How to build mental strength and use it to build a successful career

Not feeling “good enough” about your career? Do you often feel disappointed when you introspect? This could be a sign of self-doubt, and there’s nothing wrong in it. If you are a career oriented professional, this feeling is bound to occur at different points. In simple words, this is how life functions. Some days are good, some are bad. But, belittling yourself during times of failure simply means you are going too hard on yourself, which makes you emotionally weak. You have to be mentally strong and keep moving ahead towards your life goals.

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“As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.” ― Henry David Thoreau

To sum up this quote, your thoughts make things happen, and this is exactly what mentally strong people understand. They know that they have total control of their thoughts, behaviour and feelings and consider everything else to be secondary. Once you learn how to improve your thoughts, feelings and behavioural patterns, there’s nothing that can demotivate you or hold you back from achieving your professional goals. Success follows when you put your energy and focus towards achieving it.

That being said, if you are feeling disappointed and derailed because of recent events in your professional life, these easy-to-follow hacks can help you become mentally strong.

Acknowledging your emotions will help find the right path

Even though we should stay away from negative feelings, sometimes it is healthy to acknowledge them and vent them out. Talk to a trusted person about how you feel—your fears, lags, disappointments and disbeliefs. Find someone who can lend you an ear and be patient. Most of us want to play the blame game to achieve satisfaction, but it is important to remember that it’s not external factors that make you weak. It’s your inner fear that affects your emotions and clouds your judgements. So, the next time you face an obstacle, take responsibility and work towards fixing its root cause.

“If you realised how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought.” - Peace Pilgrim

Your intentions are the driving force of your life

Understanding your own being is the key to mental strength. Be intentional and find the truth behind certain actions, feelings and emotions that cause you weak moments. You can keep a journal listing out all the feelings that you went through the day and be absolutely truthful about them. Perhaps, you will realise that those things that your conscious mind often abandoned or tried to flinch away from were the ones that sabotaged your ability to make receptive changes in your behaviour.

“Thoughts are boomerangs, returning with precision to their source. Choose wisely which ones you throw.” – Unknown

Emotional control aids in success

People who find it difficult to control their emotions are often the ones who are unable to take charge of failures and setbacks in their professional life. This is one of the reasons why we see so many failed businesses. If something doesn't go as planned, it should not make you question the existence of your business or your career choices. Mentally tough people develop tough skins and don’t let negative circumstances affect them. It is advised to keep your emotions in check and come up with a new game plan if the first one did not reap the desired results.

Challenges are the stepping stones. Do not turn tail

If something challenges you at work, stand up to it and take the plunge. At first, challenges might seem risky and scary, but once you decide to overcome them, the power of your mind will start showing you the path to achievement and success. There’s nothing in this world that you cannot achieve if you put your mind to it. Facing your fears and not letting anybody harm your existence is the only way to attain strong position in both your life and career.

“Jump, take that flight, and build your wings on the way down.”― Dilip Bathija

The tips above will help you develop a strong personality and get rid of self-doubt. Once you channelise positive thoughts in your daily doings, success will seek its way into your life. Have you been able to cope with the negativity? Let us know in the comments below.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)