It’s no secret that high-performing individuals often credit their success to mental strength. You can train your body and hone your skills, but without the resilience and determination that comes only from mental strength, your performance will fall short. Mental grit is the game-changer. If you want to know what it is and develop it, keep reading. This article will help you build mental strength to boost your performance!
It’s All in Your Head
Understanding the mental side of peak performance is key. In the book, The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Side to the Mental Guide of Peak Performance, author W. Tim Gallwey explores ways to overcome self-doubt, nervousness, and lapses in concentration. These all conspire to destroy the confidence needed to win.
“Every game is composed of two parts, an outer game, and an inner game. The former is played against opponents and is filled with lots of contradictory advice; the latter is played within the mind of the player, and its principal obstacles are self-doubt and anxiety.”
W. Tim Gallwey
The outer game cannot be controlled, on the field, at home, or in the office. The inner game, however, takes place in your head. You can control it, and if you do, you can find ways to win. Tom Brady, all-star NFL quarterback, credits mental toughness for his record number of Superbowl wins.
“We’ve won a lot of different ways under a lot of different circumstances. This mental toughness, man, that’s what it’s all about.”
Tom Brady
Defining Mental Strength
Sometimes it’s easier to define something, by pointing out the opposite. Amy Morin, a psychotherapist and best-selling author, wrote a book called 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do. Here are a few:
- Waste Time Feeling Sorry for Themselves. Everyone faces problems and challenges. Indulging in self-pity won’t fix them, and mentally strong people don’t waste time on self-pity. Instead they focus on creating solutions. If you focus on solutions, you will boost your confidence to overcome future obstacles.
- Shy Away from Change. Mentally strong people face change, pivot to new circumstances, create their future, and improve their lives. They never stay in toxic relationships.
- Feel the World Owes them Anything. Feelings of self-entitlement are a sure-fire way to limit your success. The world owes you nothing. Each of us has to work hard and share our gifts, regardless of what they think is “fair.”
Mental toughness is a measure of resilience and confidence. Developing it takes practice, time, and dedication.
Tips for Developing Mental Strength
Here are a few things you can do right now to build your mental toughness.
- Master a New Skill—Learning to do something new will boost your confidence and provide another skill to offer during uncertainty. For instance, mastering new computer skills will make you more a more attractive candidate when interviewing for a new job.
- Develop More and Better Relationships—A bigger network of relationships means more opportunities to get help solving a problem. Resilience doesn’t mean solving problems alone. Resilience is about know-how and who can help solve your current problem.
- Write down goals—Keeping to-do lists and crossing off items as you complete them builds self-esteem. Writing down goals and crossing them off as you accomplish them will build your confidence. Journaling gratitude keeps things in perspective and can help to strengthen resilience.
For more ways to build mental strength, check out this article in PositivePsychology.com.
Everyone can benefit from developing better mental strength. Better mental toughness will help you overcome any challenge, including economic hardship and a health crisis. You can build mental strength and boost your performance now. By following the tips presented here and some self-discovery for more on the subject, you will be on your way to better performance in every aspect of life.
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