MENTAL IMMUNITY IS THE FOUNDATION OF
EMOTIONAL STABILITY.
The same way in which a cold or flu can
derail the health of someone who is already ill, a small setback or troubling
thought can do the same to someone who is not "mentally immune."
Mental immunity is what happens when we condition our minds to not only expect
fearful thoughts or external challenges, but to tolerate them when they arise.
It is shifting one's objective in life from avoiding pain to building meaning,
recognizing that pain will be some part of the journey regardless.
When we have mental immunity, we are able
to become a third-party observer to our thoughts and feelings. We can identify
what we need, what we don't want, and what really matters to us. Through the
process of reintegration or non-resistance
– we become more capable of tolerating thoughts that scare us. The less
reactive we are to them, the more we can learn. Frequently, there is an
unhealed root association with recurring thoughts we have, or feelings that
keep coming up. Being able to process these uncomfortable sensations will not
only help us overcome singular issues but progress our lives forward in other
ways, too.
So, we know that mental immunity is good,
but when we are in the thick of our suffering, how do we begin to build it?
Aiming for even a 1% improvement in your behaviour
or coping mechanisms each day is more effective than trying to radically
revolutionize your life for one reason only: the former is actually attainable.
2. BE CAREFUL NOT TO IDENTIFY WITH THAT
WHICH YOU STRUGGLE.
A lot of people who have spent their lives
struggling with anxiety begin to assume that it is just part of their
personality. "I am an anxious person," or similar phrases, are common
but not necessarily true. Adopting an idea about yourself into your identity
means that you believe it is who you fundamentally are, which makes it
significantly more difficult to change.
3. STOP TRYING TO ERADICATE FEAR.
Expect the fearful thought, but recognize
that it is not always reflective of reality.
4. INTERPRET "WEIRD" OR UPSETTING
THOUGHTS AS SYMBOLS, NOT REALITIES.
If you are afraid of driving in the car by
yourself, or losing a job, or being stuck in some kind of natural disaster,
consider what that could represent in your life (perhaps you feel as though you
are disconnected from loved ones, or that you are "unsafe" in some
way). Most of these are trying to direct you to make a change, so honour them.
5. BE WILLING TO SEE CHANGE.
When people struggle with something for
long periods of time, there can be a resistance to seeing anything change,
simply because of the length of time it has been going on. The willingness to
see something change actually begins to change it. If you can do nothing else
in a day, say out loud: I am willing to see this change.
6. IMAGINE WHAT YOU WOULD DO WITH YOUR LIFE
IF FEAR WERE NO OBJECT.
That is what you should be doing now.
Focusing too much on trying to "get over" something actually
reinforces it. It keeps us in the space of being broken. Learning to refocus on
what matter is what actually gets us to move on.
7. BE PRESENT.
Everything in your life that is sabotaging
you is the product of being unwilling to be present. We shop, spend, eat,
drink, dream and plan our way out of the present moment constantly, which means
that we never confront the feelings that we are carrying around. Being present
is essential for developing mental strength and emotional health, because it
allows us to actually respond to our thoughts and feelings in real time, and to
confront that which unnerves us before we adopt unhealthy coping mechanisms to eradicate
it.
The subconscious mind believes whatever it
feels to be true. Therefore, it is easy for us to program ourselves to be
subconsciously convinced that we are inadequate, in danger, or unloved. Mental
immunity is what happens when we bring those ideas to the forefront of our
consciousness and debunk them by marrying our feelings with reason.
Consistently reminding ourselves that a
spectrum of feeling is healthy and helpful and letting go of the idea that
overcoming something means eradicating it, rather than learning to act in spite
of it, will help us to inch toward the lives we aspire to, rather than succumb
to being victims of our own minds.
Source: Forbes
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