Welcome back to the Santa Clara Meditation blog! π
Even when starting the same task, there are those who succeed and those who fail. When there are no visible results, those who cannot endure and give up fail, while those who persevere often succeed.
Your life changes with just a slight difference in your mindset. Some people ruin an exam because they are nervous, while others prepare more thoroughly precisely because they are nervous. While some celebrities struggle because of malicious comments, others train themselves on how to strengthen their mental resilience.
Life is always full of difficulties. When a crisis comes, everyoneβs mental state is shaken. Success or failure depends solely on how you gather yourself, determine your attitude toward life, and choose your path.
“When skills become evenly matched, doesn’t the person with the stronger mental state win?”
Athletes, in particular, ruin their games when their mental state is shaken. That is why mental management is said to be as important as skill.
If you are someone who feels intimidated by trivial things, someone who works hard but is always anxious, someone who gets hurt and struggles because of what others say, or someone who considers yourself to have a “glass heart” and wants to know how to strengthen your mental resilience, I hope this article helps you! π¦
πΏ 5 Ways to Strengthen Your Mental Resilience
1. Face the Fear Within You
“Can I really do this?” / “I am someone who canβt do it.” / “If I make a mistake, itβs over.”
In such moments, it is easy to indulge in your emotions or avoid your inner fear. The more you avoid and hide from your fear, the weaker your mental state becomes. A strong mind comes from the courage to face and acknowledge yourself as you are. To do this, you must be able to reflect on your hidden emotions above all else.
- The more you want to be recognized, the greater your fear of criticism.
- The more you want to be perfect, the greater your fear of mistakes.
- The more obsessed you are with success, the more fear and worry you have about failure.
Through Ma-eum Su-ryun (Mind Subtraction meditation), you can find and discard your hidden emotions. By facing and discarding these hidden feelings, you can strengthen your mental resilience.
2. Stop Caring What Others Think β
“Why did I say that earlier?” / “Are they offended?” / “Will they dislike me?”
The more you are conscious of others’ eyes, the more helpless your life becomes. Therefore, you need time to reflect on why you care so much about what others think.
- You cannot endure it when others say something unpleasant.
- You cannot endure it when your flaws are exposed.
- You think you must do everything well.
- You feel a sense of existence only when others praise and recognize you.
This mindset is often caused by minor childhood traumas. If you understand the cause of this behavior and discard that mind, you can escape the bondage of others’ gazes. As you gain the mental room to accept the words and actions of others, your mental state becomes stronger.
3. Do Not Get Hurt by What Others Say π£οΈ
There are times when you feel depressed after hearing advice or criticism from others. You may think, “I am doing my best, so what do they know to say such things about me?”
When you feel swayed by people who speak thoughtlessly or make hasty judgments, honestly reflecting on your own state increases your understanding of yourself. Furthermore, your understanding of others will also increase. Looking back, you might have been the one who hurt others. People who can think from the other person’s perspective can genuinely understand them, giving you the mental strength to listen to others without being hurt.
4. Find Your True Self ποΈ
Because people have different innate temperaments and have grown up in different environments, they think differently even when looking at the same thing. Therefore, it is impossible for everyone to like you. Nevertheless, if you are accepting the evaluations of others to an excessive degree, reflecting on yourself is the priority.
In such cases, there is a prescription that most psychologists agree on: “Find your true self!”
One of the purposes of meditation is “self-discovery.” Meeting your most honest self must take precedence over everything else. Only then can you know what you truly want and what you are good at, and you will not feel intimidated by comparing yourself to others.
5. Do Not Entrust Your Value to Others’ Evaluations π
Are you overly conscious of others’ evaluations? It is not easy for anyone to be detached from others’ judgments. There is no end if you start worrying about how you appear to others.
By reflecting on yourself through meditation, you can encounter the true nature of the mind that torments you. You may realize that the standards of value you unknowingly adopted for yourself were like clothes that didn’t fit, yet you were applying them to yourself. You create your own value. Only then can you have conviction in your own worth.
π» Tip for Strengthening Mental Resilience
“The person with the strongest mental resilience is an altruistic person.”
What is the difference between an altruistic person and an egoistic person? By nature, humans are egoistic and instinctively protect themselves. Because of this characteristic, we often become wary of others, causing our lives to shrink and become difficult.
However, a person who works for the sake of others has a big heart and is confident in themselves. When you have a big heart, you become free from the gazes of others. If this happens, there is no need to worry about mental strength. You are simply yourself.
Those who learn to grow together with others and help them, grow alongside them. This is the true way to strengthen your mental resilience! β¨
(Note: This content was provided based on the philosophy and methods studied by the Academic Society for Human Completion.)
