adminWomen & Leadership
Maggie Mzumara
TO hold your own in a leadership role, you need to have considerable mental strength.
How do you ensure you have this?
Well, according to Amy Morin, a renowned psychotherapist, the reason why you exercise your biceps and other muscles for physical strength to do some heavy lifting is the same reason you need to exercise the mind to be able to tackle bigger challenges and overcome more obstacles for enhanced mental strength.
Like physical muscles, your mental muscles require a good workout.
And these ten, as per Morin exercises, are the types of things that help mentally strong people to achieve their goals.
Reframe negative thoughts
If you are having catastrophic thoughts, like “this will never work”, try replacing them with something more realistic, such as, “If I work hard, I will improve my chances of success.”
Create goals
It’s fun to aim high and dream big, but setting your sights too high will likely lead to disappointment. Rather than set out to lose 100 pounds, focus on losing five first. When you reach that goal, you will be more motivated to lose the next five pounds.
Set yourself up for success
You don’t need to subject yourself to temptations every day to stay mentally strong. Modify your environment from time to time. Make life a little easier. Put your running sneakers next to the bed if you want to work out in the morning. Remove the junk food from your pantry if your goal is to eat healthier.
Do at least one difficult
thing each day
Improvement doesn’t come about by accident. You need to challenge yourself on purpose. Make sure to analyse your own boundaries, though, since everyone has a different idea of what is challenging. Have the courage to pick something slightly outside these boundaries. And then take one small step every day.
Enrol in a class you don’t think you qualify for. Speak up for yourself even when it is uncomfortable. Always push yourself to become a little better today than you were yesterday.
Tolerate discomfort for
a greater purpose
The feeling of discomfort can often lead people to look for unhealthy shortcuts. Binge TV-watching and overdrinking are common emotional crutches. But these types of short-term solutions more often create bigger long-term problems. The next time you experience discomfort, remind yourself of the bigger picture. Balance your budget even when it gives you anxiety. Tolerating uncomfortable emotions can help you gain the confidence you need.
Balance your emotions with logic
If you were to be 100 percent logical all the time, you might live a boring life, devoid of leisure time, pleasure, or even love. But if you base all of your decisions on emotion, you might spend all your money on fun, rather than save for retirement or investments. To make the best decisions, you need to balance your logic and emotion.
So regardless of how minor or major the decision in your life, check yourself to make sure you are balancing your emotions with logic. Being overly anxious, angry or excited can cause you to make an emotional decision. So, write down a list of pros and cons for each important decision you make.
Fulfil your purpose
It’s hard to stay the course unless you know your overall purpose. Why is it that you want to hone your craft or to earn more money? Write out a clear and concise mission statement about what you want to accomplish in life. When you are struggling to take the next step, remind yourself why it’s important to keep going. Focus on your daily objectives, but make sure those steps you are taking will get you to a larger goal in the long run.
Look for explanations,
not excuses
Did you fall short of your goal? Then examine the reasons. Rather than make excuses for your behaviour, look for an explanation that can help you do better next time.
Take on the full responsibility for any shortcomings without placing blame. When you face and acknowledge your mistakes, you can learn from them and avoid repeating them.
Use the 10-minute rule
Mental strength can help you be productive when you don’t feel like it, but it’s not a magic wand that will make you feel motivated all the time. There is a 10-minute rule that comes in handy when you are tempted to put off something important.
If you catch yourself eyeing the couch at the time you planned to go for your mile run, then tell yourself to get moving for just 10 minutes. If your mind is still fighting your body after 10 minutes, then it might be OK to give yourself permission to quit. But more often than not, once you take that first step, you’ll realise your task is not nearly as tough as you predicted.
Prove yourself wrong
The next time you think you can’t do something, prove yourself wrong. Commit to topping your sales goal for this month or beating your time in the mile run. You are more capable than you give yourself credit for, so make it a habit to prove yourself wrong. Over time, your brain will stop underestimating your own potential.
◆ Maggie Mzumara is a leadership, communication and media strategist as well as corporate trainer, who offers group trainings as well as one on one coaching in various areas of expertise. She advocates women leadership and is founder of Success in Stilettos (SiS) Seminar Series, a leadership development platform for women. Contact her on [email protected] or follow on Twitter @magsmzumara
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