Mental health and stability is serious business, and not staying on top of yours can seriously affect how you perform and relate to others in a business setting. Here are five ways to toughen yourself mentally to achieve peak performance.
1. Be OK with some things being out of your control.
There is not a single human being on the planet that doesn’t worry. And your worries are a direct result of the fact that you’re not in control of everything. The things that are in your control, you can manage just fine. So take your foot off the gas pedal, take one thing at a time, and focus on what’s immediately in front of you. This will help to ease some of the discomforts you experience from things that lead to your stress and anxiety.
2. Be conscious of your intentions.
Throughout the day, check in with yourself. When you sense that something may be slipping away, pause, take a breath, and revisit your intention. Take notice of how the quality of your work shifts every hour, as you become more conscious of your intentions.
3. Focus on positive thoughts.
If you’re feeling anxious, move. Literally, move — go outside and get some fresh air. Put on your earbuds and start listening to your favorite relaxing music while going for a brisk walk. Try to take your mind away from what’s bothering you. As you walk, focus on positive thoughts that will make you feel safe, accepted, loved, and honored. When you’re at homeostasis, reflect on how fortunate you actually are.
4. Train your brain to stop fearing.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Fear is what paralyzes you before you an important meeting or presentation. The anticipation of fear kicks in and you turn to Jell-o. But after you pull it off, you realize you’re not in danger. So training your brain to see there’s no threat will help you switch off the fear response. You’ll soon realize it’s “the fear of fear that you fear,” nothing else. Eventually, as your brain adapts, it’ll become easier to manage and switch off the fear response.
5. Stop ruminating on the past.
Smart and generally happy people experience greater success because they are good gatekeepers of what they allow into their minds, including unwanted thoughts from previous life events. We’ve all experienced failure, but if you’re still obsessing over a bad decision, you’re choosing the wrong mental path. Shark Tank mogul Barbara Corcoran says, “The difference between successful people and others is how long they spend time feeling sorry for themselves.” Accept that failures and setbacks are part of the learning process of life. Put it in the past and move on. This is what emotionally-healthy and successful people do, and now you can too.
Originally Published on Inc.