Written by: Kamini Wood, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
When life knocks you to the ground, do you quickly bounce back and adapt to the situation? Some people seem to quickly recover from setbacks and adversity, while others find it much more challenging to carry on. Resilience is an important aspect of mental strength that can help us face and overcome challenges in life, feel confident about our abilities, and maintain good health.
What does it mean to be mentally strong?
Mental strength represents our individual capacity to manage stressors and challenges in life, make most of our abilities, and pull through hard times.
However, mental strength is a skill you can learn and master, just like any other skill. Building mental strength involves developing positive habits, ways of thinking, and behavior and sticking to them.
13 Things mentally strong people do every day
Mentally strong people have some habits in common that keep them mentally fit. Here are 13 things mentally strong people do every day. Try to include them in your daily routine and watch your resilience, confidence, and emotional control improve.
1. Mentally strong people pay attention to their emotions
Mentally strong people are always attuned to their emotions. They know how to observe, identify, and name the feelings they experience, never suppressing them. In addition, their developed self-awareness allows mentally strong people to track their emotions throughout the day and understand how their feelings affect their thoughts and behavior.
2. Mentally strong individuals accept responsibility
Being mentally strong means not blaming others for your mistakes and failures. Mentally strong folks don’t have a problem accepting responsibility for their words and actions. They don’t make excuses for their mistakes but learn from them.
3. They set goals and go after them
You have a greater chance of success when you know what you want to achieve. Mentally strong people tend to set realistic, clearly defined goals. Goals provide vision and motivation, so goal-setting is vital in staying focused on success.
Strong willpower and the ability to set goals to help mentally strong people achieve what they dream of and be successful.
4. They focus on solutions (Instead of problems)
Mentally strong people don’t waste time feeling sorry for themselves or raging about obstacles and difficulties. Instead, they focus on solutions and improvement – they analyze what went wrong in a particular situation, concentrate on how to solve the problem, and prevent it from occurring again.
5. Mentally strong people learn from their mistakes
Being mentally strong means understanding that mistakes are inevitable in life and learning. Mentally strong people have a habit of accepting mistakes and failures as a natural part of personal growth and development.
The ability to take responsibility for your mistakes and reframe them into learning opportunities allows you to grow, feel more confident, treat yourself with compassion, and reach your goals.
6. Mentally strong individuals don’t dwell on the past
Mentally strong individuals are able to make peace with their past, refusing to regret, hold grudges, or feel hurt because of past experiences. They also refuse to engage in unproductive behaviors such as rumination or dwelling on the past that bring no resolution.
Mentally strong folks don’t complain about the past and never blame others for their past decisions or how they think, feel, or behave. Instead, they only reflect on mistakes and learn from them when they think about the past.
7. Mentally strong folks accept challenges
Mentally strong people know that the key to success and happiness is accepting challenges as the natural part of life. They have a growth mindset, expecting difficulties as part of personal development and growth and taking responsibility for their own mistakes.
Accepting challenges allows you to relax and focus on solutions instead of dwelling on the past. Also, seeing challenges as growth opportunities can motivate you to learn and improve continually.
8. They accept defeat or failure
Mentally strong people have a strong sense of self-discipline and perseverance. They can resist instant gratification and tolerate discomfort, knowing that obstacles can be valuable learning opportunities.
Mentally strong persons don’t make excuses for their mistakes or linger upon misfortunes and failures. They instead focus on solutions and seek explanations that will help them move forward and prevent mistake relapse.
9. They set boundaries
One of the aspects of mental strength involves your ability to set healthy boundaries towards people, relationships, and life experiences. They don’t people-please but behave assertively, saying ‘no’ to unreasonable demands and expectations. Mentally strong people accept accountability for their words, feelings, and behaviors instead of allowing their happiness and a sense of self-worth to depend on others.
10. Mentally strong people practice gratitude
Practicing gratitude is one of the best things you can do for your well-being. Mentally strong people are grateful for all the good things in their lives. They regularly count their blessings to boost optimism and become more sensitive to positive things that come their way.
11. They speak up when they need to
If you want to build mental strength, practice assertiveness. The ability to stand up for yourself and speak your mind openly and respectfully can improve your confidence, help you set boundaries, and prevent others from taking advantage of you.
12. They don’t obsess over things they can’t control
Mental strength involves an understanding that, although we cannot change the external things happening to us, we can control our reaction to these experiences.
Mentally strong people know the difference between the things they can and cannot control. These people understand that change is a part of living and that circumstances change all the time. So, they accept the things they cannot change instead of focusing on those they do have control over.
13. Mentally strong people take calculated risks
Mentally strong people are not afraid to step out of their comfort zone, look for original solutions, and seek new opportunities. They have confidence in their own abilities and the capacity to manage strong emotions, always keeping things in perspective.
Mentally strong people are always focused on being the best version of themselves, balancing their thoughts and feelings to achieve their goals.
Kamini Wood, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Kamini Wood is the founder and CEO of Live Joy Your Way and the AuthenticMe® RiseUp program. An international best-selling author Kamini is driven to support people of all ages to heal their relationship with themselves and to stop outsourcing their self-worth. As a result, her clients become their own confident, resilient self-leader with healthier relationships. Kamini is a certified life coach, board-certified by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners, holds specialty certifications in Calling in the One®, Conscious Uncoupling®, NewMoney Story®, and teen life coaching. Also trained in conscious parenting, Kamini aims to meet her clients where they are, supporting and guiding them on their journey to where they want to be, both personally and professionally. Her mission: create space for each person to see the unique gifts they bring to this world.
