Are You (Mentally) Tough Enough?

This morning I read a post on Forbes.com that spoke to what mentally tough people DON’T do. These 13 “never do” points originally compiled by Amy Morin, a psychotherapist and licensed clinical social worker originally shared in LifeHack, are critical for anyone who wants to live a life above the ordinary negativity of daily ups and downs.

I loved the tips so much I made a poster to share. It is a great poster for self-motivation as well as to share in a meeting with your team or to post in your breakroom.

Download the poster: http://www.karlabrandau.com/mental-toughness

My interpretations are:

• Look to the future, don’t dwell in the past – You are a new person every morning with an open door of opportunity to live a different life than you lived yesterday.
• Give up believing you are entitled to success – Every human deserves success but success cannot not be given to you. You must earn it.
• Use your energy on events and people you can control – Focus on things you CAN control, not people or events you can’t control. That means letting go the misunderstanding in the meeting yesterday, forgiving the person who slighted you in the hall last week, and accepting that your idea for the new design was not chosen by your team mates. It means focusing on what you can control: yourself, your attitudes and opinions.
• Learn from your mistakes – If you don’t learn from your attitudes, you will keep repeating them, creating a downward spiral of emotions and belief that you won’t succeed, can’t succeed, or are not worthy of success. A mistake is merely a learning opportunity.
• Success is a journey – In our world of microwaves and fast food, we often expect success to come at the same speed. Success is a journey. When I read about the great opera singer, Beverly Sills, I loved her take on success. She said that some people considered her an overnight success but if so, it was the longest night in eternity. Then she proceeded to list every opera script and lyrics she had memorized and how many roles she had played before she was a top billing singer. The key is to enjoy the journey.

Download the poster:

http://www.karlabrandau.com/mental-toughness

Don’t forget to read the original articles by clicking on the links below:

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/13-things-mentally-strong-people-dont.html

http://www.forbes.com/sites/cherylsnappconner/2013/11/18/mentally-strong-people-the-13-things-they-avoid/