meditation and certain exercises that control the breathing or control the mind and thus leading to the ability to have more control in general, thinking this will develop mental strength. I think differently about it.
For me mental strength is 3 things: Focus, Goal setting and being relentless.
And here are 5 ways to develop it that I have proven time after time.
1. Take inventory: Really understand what you are good at and what your strengths are, because its your strengths that make you successful. Write that stuff down so you can see it and then write down how often you build on it to make it even better, to make you even stronger and to make you really really good at it. These are your tools, this is your stock, this is your inventory of things that you totally dominate at and what we need to focus on.
2. Set goals: A whole load of people talk about goals but never have them, never set them. In a number of cases they don’t know how to set them, some people are afraid of the commitment and others just have a poor self image so don’t think they deserve awesome things in life. Your goals are your play book, they bring you focus day in day out, they motivate you and they allow you to move the needle in life. You have to have them to be mentally strong.
3. Focus on the process: Life is a series of processes, some small, some a lot bigger. Stay focused no matter how big or small. We often panic. Don’t. It doesn’t solve things. You have a game plan for a reason. Stick with it. Mentally strong people have an insane ability. An ability to focus just on the process. Sometimes the big goal is so far away that it’s hard to see. Achieving your goal is a by product of following the process.
4. Suffer: Achieving cool things hurts, not always physically but also mentally or emotionally. You have to suffer, you have to make sacrifices, you have to be lonely, it will be tough. This is sufferance. There has to be a mental shift in your willingness to endure this suffering, you have to make a commitment to want to do it. Mental strength is the ability to suffer in many areas of your life because you are focused on the long game, the big goals, success.
5. Greatness is all around you: It’s tough to make it on your own but at the same time people are not going to hand things to you on a plate. Don’t be shortsighted, there are loads of awesome people and resources around you and a lot of people are willing to help, use those people and resources for your success, to help you get to your goals. Never ever be too proud or embarrassed to ask for help.
You control these 5 things and they are the crux of what develops mental strength. When you get out into the real world and reality punches you square in the face, things start to change a bit, you don’t have time to perform a breathing routine, you need to get these points dialled in and you will be rock solid and mentally strong.
And remember, I can teach you mental strength the whole day, but it’s not what you know, it’s what you do.
Get out there and make it happen.
Marcus
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