Being <a href="https://www.inc.com/amy-morin/i-studied-mentally-strong-people-for-15-years-discovered-they-all-had-this-one-thing-in-common.html?cid=search">mentally strong </a>isn't about stifling your emotions and ignoring your pain. After all, it takes strength to allow yourself to feel sad, anxious, and scared.You don't want to stay stuck in a place of pain, however. It's important to be able to shift your emotions when they aren't serving you well. Here are five ways mentally strong people manage their emotions:

Managing your emotions

Whether you're a natural worrier who worries about everything or there's something specific that you can't seem to get off your mind, all of those "what if..." questions can consume your mental energy. What if something goes wrong? What if I end up broke? One of the best ways to manage your anxious thoughts is to schedule time to worry. It sounds absurd, but <a href="https://www.inc.com/amy-morin/the-simple-but-effective-way-to-stop-worrying-so-much-it-sounds-ridiculous-but-it-actually-works.html">studies show it actually works </a>.Set aside 20 minutes a day to worry and put it in your schedule. Then, when your worrying time rolls around, worry up a storm. When your time is over, go back to doing something else.When you find yourself worrying outside your scheduled worrying time, remind yourself that it's not time to worry and you'll have plenty of time to do that later.

Schedule a time to worry

Your emotions affect how you perceive events and how you decide to take action. When you're anxious about something--even something completely unrelated to your current task--you'll likely avoid risks.Despite the major influence of emotions, most people spend very little time thinking about their feelings. In fact, most adults struggle to name their feelings.But labeling your feelings is key to making the best decisions. When you understand how you're feeling and how those feelings might cloud your judgment, you can make better choices.Labeling your emotions can also take the sting out of uncomfortable feelings like sadness, embarrassment, and disappointment. So check in with yourself a few times each day and identify how you're feeling.

Label your emotions

Emotions aren't either positive or negative. All emotions can be helpful sometimes and harmful at others.Sadness is helpful when it reminds you to honor something or someone you lost. But it can be harmful if it tries to keep you from getting out of bed and tackling your day.Anxiety is helpful when it talks you out of doing something dangerous. But it's not helpful when it keeps you from stepping outside your comfort zone in a positive manner.So after you label your feelings, take a minute to identify whether that emotion is a friend or an enemy to you right now. If it's helpful, allow yourself to embrace that feeling fully. If it's not helpful, change how you feel by either changing the way you think (or what you're thinking about) or how you're behaving.

Determine whether feelings are friend or enemy

Behaving contrary to the way you feel can shift your emotional state. For example, smiling can evoke feelings of happiness when you're feeling down. Or taking a few slow deep breaths can calm you when you're feeling anxious.It's important to have a few activities in mind for boosting your mood on a bad day. The easiest way to do that is by creating a list of things you enjoy doing when you're in a good mood, like going for a walk, listening to upbeat music, or having coffee with a friend.Then, when you're in a bad mood (and your emotions aren't your friend), engage in a mood booster. Changing your behavior can shift your internal state and help you to feel happier.

Mood boosters

Many people go through life working really hard to avoid discomfort. Ironically, however, they end up feeling uncomfortable almost all the time because they're wasting all their energy running away from things that may cause discomfort.Embrace a little bit of discomfort. The more you expose yourself to uncomfortable feelings (as long as you do it in a healthy way), you can gain confidence in your ability to tolerate distress.

Embrace Discomfort

The stronger you become, the better equipped you'll be to face the challenges that will help you reach your greatest potential.

You don't need to feel happy all the time. But knowing how to shift your emotions can keep you from staying stuck in a place of pain. 

Understand yourself and those around you.

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Psychology

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Mental Health

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Cybersecurity

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Human Resources

5 Strategies Mentally Strong People Use to Keep Their Feelings in Check

So its time to stop being so accessible! It’s time to find that perfect balance of being a warm, generous person while taking care of yourself and prioritizing your time.And when you’re dealing with a limited quantity of anything, you need to plan how you’re going to use that thing to its maximum potential. In other words, it’s time to evaluate your priorities.So put yourself back on the list of our priorities. You may be surprised to find that giving yourself some time, some sleep, and some attention actually means you have more to share.Know that you teach people how to treat you. Most people will see how you value yourself and treat you in kind.

Don't make yourself too accessible

Being available to everyone all the time is a losing game. Stop being so accessible! Here's how you can be a generous person while prioritizing yourself.

5 Strategies Mentally Strong People Use to Keep Their Feelings in Check

Stop Being So Accessible & Reclaim Your Time (Without the Guilt)

Reinhardt de Beer