Hardship and discontent should never be allowed to bring you down. Blue days should never be show-stoppers, but only just minor bumps in your road to success. Becoming one of those mentally tough people does seem like a dream sometimes. Like those few that make it a part of a privileged part of society who just seem to have it all their way, meet all the harshest challenges, and weather any storm with brevity and courage.
Climbing up the corporate ladder and earning a consistent salary do imply good mental training. Seeing as none of us are born with a completely disciplined work ethic, we need to work extra hard to cast away our fears and to open our minds to bright, new ideas. Here’s where we come in handy.
The following list will show you seven things that mentally strong people do. Furthermore, we’ll detail the steps to become one of them. Be they the subject of envy, scorn, or silent admiration, it’s undoubtable that these are the individuals who keep everything going forward.
7 Ways To Become a Mentally Tough Person
LESS COMPLAINING, MORE OUTSMARTING
The most complicated way to accomplish a task is not always the easiest one. Never whine about too much to do or criticize the person who has given you that task. Instead of spending all that energy on something not actually worthwhile, why not focus on doing the job?
You might be surprised what your mind may come up with when you put it to good use towards solving your issue. The same goes for your coworkers: the more they complain about something, the more they will lose in productivity. Take this chance to improve their work ethic: try to solve their problems for them once. They will now see that their tasks are doable if they devote their resources in the right way.
CELEBRATE WHEN OTHERS SUCCEED
It’s easy to fall to envy and jealousy of your coworkers when you’re less productive than them. However, that is far from a productive attitude. Instead of the typical grouchiness, you could for once try and do the right thing – just be happy. Forget your own workflow. Forget the fact that a colleague may get a bonus or a raise. Adversity and competition are common in the workplace, yet you should always watch out for when a friendly contest can turn into a nasty feud.
Instead of all that, you could just take a deep breath and just share in his or her happiness – trust us, it works wonders on your mental work ethic. Adversely, if you get competitive and try to hurry it up, you may end up on the other side, with actually less work done.
DON’T WAIT FOR VALIDATION
Give your own good feedback. If everyone around seems too caught up with their own jobs to even pay attention to what you’re doing, try to cheer yourself up. Think of how many of those coworkers couldn’t do their jobs if it weren’t for you. Give yourself some credit.
In these situations, try to remember that lack of feedback doesn’t mean that your work is ignored. On the contrary, it means that it is beyond reproach.
STAY CALM NO MATTER WHAT
Maintaining a certain level of calm is key to doing your job right. If you are a boss, you are typically prone to bad behavior from your employees which in the long run may end up driving you out of work. If you are an employee, try to walk a mile in your employer’s shoes. Understanding how the company works is the most important step towards understanding your own place there.
All in all, take it step by step and try not to overstep your bounds.
FORGET ABOUT THE MONEY
Money is the best way to distract yourself from the things that matter the most at work. Forget about that bonus. Consistently reminding yourself that money is actually the end-goal will significantly decrease your ability to comprehend and to do well the tasks at hand.
Recent studies have found that employees aren’t really motivated by money. Up to a certain point, it does (to the extent that the worker actually earns a decent wage), yet adding too many bonuses to the person’s pay significantly decreases their ability to concentrate on work. Jobs in corporate finance, for instance, have a higher pay than average, yet are limited so that the respective employee will earn just enough to keep him or her self motivated enough to do the job well.
NEVER ANTICIPATE RESULTS
If you don’t expect everyone to do their jobs perfectly, you will never be let down. If you’re never disappointed, you spend less time dwelling on past mistakes and more energy towards actively solving problems and completing tasks.
Mentally tough people know to count their colleagues, supervisors, and subalterns as human – therefore susceptible to errors. This is normal and can be righted. This strategy together with the mindset above will turn the results that do come into pleasant surprises. Think of it this way: what’s better, to anxiously wait for someone to deliver their projects, or to have them take more time for better quality?
SMILE SINCERELY AND OFTEN
A smile can make someone’s day, but who said it can’t make your day as well? The next time you’re at the office, with a heap of unfinished tasks piling up in front of you, try to follow the steps mentioned up to now. Once you realize the order in which you can best complete your tasks, you are more than likely to complete your tasks in the nick of time. And you will undoubtedly smile.
Try to make it so that you will enjoy what you are doing at work – everyone in the office will smile with you. Another good work ethic is to try and make jokes while at the office – nothing needs to be all-serious and if you never laugh then you may attract some unwanted attention and even estrange your workmates. As researchers have already proven, smiling really is contagious – once you do it, everyone’s morale will get a slight nudge towards better.
Why not start today?
What’s stopping you? Have a look around the office. Go for a coffee break. Take a deep breath and come back a new person. Exercise your mind to stay open to new possibilities. Practice patience when dealing with others. Never be overly harsh towards newcomers or they will be out before you can say “dissatisfied employee.”
Remember, though, that being mentally tough doesn’t mean that you’ll be a lax employee or boss. Keep your team in check and yourself too while you’re at it. The most important part of your work is actually doing the job properly. No matter whether you consider being mentally tough a means to an end or the end itself, the great benefits of trying it are clear.
We hope we’ve offered a clear and concise guide to proving your worth at work or in life in general. As a parting note, here’s one other piece of advice that needs no detailing: keep yourself interesting.
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