 What does it mean to be mentally tough? Think of it this way. You work out and exercise to gain physical strength, and the discipline and time you invest in your physical help helps you to feel better overall. This same idea can be applied to mental toughness. When you have a tougher mentality, you'll mentally and emotionally feel better overall. You're able to cope better with stressful and overwhelming seasons in your life. You're more capable of handling fear and doubt because you have the mental fortitude to deal with them. Want to learn how to become mentally tougher? We're gonna let you in on some secrets to do so. Number one, get an emotional trash can. Are you where you want to be in life? Do you feel stuck in negative thought patterns? Negative thoughts are often what bar you from where you want to be. Negative thoughts can fill you with dread and anxiety and wind up emotionally harming you. Mental strength is hard to develop when you have a negative mindset. One solution to this would be to get an emotional trash can. The point of having this trash can is so that you can throw away your doubts, worries and fears to gain better respect and mental clarity. You could try journaling or find a creative outlet for your emotions or reach out to a therapist. Trashing those bad thoughts and dealing with them in a healthy manner gives you a chance to process them and get to a resolution. With a clearer and more positive mindset, it will be easier for you to focus on what you want and where you want to be. Number two, acknowledge and use the power of choice. Do you sometimes feel pressured to make the right choice? Are you worried about disappointing others or letting other people down if you make the wrong choice? Let me let you in on a secret. There is no such thing as the right choice. Choices that are honest and in tune with what you want or need at that moment are considered to be the right choice for you. The right choice is dependent on where you want to go and how you want to get there. If you find yourself feeling uncertain or unclear, make a list of your present goals. Figure out what you're willing to let go of, especially if you know that it doesn't serve you and what you're grateful for and what you truly want to focus on. Number three, do the difficult things first. Life gets messy and sticky and sometimes we can find ourselves in some pretty bad situations. Everyone at some point has run away from something difficult. It's perfectly normal to want to run away when things get harder and more difficult for you. It can feel overwhelming and impossible, like climbing over a mountain. But sometimes in order to move forward, we have to figure out how to get through those difficult times. You certainly don't have to do it alone. Find a support group that'll be able to provide comfort, support and strength for you. There are people that can walk with you through this difficult time and help you to safely reach the other side of the mountain. Number four, exercise. Even though physical exercise is mostly for your physical benefit, it has mental benefits too. Physical exercise helps you establish discipline. The discipline of the mind is necessary for developing your mental toughness because it helps you build consistency. When you are steadfastly committed to building up your mental fortitude, negativity has a harder time of tripping you up. Regular exercise gives you a sense of routine, consistency and the added benefit of providing a healthy outlet for your emotions and stress. Number five, learn how to lose gracefully. Despite how unpleasant it might be, failure can be the ultimate teacher. When you're dealing with failure, sometimes the resulting anxiety and stress can weigh you down. This keeps you from learning from your mistakes, whatever the lesson might be. Take the time to sit with your thoughts and work through the feelings that you're experiencing. Ask yourself, what is the lesson here and how do I move forward? Once you're able to take accountability for yourself, it's easier to move forward and not make those same mistakes a second time. Number six, practice gratitude even when you're going through a difficult season. Does it feel hard to be grateful, especially when you're going through a difficult season in life? Sometimes it can be easier to focus on the negative things around you, but practicing gratitude increases your overall happiness, reduces depression and helps you override negative thought patterns. When you focus on what to be thankful for, you'll find happiness and lightness take hold within your heart. Being grateful and having an open heart helps you to focus on your goals and dreams so you can go forth and achieve them. And number seven, let go of things you cannot control. Do you find it hard to let things go? Do you always want to fix everything and feel like you're the only one who can do it? It is tempting to want to control everything yourself, especially when things start going downhill, but eventually something has to give. When things go wrong, ask yourself, is this something I can solve? And if so, how? What is your role in the process of achieving a solution? Learning to let go of things that are out of your control will make you feel less stressed and help you have a clearer mind. How do you feel about these secrets that we've just shared? It's not a secret anymore. What are some other ways that you like to build your mental fortitude? Let us know in the comments below. Please like and share this video if it helped you and you think it could help someone else too. The studies and references used are listed in the description below. Don't forget to hit the subscribe button for more Psych2Go videos. And thank you for watching. We'll see you next time.