How to increase your mental strength this 2024: 10 tips

BUILDING MENTAL STRENGTH: Resilience, as outlined by Dr. Dennis Charney, author of “Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life’s Greatest Challenges”, played a pivotal role in his life after surviving a near-fatal shotgun blast in a murder attempt by a former disgruntled employee. He provides a simplified, science-backed approach that cuts through the complexity in order to “retrain” the brain for greater resilience. Following are the 10 steps Dr Charney prescribes:

1. FIND YOUR ANCHOR: Establish an unshakable core set of beliefs as your anchor. In times of significant setbacks, grounding yourself in immutable values ensures connection to what truly matters, altering the perception of associated pain. Focus on gain, not pain, for resilience. Scott Mautz, author of "Find the Fire," advocates this approach for mental strength.

2. TAKE CHALLENGES AS OPPORTUNITIES TO GROW: Find a deeper meaning in each challenging circumstance. Everyone faces stressful events. Discover the profound meaning within the turbulence. Whether grappling with a personal tragedy, workplace setback, or any stress-inducing situation, perceive it as unfolding for your benefit, not as a victimising force. Scott Mautz recalls feeling devastated after 13 rejections of his first book: “I was convinced my first book, after 13 “no’s” from publishers, would never happen. I had put five years into writing it, it was a traumatic thing for me. When I finally got a ‘yes’ on my agent’s last try, I realised that all that pain happened for me to make me a better writer and to be better able to handle future adversity.”

3. STAY POSITIVE: Optimism has a genetic basis, Charney finds, but it can also be “cultivated”. It forms a strong connection with resilience. While succumbing to negativity is effortless, individuals who swiftly recover also shift back to a positive mindset with equal speed. While negativity can be devastating for your mental well-being and undercuts your motivation, a positive outlook gives you mental strength, and makes it easier to succeed in life. So take steps to change negative thoughts into more realistic or positive ones. Look at a glass as half-full, instead of half-empty. Same situation, but big difference.

4. FIND A MENTOR IN RESILIENCE | ROLE MODEL: Seeking a resilience mentor – a teacher, or someone to emulate on how they overcame great challenges – involves an active effort to search for role models. Emulation serves as an effective substitute for counteracting the brain's innate inclination, during setbacks, to default to a pessimistic or doomsday outlook. Mautz promotes the concept of a “Personal Board of Directors”, urging people to cultivate a group of mentors for guidance, support, and encouragement during challenging times at work or in their personal lives. Try to embrace this in your own personal and professional journey.

5. CONFRONT YOUR FEARS: Fear, while a powerful motivator, can become stressful over time. Constant fear erodes resilience, especially fear of the unknown. Self-doubt and seeing setbacks as failure weigh us down, but setbacks are part of life. Remember, there are only three true ways to fail: quitting, avoiding improvement, or never attempting at all. Embrace setbacks; they are an expected part of life's journey.

6. SEEK HELP: There’s nothing wrong in seeking help. Emotional resilience thrives on meaningful connections, providing crucial support during tough times. No man is an island. Seeking help reduces the cost and impact of stressful situations and allows more people to flourish and contribute to a more positive society. Seeking help should, therefore, be seen as a positive step; one that enhances health and wellbeing and happiness. Wallowing in your own pain, without seeking even consoling words from a friend, is the hallmark of a life of pride, and can be downright toxic.

7. LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERYDAY: Cultivate a habit of learning something new each day. Acquiring new knowledge conditions the mind to welcome and relish the unfamiliar. It constructs a record of progressing from a beginner to achieving proficiency, providing a valuable reservoir of experience to tap into, especially during challenging setbacks

8. WORK ON YOURSELF: “Motion is lotion”, Dr. Greg Ford, Director of PT and Associate Professor at Daemen College, argued. It's vital for people to keep moving, even through an injury, he added. Exercise yields favourable impacts not only on the body—but moreso on the mood, and self-esteem. Charney states that when confronted with a challenging issue, he frequently reconsiders and resolves it immediately after exercising. Exercise is a decision to put yourself first, to work on yourself. Keeping an exercise regimen is a powerful habit and a great starting point for each day. It’s an essential element for fortifying resilience.

9. FORGIVE YOURSELF AND CHIN UP: Building resilience would have a good chance of success if you do away with negative self-talk. But it becomes doubly difficult when your mental energy is consumed by self-criticism instead of acknowledging imperfections and embracing the opportunity to move beyond the past. In the midst of adversity, we sometimes all go into self-blame. The point is to make a conscious effort to learn to navigate through the period of self-mourning and loathing, and do away with self flagellation in order to face new realities with renewed vigour and hope.

10. NURTURE YOUR UNIQUE STRENGTHS: Reflect on your past experiences. What are you good at–when it comes to work, family and community? Accept constructive criticism (from chosen mentors, family, friends). Also, take assessments, analyse your goals/set realistic goals, and track your progress. Charney urges: “Learn to recognise your character strengths and engage them to deal with difficult and stressful situations.” Think of such strengths as your armor–keep it polished so you can wear it to make you feel even stronger and to protect you from further injury.