Back To Career News

5 Things Mentally Strong People Never Do

Topics:

Mental strength goes by a lot of different names: determination, tenacity, even confidence. But true toughness goes beyond all these terms. It’s a quality of believing in yourself and your goals that can’t be undone by obstacles (or obstructive people).

statue 

(Photo Credit: Forest Runner/Flickr)

Amy Morin at Lifehack recently compiled a list of 13 things mentally strong people don’t do, including:

Do You Know What You're Worth?

1. Give up, even after failure.

What’s the difference between Sir Richard Branson and your co-worker with the get-rich-quick scheme? Well, a lot of things. But first and foremost, Sir Richard didn’t give up, even after he failed. In fact, the most successful business people are often the ones who’ve failed the most, but refused to let it shake their confidence.

2. Feel sorry for themselves.

Sure, sulking can feel restorative after a failure, but if you let it go on too long, you run the risk of compromising future successes.

3. Give away their power.

“Mentally strong people avoid giving others the power to make them feel inferior or bad,” writes Cheryl Connor at Forbes. “They understand they are in control of their actions and emotions. They know their strength is in their ability to manage the way they respond.”

In other words, as Eleanor Roosevelt once said, they understand that no one can make them feel inferior without their consent.

4. Avoid change.

Life is change, and mentally strong people know that. They embrace change’s possibilities, rather than fearing its potential.

5. Try to please people.

Most of us like to be liked, but if courting the good opinion of others becomes too much of a priority, we run the risk of suppressing our own ideas — or objections to the ideas of others — because we’re afraid of disapproval.

Tell Us What You Think

What are your tips for mental strength? We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or join the discussion on Twitter.

Jen Hubley Luckwaldt
Read more from Jen

6
Leave a Reply

avatar
6 Comment threads
0 Thread replies
0 Followers
 
Most reacted comment
Hottest comment thread
2 Comment authors
BbeeAliFAKE SMILEjohnRon Anon Recent comment authors
  Subscribe  
newest oldest most voted
Notify of
Ron Anon
Guest
Ron Anon

6. Read articles to see if they are mentally strong or not.

Bbee
Guest
Bbee

This was so superficial it serves as misleading. We do not need to “give up” but we do need to re-evaluate our plans and positions so we can actually learn from our failures. We do not need to sulk endlessly, but we do need to honor and use our feelings in an intelligent manner (not avoid or deny them) because they are instructive if we know how to interpret emotions in a productive manner (with emotional intelligence). There is a… Read more »

AMIT
Guest
AMIT

They never try to please is wrong..

When steve jobs came back to apple he had to please Bill gates and he had to compromise and partner with Microsoft..no matter how strong ur if u want more strength at times u have to give away your ego and pride and join hands with people whom u may hate to work

Give away power is also wrong- Remember steve jobs was forced to quit his own company..

Ali
Guest
Ali

Why do I always see people comment on payscale calling EVERY damn article rubbish? If you find these articles so bad why the hell are you still subscribed?? If I disagree with an article on pay scale I either ignore that article or I simply provide concise, opposing points with facts. Calling an article rubbish is ignorant. If you disagree, say it nicely. The world doesnt owe you anything. Stop acting like it does. Better yet, unsubscribe.

FAKE SMILE
Guest
FAKE SMILE

These are all traits of an Entrepreneur / Businessman. Not the things of mentally strong.

john
Guest
john

Most of what is said here is rubbish about mental strength. Giving away power being key. For instance your employer can put you on a “knowledge Transfer” project. Whereby you are forced to document and proceduralize for others “Trainees,interns ” etc… If you refuse avoid or do not divulge the relavant knowledge than you can be disciplined. Isolated from meetings. Passed over.. etc – Richard Branson may have failed when he was young but he got lucky.. Mike Oldfield “Tubular… Read more »

What Am I Worth?

What your skills are worth in the job market is constantly changing.