Being Mentally Strong with Simple Behaviors and Habits
by Mrs. Freud
Since my professional focus is around people´s habits, a book with the following title got my immediate attention: “13 Things Mentally Strong People Don´t Do: Take Back Your Power, Embrace Change, Face Your Fears, and Train Your Brain for Happiness and Success,” by Amy Morin. I decided to find out what things not to do in order to cultivate a strong mind and found the points valuable enough to share them. We might be tempted to think that having a strong mind is something we are genetically equipped with, but this book suggests what I have long found to be true in my private practice: Change (in life and of personality) can happen only with awareness and only with a change of habits. Little things can have a huge impact on the direction of our lives. Without further ado, I am listing those 13 things and follow up with some comments:
1. Don´t waste time feeling sorry for yourself
2. Don´t give away your power
3. Don´t shy away from change
4. Don´t focus on things you can´t control
5. Don´t worry about pleasing everyone
6. Don´t fear taking calculated risks
7. Don´t dwell on the past
8. Don´t make the same mistakes over and over
9. Don´t resent other people´s success
10. Don´t give up after the first failure
11. Don´t fear alone time
12. Don´t feel the world owes you anything
13. Don´t expect immediate results
Obviously that´s a lot of don´ts. I hope it did not arouse the rebellious toddler or teenager in you, because they are all showing the path to more freedom and success. It is good to remember what actions are a waste of our own precious resources (energy, time and mental capacity). That´s time and energy we could use to improve our quality of life or at the very least simply enjoy with a favorite pastime. These practices which help us stay balanced and relaxed, which then aids our health and also awakens our creative mind, which has the most important ideas for our life in general.
Pick your top three favorites on the list and reflect on how much you are already living it and what it is you do instead of “Don´t do.” Get started with one or two that you know you are doing against your better knowledge and summon the courage to change it. You will feel great doing something to improve your life. It will make you excited about further, even more profound changes. Then pick your three or two least favorites. Think about where you are at with those and come up with one or two concrete steps for each that you can implement in order to cultivate strong mind habits.
Make use of inspiration from other people who you admire for following exactly those suggestions that you have had trouble with in the past. Things are changing as soon as you decide for them to change. Within our own power is where we can build a fabulous life. As long as we look to others to change for us to become happy and healthy, we are betraying ourselves knowingly. It is a stalling technique, out of fear, unfortunate habits and lack of commitment. It does not have to be this way. The strong mind and successful and fulfilled life starts here and now, one “don´t” fix at a time. Thank you, Amy Morin!
Author Sabine Starr is a psychologist licensed in Vienna, Austria, currently living and working in Mission Hills. She has written numerous articles for professional psychology journals. For further information, visit www.starrcoaching.com and follow her blog at www.HealthwithTaste.blogspot.com; and a new social media offering is www.facebook.com/StarrCoaching.
Category: Life Style
