- Confidence: Believe “I’m enough”
- Resilience: View setbacks as opportunities
- Boldness: Dream big, set ambitious goals
Getting back up when life knocks you down is the key to a successful and happy life.
Scott Mautz, a motivational speaker and former CEO at Proctor and Gamble, offered this thesis in a recent book, claiming that the most successful individuals are mentally strong – those who can manage emotions and control their thoughts and behaviours.
Mr. Mautz has spent three decades examining how leaders develop mental strength and has found that six basic qualities are essential: confidence, fortitude, boldness, decision-making, goal focus, and message.
Along with these characteristics, Mr Mautz stated that there are six phrases you can remind yourself of daily to improve your mental toughness – similar to a weight lifter adding more reps each day – and prepare you to face problems.
If you lack confidence, Mr Mautz wrote for CNBC that mentally tough people frequently say, ‘I’m enough.’
Confidence can be elusive. However, the Learning and Performance Institute has proven that persons who report high levels of self-confidence outperform those who lack confidence, both professionally and personally.
According to a 2008 research of more than 12,000 males, confident people earned $28,000 more annually on average than less confident individuals.
Instead of focusing on differences or self-perceived weaknesses, start believing what makes you unique may fuel your success.
Mr Mautz wrote: ‘The only meaningful comparison you can make is between who you are today and yesterday. The only genuinely essential question is whether you are progressing.
Fortitude, the second pillar of mentally tough leaders, measures your ability to bear suffering or hardship. When confronted with a problematic situation, Mr Mautz suggests utilizing the words ‘What opportunities does this setback bring’ to improve your fortitude.
Reframing a setback as an opportunity can assist in fooling your brain into solving an issue, even when it would be easier to give up.
For example, you may naturally be irritated if your supervisor criticises you for missing a deadline. However, disputes of this nature can be viewed as opportunities to learn; understanding what not to do in the future might improve your overall performance as a worker.
After resilience, Mr Mautz stated that mentally tough people have a bold streak. ‘Am I letting myself dream big?’ is the sentence that best exemplifies this.
If the answer is no, consider being more ambitious and setting career or personal objectives for five or ten years in the future.
Mr Mautz stated that believing you can attain big goals is the first step toward reaching them.
‘You need to think you can dream big, that great things can happen to individuals like you,’ stated the CNBC contributor.
Next, he suggested improving your decision-making abilities. To achieve in this area, mentally tough people frequently ask themselves, ‘What’s the cost of indecision?’ – or not making any decisions.
According to psychologists Drs Martin Self and Sally Winston, who run private offices in Connecticut and Maryland, indecisiveness can indicate underlying issues such as low self-esteem, a fear of failure, or anxiety.
Overthinking a decision can lead to missed chances, being stuck in an adverse circumstance, being left behind by peers, and disappointing loved ones. Dr. Self and Winston authored.
Having difficulty making decisions can reduce your success in both your professional and personal lives and your resilience to obstacles that arise.
Keeping these stakes in mind might help you recall how crucial it is to make effective decisions and avoid getting bogged down in minutiae that lead to hesitation.
Next, Mr Mautz stated that mentally tough people have a realistic understanding of what they can and cannot control.
Spending valuable mental energy. Worrying about issues beyond your control prevents you from putting your best effort into the task.
To strengthen this personality feature, consider asking yourself, ‘Am I managing the controllable?’
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For example, worrying about the weather for a scheduled event is pointless because you do not influence what Mother Nature will do.
However, you can ensure that you’ve controlled for other factors, such as ordering umbrellas or fans, so you’re ready for anything.
Finally, Mr. Mautz suggested that you reframe arduous daily duties as things for which you are grateful. Telling yourself, ‘I don’t have to do this; I get to do this,’ can help you move toward more excellent mental toughness.
‘This one-word reframe unlocks thankfulness, making you feel re-energized when your job responsibilities are wearing you down,’ Mr Mautz wrote for CNBC.
When you have a positive attitude toward the activities, you are more likely to complete them enthusiastically and efficiently.
