When it comes to mental strength, we often think of qualities like optimism or resilience. And yes, they are important. But there are also some rather “unsexy” signs that we have mental power, for example this one.
What’s the first thing you think of when asked to describe a mentally strong person? Because she always sees the positive in a situation? That she can deal with defeat or always stands up for what is important to her? Yes, all of these characteristics play a role in how strong our psyche is. But there are also some other habits and characteristics that we often forget. Because they’re less “sexy” and just don’t sound as cool as the ones above. They are no less relevant.
These 3 “unsexy” signs mean that you are really mentally strong
1. You see yourself and the world realistically
Optimism is an important quality that can make our lives easier – but only to a certain extent. Because a good pinch of realism helps us to assess ourselves better, to look honestly at our strengths and weaknesses – and to accept our mistakes as part of us.
If we only see ourselves and the world through rose-colored glasses, we not only miss opportunities to grow, but we also miss out on many opportunities for success. Because if we don’t take an honest look at what we’re good at and what we’re not good at, we might waste energy on things that don’t get us anywhere. Realism is therefore one of the rather unsexy-sounding qualities, but it really helps us to gain mental strength and achieve our goals.
2. Your self-care doesn’t just consist of bubble baths and chocolate
In our society, which is driven by constant self-optimization and the desire to improve performance, many of us have a tendency to be very hard on ourselves. We put ourselves down when we don’t perform the way we want or when something doesn’t work out the way we expect of ourselves. When it comes to this aspect, we can and should all be a little kinder to ourselves.
But anyone who is mentally strong also knows that healthy self-care doesn’t just include cuddling. Not just treating ourselves to a piece of chocolate every evening when the day has been hard, or collapsing on the couch because we are tired. But it’s also good for us if we pull ourselves together to move more or prepare a balanced meal. But without castigating ourselves or putting ourselves down if we don’t live up to this standard for a day. It’s about finding a healthy balance between what feels good in the moment and what will help us in the long term.
3. You allow your emotions – even the unpleasant ones
Dealing with our feelings in a healthy way is also one of the less sexy parts of mental strength. But if you want to go through life well and healthy, you can’t help but learn that we have to allow all feelings. And that also and especially applies to the difficult ones. Because if we always just want to be happy, we don’t give space to emotions like sadness, anger or fear. But the whole thing usually doesn’t go well for long, because such feelings always find their way – sooner or later they catch up with us and we can no longer avoid facing them.
Strong people know this and therefore make it a habit to create enough space for all their emotions. This way you can allow it, feel it, process it – and then let it go.
Sources used: yourtango.com, psychologytoday.com