The secret to being mentally strong is giving up mental bad habits (no matter how small they may seem) that keep you away from finding a solution or moving on. It's like building physical strength - going to the gym or working out, but also giving up junk food.<ul><li>When you go through tough feelings, instead of around them...and then move on, you get the confidenece in your ability to handle that discomforts.</li><li>Compare yourself to only who you were yesterday, not with others. Comparing yourself to others only throws you back into the envy, self-pity loop.</li><li>Even if you believe things can't change for the better, make one small change. Every little success will create momentum taking you towards your goal.</li></ul>

Becoming emotionally resilient

Researchers have found envying your friends' perfect life feed on social media leads to depression."Why do they have all the luck?" may make us feel better in the moment but hurts our mental strength.3 kinds of destructive beliefs that hurts mental strength - <ol><li>Unhealthy beliefs about ourselves. Sad is ok but self-pity is not. Magnifying the misfortune keeps us stuck, focused on the problem instead of the solution.</li><li>Unhealthy beliefs about others. Giving away the control of our life to others by prioritizing the "I have to" tasks. You are in control of your response and your choices.</li><li>Unhealthy beliefs about the world. It's a bad habit to believe enough hard work makes us deserve success - it's not 'how much', but 'how' that matters more here.</li></ol>

How bad habits hurt us

Everyone has the ability to build mental strength, but most people don't know how.  We spend a lot of time talking about physical strength and physical health, but much less time on mental strength and mental health.  We can choose to perform exercises that will help us learn to regulate our thoughts, manage our emotions, and behave productively despite our circumstances - the 3 basic factors of mental strength. No matter what your goals are, building mental strength is the key to reaching your greatest potential. Amy Morin is a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist. Since 2002, she has been counseling children, teens, and adults. She also works as an adjunct psychology instructor.   Amy’s expertise in mental strength has attracted international attention. Her bestselling book, 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do, is being translated into more than 20 languages.   Amy’s advice has been featured by a number of media outlets, including: Time, Fast Company, Good Housekeeping, Business Insider, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Success, Glamour, Oprah.com, TheBlaze TV, and Fox News. She has also been a guest on dozens of radio shows.   She is a regular contributor to Forbes, Inc., and Psychology Today. She serves as About.com’s Parenting Teens Expert and Discipline Expert.   As a frequent keynote speaker, Amy loves to share the latest research on resilience and the best strategies for overcoming adversity and building mental muscle. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

Everyone has the ability to build mental strength, but most people don't know how. 
We spend a lot of time talking about physical strength and physical health, but much less time on mental strength and mental health. 
We can choose to perform exercises that will help us learn to regulate our thoughts, manage our emotions, and behave productively despite our circumstances - the 3 basic factors of mental strength. No matter what your goals are, building mental strength is the key to reaching your greatest potential.

Amy Morin is a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist. Since 2002, she has been counseling children, teens, and adults. She also works as an adjunct psychology instructor.
 
Amy’s expertise in mental strength has attracted international attention. Her bestselling book, 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do, is being translated into more than 20 languages.
 
Amy’s advice has been featured by a number of media outlets, including: Time, Fast Company, Good Housekeeping, Business Insider, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Success, Glamour, Oprah.com, TheBlaze TV, and Fox News. She has also been a guest on dozens of radio shows.
 
She is a regular contributor to Forbes, Inc., and Psychology Today. She serves as About.com’s Parenting Teens Expert and Discipline Expert.
 
As a frequent keynote speaker, Amy loves to share the latest research on resilience and the best strategies for overcoming adversity and building mental muscle.


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