Leave a Comment / Management, Productivity / By Tim Lauenroth
In our everyday professional life we constantly face challenges and problems. Sometimes the solution is easier and we have the answer to problems in a short time. On the contrary, it can also happen that we get bogged down with certain problems and do not make any progress with the solution.
This affects our mentality and can quickly lead to a loss of enjoyment in the work and to the difficult task no longer being carried out. For the people concerned, the fun and motivation of the job and the daily tasks dwindle.
Due to the increasing switch to home office, the temptation to get distracted and no longer dedicate oneself to the work is great. Colleagues are not around and you sit in your own four walls to work. Especially when people get stuck in a task, they easily get distracted and lose sight of the real goal.
For you and for all of us, mental strength plays an increasingly important role now and in the future in order to be successful professionally.
The term, which used to be used only in colloquial language, is appearing more and more frequently in science.
What does mental toughness mean?
The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science and meditcin defines mental strength as follows:
A quality of mind or intellect characterized by, among other things, a refusal to be intimidated, a determination to finish a contest even when things are going badly, and an ability to control emotions and remain highly focused when under the pressure of intense competition.
At this point, competition can also be compared with everyday working life and the daily challenges.
So what characterizes mental strength above all is the ability to self-reflect during the process and to rationally classify the current situation you are in. Most of the time we don’t feel like doing the task anymore because we get too emotionally involved in not doing the task.
In doing so, we lose sight of the actual goal due to the lack of rational consideration.
In the following, we break down the concept of mental strength and introduce you to the 4C model. Afterwards we will give you 4 quick tips on how to best use mental strength.
The 4 C model
According to the 4C model, mental strength results from 4 main characteristics:
- Control
- Commitment
- Confidence
- Challenge
The factors influence each other and are the basic mental prerequisite to be successful in your job and to reach your goals. At the same time you can always reflect yourself with the factors and thus measurably bring yourself to a new level.
1. Control
With control is meant on the one hand the control over your life and on the other hand the emotional control. Psychologically strong personalities believe that they can take control of their lives and actions. In doing so, they are in control of their emotions in a way that is conducive to achieving a goal and does not negatively impact the process.
2. Commitment
Commit to the goal until you achieve it. Regardless of how difficult it is to achieve the goal, mentally strong people have the discipline and stamina to keep working at it until the goal is achieved.
3. Confidence
Confidence is the inner conviction that you will achieve your goals no matter what. Being convinced that you can achieve the goals you set. True confidence means not giving up when things get challenging. Being confident means having solid social skills, speaking with composure in public, and communicating well with others and expressing your opinions to the outside world.
4. Challenge
You’ve probably heard this phrase a lot before. See every problem and challenge as an opportunity to grow and develop yourself. But it is true. It depends 100 percent on the perspective and the associated approach, how you deal with the challenge and accept it.
Look forward to hard-to-solve problems, embrace them, and try everything in your power to overcome the challenge. The feeling of successfully completing big challenges is priceless and moves you forward in the other three areas as well.
“You’re the sum of all your experiences”
Tom Thodibeau, former basketball coach
The sum of your experiences shapes you and your personality, and therefore your mental strength. If you have solved many challenging problems in your job, this will have a positive effect on your approach to a new big problem. Mentally, it is easier for you because you already have experience in solving difficult problems.
We give you 4 mental quick tips that you can implement immediately:
1. Talk to yourself in a positive way and don’t be too critical to yourself
Talk to yourself and don’t be too hard. The best way to do this is to think of yourself as your best friend who is there to help you through your current situation.
Ask yourself: What would my best friend say to me in the current situation?
2. See it like a game
Obstacles in life will only cause you to stop the process and not move on. See your job and your tasks as a kind of game that you want to make successful. This will take personal pressure off you and give you the opportunity to achieve your goals and improve your productivity in a “playful way”.
3. Physical fitness
Physical fitness is an important prerequisite for mental strength and professional success. You can train your resilience in a playful way by doing sports. Your body has to expose itself to faster heartbeat, sweating or faster breathing when jogging or doing aerobics, for example, and try to cope with it. At the same time, you will also feel more comfortable in your body if you do fitness regularly.
4. Humor/positivity
Have fun with the things you do, no matter how hard or challenging they are. You’re not doing yourself any favors by taking your work so seriously that you can’t laugh or crack a joke. Often, it’s the lightheartedness and positivity that’s critical to working toward and then achieving long-term goals.
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