6 ways to stay mentally strong in the face of challenges

The day to day is full of situations that require us to stay mentally strong. From asking for a raise to preparing for an exam or opposition, to managing a break in couple, no adult person is immune to this kind of challenges that test our ability to deal with problems complexes.

Now... how can we get to keep a cool head in these contexts? Fortunately, there are some psychological tricks that predispose us not to avoid problems and to direct all our actions towards the achievement of objectives. Let's see what they are.

Creating a problem-resistant mindset

The strategies and exercises that you can see below are forms of training to become mentally strong, which means doing our part to think and make decisions constructively, instead of taking refuge in oneself and hoping that everything will turn out well by sheer luck.

You can alternate these simple exercises between them, or focus on those that best suit your needs. Of course, you must bear in mind that the effectiveness of these strategies depends on you, and that if you do not want to assume certain sacrifices to change, they will not work. To reach the objectives, at least, it is necessary to 

get out of comfort zone.

1. Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a set of exercises and a style of thinking closely linked to the different forms of meditation millennials However, beyond the traditional value of this kind of habit, Mindfulness has shown to have the power to change our way of thinking and perceiving things.

Specifically, it has been seen that it is used to lower stress levels and that it also makes it possible to better withstand physical pain, among other advantages. In the same way, it helps to avoid relapses in episodes of depression.

The effectiveness of Mindfulness has made it an increasingly used tool in elite athletes, to help them manage anxiety, and in nursery schools, to train the little ones to better manage their attention, something that can also be used in adults, for example, so as not to be distracted from the objectives and avoid procrastination.

• Related article: "Mindfulness: 8 benefits of mindfulness"

2. look for allies

Having people who give support even for short periods of time has spectacular effects on mental performance and also on the ability to maintain the determination to achieve a goal. It does not matter if these people are in a position to give advice or not, the important thing is your company.

3. Take a distant point of view

Faced with the toughest and most complex problems in which it is difficult to make decisions due to the large number of emotions that are linked to this process, adopting the point of view of an outside observer helps to choose the best option. The idea is to visualize yourself as a fictional third person, someone who has all the information needed to know what is going on but that is not as emotionally attached to the events.

In fact, it has been proven that considering the situation that oneself experiences by referring to ourselves in the third person helps to reduce anxiety that, in excess, can paralyze us.

4. Orient your thoughts towards victory

There are many ways to think about a challenge or problem, but there is only one way to do it so that we become mentally stronger and more capable of achieving our goals. The trick is in always keep in mind that our goal is to win, not losing with dignity or trying conservatively so as not to put too much at stake.

In fact, even if there are only two possible results in a game (win or lose), it has been seen that facing the challenge thinking about avoiding defeat is not the same as doing it aspiring to victory; in the second case the chances of success are greater.

5. Rest well

No one can maintain mental strength without proper rest. The simple fact of sleep the recommended hours and disconnect from time to time it allows the brain to rest and deal with problems more effectively. Otherwise, attention problems and poor memory fluency can greatly complicate the achievement of objectives.

• You may be interested in: "7 Psychological Signs That You're Not Getting Enough Sleep"

6. Fantasize about the fulfillment of the objective

Daydreaming recreating in our imagination what is experienced when getting what we want helps us achieve that goal, since keeps motivation high.

In addition, if we not only imagine victory but also include in this "mental simulation" the process by which we have obtained it, we will be winning a good part of our fears in the imagination, so that at the moment of truth we will be more sure of ourselves and will have foreseen more possible problems and our reactions In front of them.