We spend half of our lives exercising our minds in school. Yet when we graduate, many of us don’t push ourselves to improve our knowledge further.
We care about working out our physiques, yet we don’t try to flex our brain muscles.
What we tend to forget is that some of the most successful people on Earth do everything they can to build their mental strength. That’s why they’re as successful as they are–the learning never ceases to stop.
If this is something that you are interested in, you’re in luck. There are five mental strengths you can achieve to help you become successful.
The 5 Mental Strengths You Need To Be Successful at Anything
1. Accountability
We know what you’re probably thinking right now–I already know how to be accountable for myself.
But it goes far beyond showing up to work on time or making sure you make your annual doctor’s appointment. In fact, it’s much deeper than that.
To be truly accountable, you need to take a step back and remove the blame from others and circumstances.
How you feel and what has happened to you is often up to you, even when there are outside sources involved.
Sure, you can feel deeply about situations where others are involved. But you are also part of the equation, and it’s all about taking accountability for your part.
Does this mean that you should accept all the blame in every instance? Absolutely not. Accountability also means holding others accountable for their actions when necessary.
2. Helpful Beliefs
As humans, we are predisposed to feel as if our beliefs are the end-all-be-all truths. We want to be right, after all.
Unfortunately, that’s not reality. Our beliefs are in a constant state of ebb and flow. This means we have the ability to challenge them and change them as we see fit.
You are likely going to encounter countless people who have different beliefs from you. Rather than argue with them and get nowhere, you can adopt helpful beliefs.
These can include working together to come to a point where you both feel included, respected, and heard, looking at the big picture, and turning conflict into opportunity.
3. Self Assessment
Even the most emotionally intelligent people have a hard time assessing their moods and emotions at times.
Sure, it’s easy to say that you are upset. But that’s a very basic self-assessment. It’s been found that those who are successful are able to dig deeper and pinpoint what exact emotions they are feeling.
Rather than describing themselves as upset, they understand that they are feeling a combination of emotions, such as hurt and anger.
Being able to understand these exact feelings and the reason behind them allows you to manage those feelings as soon as you sense a trigger. This then prevents you from having unwanted reactions.
4. Holding Multiple Perspectives
As we mentioned earlier, it’s human nature to want to be right. But in order to be emotionally intelligent and build stronger relationships, it’s vital that you see multiple different viewpoints.
Why you ask? It gives you a better understanding of their perspective and why they feel the way that they feel, which then allows you to ditch the idea of “right” and “wrong.”
The world is far from black and white, and getting rid of this mindset will only help further your interpersonal relationships and become mentally stronger and less judgemental.
5. Calming Your Physiology
The most successful people know the power of meditation and the ability to calm themselves down.
Think about it for a second, have you ever been so angry or worried that you began to feel symptoms physically?
It could’ve been a headache, a stomachache, a loss of appetite, etc. That’s proof that your mindset affects your physical state.
When you work on your breathing and muscle relaxation during events such as meditation, you’ll find that you are actually able to calm yourself down much quicker than you may think.
Though it may take some practice rounds, once you are comfortable with the techniques, you can calm yourself when you feel triggered.