Recently during an evening walk, I started thinking about mental strength, discipline, endurance and the reward. Our mind can be the first to give up when our bodies could endure more, therefore having mental control and discipline is what can turn average people into athletes. And we get a reward for the mental strength and discipline by design: it’s the release of endorphins – “those happiness hormones”.
We seek that reward in life, so while I’m on that subject, I’ll share Healthline’s suggestion of 8 natural ways of obtaining endorphins:
- Exercise
- Laugh
- Listen to Music
- Get Acupuncture
- Eat Dark Chocolate
- Have Sex
- Dance
- Meditate
Mental Strength certainly helps in athletic ability, but it also helps us in every day life situations. A common description for Mental Strength is resilience. When a person has mental strength, they are resilient. Becoming a resilient person is beneficial for all of us. Mental Strength or Mental Toughness is described as:
“The process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or even significant sources of stress.”
The American Psychological Association (2014)
Searching for “how to build mental strength” the results identified many articles and books covering this topic, however the most complete book addressing this was not listed as a reference book. Many people probably wouldn’t even think of reading this book to develop mental strength, yet it has the best examples of mental strength within it and words of wisdom making it an excellent reference book on mental strength. This book is the Bible. After studying the Bible, and hearing various sermons or bible studies from Pastors of churches, I realized how so many of the common topics or reasons people go to therapists are addressed in and solved by the Bible! If the Bible was referenced, we would know the answers, the solutions to so many problems. To illustrate this point, the list below was obtained from various articles about “how to build mental strength” and I added a few links to the Bible’s verses, chapters or books that illustrate and direct people towards these habits. There are many more than what I’ve referenced- they can be found throughout the Bible.
Mental Strength can be obtained by:
- practicing gratitude: 1 Thessalonians 5:18, James 1:3
- positive thinking: Romans 8:28
- controlling anxiety: Matthew 6:25
- goal setting: Philippians 3:14
- having self-awareness: Mark 7:21
- having self-control: Multiple References
- being a reliable person: Psalm 111 (this is a reference to Jesus), 1 Corinthians 13:7, Romans 5:4
- developing confidence in the ability to be productive and have the ability to influence others: 2 Corinthians 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:12; Proverbs 27:17
- having a sense of life purpose: Jeremiah 1:5 , Ephesians 2:10
- seeing challenges as opportunities rather than threats: Romans 8:28
- visualize past successful outcomes: (throughout the Bible it emphasizes that with God everything will be successful): 1 Chronicles 28:20
- plan for setbacks (back up plan): John 16:33
- meditation: 1 Thessalonians 5:17
- getting enough sleep: Exodus 34:21
- recover after failure: Hebrews 8:12
- resist fear: 2 Timothy 1:7
- not “following the crowd”: 2 Corinthians 10:3, Ephesians 2:2
- taking full responsibility for their status: Matthew 16:27
In summary, the Bible has excellent examples of mental strength throughout. Paul who wrote the letters to the Thessalonians, Ephesians, Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians and Romans in the Bible exhibits this mental strength in many of his letters and during the time he was imprisoned. Jesus exhibits this in his avoidance of temptation (Mark 1:13) and when Jesus followed through with God’s will: (Luke 22:42). Most of Jesus’ disciples were executed but had such great mental strength that even the threat of death did not keep them from telling people about eternal life. So if you want to improve your mental strength, read the Bible, you will be amazed at how it will change your life. This isn’t “just a book”, this is the “living word” of God. (2 Timothy 3:16)
S.A.I.L. 