We all crave optimal mental health to help us have meaningful connections, positive self-esteem and to help us live the life that we love. Strong mental health allows us to take risks, cope with difficult things that come our way, and try new things.
Mentally strong people are good at managing their emotions, revitalizing negative thoughts, and taking positive actions. We all can be mentally strong. Here are characteristics to look for in a mentally strong person.
1. They Experience Three Levels of Happiness
Mentally powerful people don’t just tell themselves to be happy. They take action to make it a reality. Since they deeply understand that they need to enjoy life, they don’t tie their happiness to achieving things out of their hands. Instead, they shift their worries away from a problem and focus on adopting daily practices to solve that problem.
A mentally strong person practices three levels of happiness: happiness from experiences, happiness from growth, and happiness from giving back to the community or society. Such a person also keeps track of their emotions using a bullet journal and never ignores their negative emotions.
2. Gratitude
Gratitude is highly linked to greater happiness. When you have an appreciation, you’ll feel more positive emotions, deal with adversity, build strong relationships, and improve your health.
Mentally strong people practice gratitude. Instead of asking for more, mentally powerful people believe that they have more than enough and know how to be thankful about it. They also notice good things, pay attention to them and appreciate them.
3. They Accept Challenges
Challenges stimulate growth in a way that good times cannot. When mentally strong people accept challenges, they can face and navigate through such situations to build resilience capacity. The thought of having the ability to overcome an obstacle helps you learn from the struggles and lay a foundation for success in the future.
4. Make Peace With the Past
You can never be the strongest version of yourself if your brain is preoccupied with past mistakes, past hurts, and nagging regret. Being stuck in the past makes it hard for you to move forward.
While some degree of self-reflection can benefit you, becoming the best version of yourself dictates focusing on the present, as looking backward only hinders you from enjoying what’s going on around you.
5. Learn From Failures
Failure is always a possibility. When you experience failure, you develop the muscle to prevent the fear of failure from holding you back and push yourself to go after success. Emotionally fit people treat failures as lessons and not an obstacle.
6. They Create a Vision of Success
Having an idea of what your success will look like helps emotionally fit people to set their expectations right and help them stay focused on their path. A vision of success can also help you tell whether you’re getting closer to achieving personal expectations for success or whether you’re drifting away.
7. The Set Aside Time to Be in Silence on Their Own
We’ve all heard about the gospel of “me time” and how much we need it. Quiet times are great opportunities for self-reflection to activate multiple parts of your brain. Silence turns down the inner noise and increases awareness of what matters.
8. They Practice Optimism
Optimism can help us become happier, healthier, and more successful. An emotionally fit person is an optimist with positive morale, mood, and high self-regard. They are in control of their destiny and radiate positivity wherever they go.
9. They Review Unhealthy Beliefs Regularly
Unhealthy beliefs can only make a person feel worse. They can prevent you from reaching your maximum potential. They can affect how you interpret events the way you think, feel and behave, hence the need to review them for your mental stability.
10. True to Their Values
Staying true to your values makes you happier and more productive. It enables you to be authentic and assures you that you are operating from an inspired space. This is why emotionally powerful people radiate integrity and positivity.
11. Consistency and commitment
We cannot talk about the habits of mentally strong people without mentioning commitment and consistency. Consistency and commitment are powerful instincts that can lead you to correct conclusions and behaviors.
12. Manage Stress Well
Effective stress management makes happier, healthier, and more productive people. Our ultimate goal is to have a balanced life. There is no ultimate manual for stress management. This is why mentally stable people experiment to find out what works best for them and stick to it.
Closing Thoughts
Developing mental strength happens when you find the courage to act according to your values and be bold to create your success. It is more than just willpower and requires commitment and hard work. Mental strength is also about developing healthy habits and devoting time and energy to positive self-improvement.
