Are You Tough Enough? 4 Tips to Help You Develop Your Mental Toughness


No doubt about it. Healthcare is a relentlessly evolving environment. To be successful, you must be able to navigate changes, work through adversity and adapt at short notice. In other words, you must always remain ‘mentally tough’.

Mental toughness transforms obstacles into challenges, and turns negative stress into positive energy. The good news is that you already have the required tools–you just need to know how to use them.

Here are four tips to help you sharpen your mental toughness:

1. Keep an eye on what you can control. You may be wasting valuable energy and precious time trying to control too many things. If you don’t have any say or decision-making powers over a given situation, let it go. Focus only on the items that you can make a direct impact on and have control over.

2. Get better at saying no. If you’re constantly doing tasks and favors outside of your primary tasks and priorities, you will likely burn out. Indeed, the more you say yes in these circumstances, the more you give away your valuable time. Learn to value yourself and what you have to offer. Find a polite, manageable way to say no. For example, you could say, “I have to finish this task before I do anything else. Let’s see if we can find someone else who can help you.”

3. Make mini goals. You may become overwhelmed or even frightened if your goals are too big to visualize or fathom completion. When goals are too big to visualize, they quickly become overwhelming and even frightening. To avoid this situation, break your large goals into small, manageable steps. Ask yourself what small tasks need to be completed to get through each step. Your goals will become much easier and manageable this way.

4. Brag! Part of being mentally tough includes confidence and reassurance in your talents and abilities. So, focus on your top strength—one that proves you can achieve greatness—and think about how this strength can help you meet your goals and overcome challenges. Brag to yourself and build up that confidence!

Remember, you have all the tools you need to develop your mental toughness. Take note of the tips above and you’ll be well on your way to a more confident, capable, and positive you!

“Anyone who has a continuous smile on their face conceals a toughness that is almost frightening.”
—Great Garbo

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