A peek into the world of mental strength

There are times when we feel as though we can handle anything life throws at us. And then there are days when even the smallest setback feels overwhelming . At times we can turn around and brush off such setbacks as being just a part of life: it is our mental strength. It helps us resist being derailed by negative thoughts.Just like physical strength, it is a muscle of the mind that we can develop to improve our overall well- being.
Mental strength denotes our ability to function effectively and sustainably in the face of challenges and stress — without sacrificing our own health, sense of self, and mental well-being. It makes us handle both the positive and negative sides of our experience with grace.

Mental strength is an expression of your willpower that can be thought of as a combination of Intention, effort and courage. Effort is power and can be enhanced by gauging the amount that is needed. Courage is the willingness to bear the intensity of fear and other emotions and do all that is required.

 

My encounter with mental strength

I have acquired mental strength the hard way. It is said, “For Every girl her father is a hero” but the situation was very different for me. I grew up in a misogynist environment, when my father would ask me to keep my books away a day before my exams when I was small . At that time, I did not mind following my father’s word as it gave me an opportunity to play more. I always heard my parents quarrel over my studies but did not understand its importance at that early stage . Gradually I realized that my father was against women being empowered, which my mom fought against strongly. As I grew up, my perspective changed and so did my priorities. I would get greatly demotivated and distracted by the arguments. I would always feel that I would not be able to do anything without my father’s allowance.. Here it was mental strength that kept me going. I didn’t lose hope in myself and constantly kept my mind revived with optimistic thoughts. For me my mother was a hero; all she taught me was how to become a hero of my own self without being dependent on anyone.

Helping to cope with mental strength issues

We all face tough times in life when our mental strength makes us fight adversities and engage in combat. This is when we should not get demoralized by failure. Anything worth achieving is going to require you to take some risks, and you can’t allow failure to stop you from believing in your
ability to succeed. This is exactly what happens when we live in the past- our past becomes the present and prevents us from moving forward.

Mental strength does not denote success of failure; but the ability to handle situations . Working on your mental strength can lead to greater satisfaction and help protect against mental health issues. After all, we can never start a new chapter unless we stop reading the last one . Mental toughness is when you can find fuel in an empty tank.

About the author

The article has been contributed by Imsa Alim, a student of Our Lady Queen of the Missions School, Park Circus, Kolkata.