Mindfulness.com
Meditation
See all Meditation

Browse

Top articles

How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners

10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation

What is Meditation?

Mindful LivingSleep
CommunityFor Work

What Does It Actually Mean to Be Mentally Strong?

Melli O'Brien

00:00

00:00

Talk

4.6

Duration

Scan the following QR code with your camera app to open it on your phone

What Does It Actually Mean to Be Mentally Strong?

Mental strength involves your ability to think, act and perform at your best in any given circumstance.

So, what does it actually

mean to be mentally strong?

Well, there's a lot of

misconceptions about mental strength.

And when I talk to people about it, they

often think that it's about keeping a

stiff upper lip, pushing down difficult

emotions, and just soldiering on, or

perhaps using willpower to push through.

Some people think that mental

strength is about always being happy

and never feeling any unpleasant

emotions like sadness, anger, or fear.

But mental strength is not

about any of that at all.

Mental strength means that you're able

to manage your thoughts skillfully,

regulate your emotions in a healthy

way, and have the capacity to live

according to your values, even in

the midst of difficult circumstances.

So mental strength really involves your

ability to think, act, and perform at

your best in any given circumstance.

I think what's important to note is

that mental strengths does not make

you immune to life's difficulties.

Heartbreak, losses, misfortunes,

illness and pain will all arise as a

natural part of life from time to time.

But in the midst of these circumstances,

as well as in the midst of good times,

when you're mentally strong, you'll

have the tools and inner resources

to navigate through whatever you're

facing with the best of who you are.

In its essence, I would say

that mental strength is really

about living with awareness.

It's only through cultivating awareness

that we can manage our thoughts

skillfully, regulate our emotions, and

live our life according to our values.

That's why mindfulness really

is the foundation and the

backbone of mental strength.

Because mindfulness is all

about cultivating our ability

to be more aware in our lives.

So when we learn to tap into awareness,

we not only learn how to become

less reactive, how to unhook from

unhelpful thoughts, how to ground

ourselves in a sense of inner calm and

wholeness, but we also tap into all

the qualities of our deeper nature.

Compassion, joy, wisdom, and

enormous reservoir of inner strength.

So by becoming mentally strong requires

effort, practice and commitment,

in the same way that becoming

physically fit and strong requires

effort, practice, and commitment.

It's really about training your

mind, learning and then practicing

healthy mental habits and continuing

to practice them over time.

And that's what mental

strength is really all about.

Included in

Q&A on Mental Strength null Playlist · 4 tracks

Q&A on Mental Strength

Playlist · 4 tracks4.9

More by this teacher

Why Do We Struggle With Our Minds So Much?Talk by Melli O'Brien
Melli O'Brien
Melli O'Brien

Why Do We Struggle With Our Minds So Much?

Talk · 7 mins4.6

Similar to this

Get Unlimited Access

Start your mindfulness journey today.

A Mindfulness Plus+ subscription gives you unlimited access to a world of premium mindfulness content.

  • Over 1,800 meditations, sleep, calm music, naturescapes and more
  • Daily mindfulness video meditations 365 days a year
  • 100s of courses and tools to help manage anxiety, sleep and stress

Email Missing

We couldn’t detect your email with the SSO provider you have selected.
or

Mindfulness Guarantee

We are here to make a positive impact on the world. We never want to sell you something that hasn’t helped you live a better life. That’s why if you’re unhappy with any purchase from us, you have 30 days to get a full refund and your money back.

If you subscribed to Mindfulness Plus+ and are unhappy with your purchase, please get in contact with us within the 30-day period and we’ll refund your purchase.


Learn more about our Mindfulness Guarantee.

Mindfulness

Bring balance into your everyday life.

We believe in a world where everybody has access to the life-changing skills of mindfulness.

  • 2,000+ Guided Meditations
  • Daily Coaching
  • Sleep Content
  • Mindful Exercises
  • Mindful Radio
  • 10+ Courses from world-class teachers

Private Browsing

Added to your cart!

Checkout

Claim your free access

Create a mindfulness account and we’ll unlock this premium session in your account forever.

or continue with
By continuing, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.

Do you already have an account?

Start a free trial to play this session

7-Days free trial, cancel anytime.

Start 7-Day Free Trial

Finish personalizing your account

Complete a few quick questions to make your own personalized mindfulness plan.