There are different types of Strength…..
Inner/mental strength and of course outer strength.
Either way, strength is the foundation of living your best life.
Without it you will not be able to complete most things, you fatigue easier, your mind gives up quicker.
Just like when we lift weights to gain muscle strength, we need to do regular activities to build our mental strength.
Having mental strength means you are resilient and able to bounce back from negative things pretty quick. This strength allows you to be able to handle pressure, stress and life challenges in order to perform at your highest level. Being mentally strong means you are flexible in your life.
Have you ever wondered why your best friend is able to move on when a stressful event takes place, but you seem to linger on a negative occurrence far too long. You both adapt to life change differently. One in a positive manner, the other negatively. Which one of you come out of the other side happier and more fulfilled?
There are strategies to help you change your mindset and build both inner and outer strength!
Someone asked if I thought this can be learned or is it bread into us. I think we can learn this behavior, just like we can learn how to think negative thoughts, make excuses, or just plain walk away when something gets tough.
I want people to see that no matter what life throws their way, they can live and learn from situations causing them to rise up and become stronger in the future than they were in the past.
Read on to learn some simple tips to build healthier habits for building both inner and outer strength so you can deal with life’s challenges as you are faced with them.
Mental strength: we develop this over time through personal development strategies of developing certain behaviors and positive thoughts and then putting them into action.
- Self love
- Gratitude
- Self care
- Giving yourself Grace
- Give up unhealthy habits of self doubt and negative self talk
Physical strength: we need to give up unhealthy habits such as fast food and develop the habit of training our muscles to be physically strong.
- Lifting weights
- Cardio
- Setting daily goals
- Introducing healthier food options
To gain mental strength it takes practice and consistency just like it takes time and consistency to build your physical strength. You need to keep applying strength building techniques and over time you will develop new healthier habits allowing you to be resilient to life stressors.
5 techniques to increasing your inner and outer strength:
- Positive thoughts– turn the negative into something positive. Stop and think about what is happening. Can you change it in a positive way?
- Manage stress/anxiety- you will never get rid of stress but you need to learn to control it. You do this by paying attention to how you view “stressful” events. Look at the stressor….is it something that is IMPORTANT? Will it hurt you or a loved one? Does it impact you right now? If your answer is YES, then stop and deal with it. If your answer is NO then move on. Pay attention to the things you can control, that’s what you want to work on.
- Visualization/manifest– take time to really stop and think about what you want to achieve. Write this down, Read it several times a day.
- ACTIVITY: close your eyes and see yourself achieving what you want. Watch yourself develop a plan, execute the plan and make your dream come true. Then, see yourself celebrating this accomplishment. Pay attention to how it makes you feel. Open your eyes. How are you feeling?
- Goal setting– you will not accomplish things in life without actually having a GOAL. What is it that you want? To lose weight? To run a mile? To decrease pain? To heal from illness? How will you reach these goals? WRITE it down. Make a plan and schedule the plan.
- Ability to concentrate– This is important! You need to be able to focus your attention on the task at hand. Whatever you are doing at the moment needs to be the main topic. Your FOCUS is in the here and now. Pay attention to what you need to pay attention to and what you should ignore. This will decrease the clutter in your mind.
People who are mentally strong are more successful and achieve more in their lifetime than someone who may not be as strong. To be physically strong usually takes an inner strength that does not allow time for negative self talk. When you build one, you build the other.
Tips:
- Replace negative thoughts with positive, productive thoughts
- Control emotions rather than allowing the emotion(s) to control you
- Take action in a positive manner- make a plan and schedule it.
- Consistency- You need to be consistent. Do not show up “once in a while”.
- Implement- you will learn the strategies but putting them into play, taking action is how you grow.
- Testing out your new strategy- if it doesn’t work then try it a different way. We each learn differently.
- Build endurance- the more you show up and practice strengthening your mind and body, the habits will stick. You will build the inner and outer strength to keep going. This also builds self esteem.
- Keep it simple- do not pile on too much at one time. Change 1 or 2 habits at a time. Work on small goals. Overwhelm will shut the brain down, slowing your progress.
- Strive to improve- Do not aim for perfection! Just be a little better than yesterday.
- Flexibility- allow the negative thoughts, then work through them to change in a positive direction. You cannot be STUCK on a certain way of doign things. Be prepared ot change things up. Try something new. Learn a new strategy. What you are doing is not working, otherwise you would not be trying to learn new ways.
Use the tips and strategies I have shared with you. These are the same things I use in my daily life to be able to move forward and not allow daily life stressors to pull me down mentally or physically.
Just like you I suffer with illness, pain, fear, anger, sadness and self doubt. I allow myself to feel these thoughts but I quickly shift gears to get back on a healthy track. Meaning, I do not self loath or allow negative self talk to hold me back. This takes dedication to myself and my health. I constantly have to pay attention to these negative thoughts and not allow them to take over. Every day, I try to do and be better than I was yesterday. This is how I grow mentally which allows me to build my physical strength.
XO, Tina