Mental strength is key. Especially so if you are young and male, but I think everyone in the world needs to be mentally strong. Life is very hard. You can’t get much of anything done without some level of mental strength. Illness, death, finances, job losses, being overworked… these are all everyday aspects of life that seriously tax our mental strength. When it comes to dealing with the true curveballs that life throws at you, you’re going to need even more mental strength to get you through things. Thankfully, developing mental strength isn’t hard. It’s just unpleasant. But if you make personal development a constant aspect of your life, you should see yourself becoming mentally stronger. Here’s how it’s done.
Endure hardship
This one is trite, and it’s also not something you want to force. The wrong kind of hardship can completely and permanently derail your life. You don’t want that, even if you learn something. Enduring hardship does make you stronger though. This is the advantage that people who grew up poor have. A higher baseline level of mental strength than the rest of those around them, provided the same level of functioning. This last part is key. Don’t look at the poor crackhead as an example of mental strength. His lack of mental strength is his deficiency. If you want to see strength in poverty, look at the old janitors or gardeners in your life, the guys who could make it in 2025, but never had a shot for a variety of reasons. Those people are the real winners when it comes to this mental strength stuff.
Take risks, and follow through on those risks
Nothing has made me more mentally strong than taking the risk of starting this blog. I’ve learned how to learn. I’ve learned how to work. I’ve learned how to learn about my industry and do the necessary research to succeed. It’s been a nail-biting journey, but after 1 year, it seems I’m looking at blog that I can set and forget, all while living the lifestyle of my dreams somewhere in Asia (or perhaps Brazil). I could have failed. I could still quit early. I would have some traffic, but not nearly enough to make a living. Instead, I’m following through on the risk I took, and things are starting to look up, as far as my search traffic goes.
Challenge yourself, and aim for the best (as far as what you want goes)
I’m supremely motivated by the idea of living a location independent lifestyle overseas. I’m willing to write and work as hard as is necessary in order to provide a comfortable life overseas for myself and my future family. I also have high aspirations for myself. I live in a “3rd world country” and aim to have a net worth of $50,000 USD by the time I turn 29 at the absolute latest. This isn’t alot of by American standards, and it won’t buy a lot. But it will buy me years of stress-free living, which is priceless. Starting a blog that’s worth $50,000 USD is no easy task. A lot of people make many attempts at it and fail. I would still be a 9-5 employee if I hadn’t taken up such a challenge.
Face your fears
It took me a VERY long time to learn to do this. I’m naturally anxious and avoidant. Not just when it comes to communication, but in life. I’m not confrontational, and I like to sit and think quietly. Learning to face my fears has been extremely difficult for me, but it has paid massive dividends. Letting go of the fear of embarrassment improved my dating life. Letting go of my fear of being broke allowed me to learn how to make location independent income and find freedom. Letting go of my fear of death has saved my life in physical confrontations, although those have never been a part of my daily life. Face your fears if you want to be strong.
Mental strength is the main thing that separates the winners from the losers in life. If you’re mentally stronger than the next guy, you should always be able to outwork, outdo, and enjoy your life more than him. This is important, because life is a competition. Wealth is relative, that’s why prices rise when money is printed or other redistributive polices are implemented by governments.
