7 Exercises for Better Mental Strength
Mental strength is something that everyone can benefit from. It helps you to face challenges with resilience, cope with stress and anxiety, and improve overall well-being. Just like physical fitness, mental strength requires regular exercise and practice. Here are seven tried-and-true exercises that you can do to build better mental strength:
Visualize the Best Outcome You Can Think Of
Visualization is a powerful tool that can help you achieve your goals and build mental strength. Take a few moments every day to visualize the best outcome you can think of for a particular situation. This will help you to focus on the positive and develop a growth mindset. When you focus on the best possible outcome, you will feel more confident and motivated to take action towards achieving your goals.
You may think that imagining the best may just set you up for more disappointment when things don’t go your way, but this visualization practice may uncover new possibilities for things you can do yourself to make those dreams a reality.
Flip Your Mindset to Focus on Growth
Many people have a fixed mindset, which means they believe that their abilities and intelligence are set in stone. However, having a growth mindset can help you to develop better mental strength. This means that you believe that your abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. When you focus on growth, you are more likely to persevere through challenges and overcome obstacles. A neuroscientist in this article shares how to flip fear, anxiety, worry, anger, and other strong emotions to use them to your benefit.
Try New Things
Trying new things can help you to build better mental strength by stepping out of your comfort zone. When you try something new, you challenge yourself and build resilience. It can also help you to develop new skills and gain confidence in your abilities. Learn a new language. Play a new card game. Take a new class. These things don’t have to be expensive or complicated, but keeping your brain active with new experiences is so powerful.
Focus on Your Relationships
People who feel connected socially have stronger cognitive function as they get older. Spending time investing in friendships and family relationships will help promote mental strength because you realize you’re not alone, you have people to challenge you and hold you accountable, and you are able to relax and alleviate some stress.
Start and End Your Day with Positives
Starting and ending your day with positive thoughts can help you to develop a more optimistic outlook on life. Before you go to bed, write down three things that you are grateful for. When you wake up, review your list and start your day with a positive mindset.
Get Out in Nature
Spending time outdoors can help you to reduce stress and anxiety and improve overall well-being. Some research also indicates that time spent outdoors literally changes your brain structure in the area that governs executive functions like working memory, social decision-making, and selective attention. Take a walk in the park, go for a hike, or spend time in your garden. These things may seem simple, but the habit will pay off for your mental strength and resilience.
Build Mental Strength by Focusing on Cognitive Skills
Building cognitive skills such as memory, attention, and problem-solving can help you to build better mental strength. Having strong cognitive skills enables you to process the world more efficiently and act more confidently in your day-to-day life. Puzzles, brain teasers, games and reading are all great ways to challenge your brain and improve mental agility, including your ability to focus and concentrate.
At LearningRx, we help individuals of all ages grow their cognitive skills so they can think faster, focus longer, remember more, and learn more easily. It’s never too late to build mental strength, and our one-on-one approach allows us to partner with you to focus on both mindset and skill areas where you can improve.
