When we swipe left and right or up and down the various media we are exposed to everyday, we might feel overwhelmed to see that there’s always something wrong happening be it in our local community or to some far-flung area on other points of the Earth.

There might be days that on a personal level, we feel overwhelmed by the decisions and trade-offs that we have to make from simple decisions such as picking out your diet or workout for the day, what book to read, or to more complex ones such as a career path to take or finding a partner to spend the rest of your days with. When things are overwhelming, we might lose grasp of the overall bigger picture and dwell in the problem in front of us. Sometimes this leads us to decision paralysis, anxiety or even depression, leading us to look at life from a broken lens, devoid of any meaning or hope. This post talks about the different areas or reflections that might help you develop mental resilience so you can get back up on your feet in no time.

Positive and negative emotions make life worth living

What makes life meaningful is not only the moments when we feel happiest, but really being able feel emotions along the whole spectrum. We will not be able to appreciate the happy days without the down days or vice versa. We have to recognize that having bad days is normal and it can sometimes be healthy to redirect our energy to something more worthwhile and purposeful. Being sad is normal, but do realize that you don’t have to dwell on it.

Self-pity is just plainly wrong

Sometimes when I do my workouts I come from a place of insecurity, loneliness or self-loathing and it’s the only way for me to shrug it off. Looks healthy on the outside but deadly on the inside. We may want to be a lot of things except for who we are right now. When you pity yourself so much it leads you to have poor performance in different life aspects from work, studies or even relationships which leads to more self-pity. A never-ending negative cycle. What’s wrong here is self-pity doesn’t solve the root of the problem and it causes you to overlook the good things in life. Instead of pitying yourself, replace it with gratitude and self-acceptance.

Choose Your Battles

Sometimes I feel like freedom and choice is a joke, we can be whoever we want to be but as long as what you are choosing is the option that’s not for you, you will never be happy. You can’t force a flower to become a tree, just the same you can’t force yourself to be someone you are not born to be. Choose your battles wisely, conserve your energy to ensure that you are growing towards the lines you are born to be in.

Don’t Aim to Please Everyone

Being a people pleaser is a huge waste of emotion and energy which leads to draining the life out of you. As long as you are living your life for the version of you that others have inside their heads, you will never be happy. By doing that, you are giving them your personal power as they can control your emotions, choices and life within the fingertips of their whims. Remember, you do you. It’s your life anyway.

Take Calculated Risks

It’s common sense but there is no growth in the area we are most comfortable in. We have to learn how to take calculated and smart risks gradually to propel us forward to be the best version of ourselves we want to be. Sometimes you have to say yes for all the life circumstances that you’ve said no before just to be exposed to new life circumstances.

Realize that you deserve to be happy

No one ever ruined their life because they wanted it, but because they believed the path they took will make them happy. Regardless of the bad decisions that we have made before, that long lasting feeling of guilt, shame and anger are just few of the emotions that might keep you stuck in the past, rehashing events over and over inside your head. You can break this cycle. Whatever that’s happened in the past has no control over what’s going to happen in the present or future unless you give it the power to.

Words of Wisdom

“Persistence, patience and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.”

Realize that success doesn’t happen instantly regardless of whatever field you are in. Create realistic expectations and goals for yourself and recognize that progress is somewhat slow. No matter how small the progress is, do it everyday and you will come a long day someday.

To sum everything up, mental resilience doesn’t guarantee that your mental health will be perfect each and everyday nor it doesn’t guarantee that the rest of your days will be full of bliss. It just ensures that whatever life throws your way, you know that you have the capability to deal with it and the resolve to stand back up whenever you fall down.