For example, if your initial thought is “I am weak”, you would start by writing down that thought on a piece of paper. You would then ask yourself, “Is there evidence that I am not weak?” Lastly, you would replace your initial thought with a more positive one like, “I am a strong person. There are areas that need improvement, but I am working to be better. ” You have to practice positive thinking until it becomes natural.
For example, if you are worrying about a big presentation coming up, you would start by writing down the reasons you are worried about the presentation. You would then come up with a plan to prepare for the presentation and address any of your specific concerns. Putting your energy into developing a great presentation is a much better use of your time than sitting and thinking about all the ways your presentation could go wrong. Developing good habits and increasing your willpower are also ways to help you manage any stress and focus on your behavior instead of the problem. [3] X Research source
If you were setting a goal around working out, your goal would be to “finish the next 60 minutes of your workout” instead of “working out for 60 minutes, 5 times a week. "
What did I do? What could I have done better? What would I do if I could go through this situation again? What did I do well? What did I learn that I could apply to my future goals?
Because you are pushing your body hard, it is important to eat a healthy diet and get plenty of sleep. If you have not been exercising, speak to your doctor before you get started.
You can also adjust your clothing to make the environment more challenging. If it is hot outside, wear long pants and long sleeves instead of shorts and a tank top. If it is cold outside, wear the least amount of clothes you can stand when you train. Slowly increase the intensity. You do not want to hurt yourself. For example, you may train in hot weather with shorts and a long sleeve shirt. Once your body gets used to the long sleeve shirt, you can add the long paints.
Do anything that gets you muddy and dirty. Spartan races, obstacle courses, and adventure races are good options. If you train with other people, always strive to be the best and outwork the other person.
Tell yourself, “I can deal with the pain. This is helping me get stronger. " If the pain becomes so severe that you cannot do your daily activities, visit a health care professional to make sure that you do not have a serious injury.
Small discomforts such as taking cold showers, fasting one day a week, or eating a strict diet are a good place to start. If you are having trouble finding a small discomfort, make a list of the things that irritate you or you don’t like doing. Then choose one of those things work on. For example, if you hate waking up early, start waking up 15 minutes earlier in the morning.
Defend the victims of bullying and scapegoating. Sympathize with the victim and tell the bullies to leave the victim alone. Someone bumping into you or saying something rude is not worth a fight. However, bumping into or disrespecting your girlfriend, partner, sister, or mother would be worth the fight.
This is especially important when you are in front of other people. For example, if you worked out really hard one day and you are very sore, there is no need to tell other people how hard you worked out and how sore you are. You do not want sympathy; you want to be respected. If you were up all night working or studying, don’t go and tell people how tired you are the next day. Instead put extra effort into how you look the next day. People will see that you worked very hard, but it did not affect you.
For example, if you have strong beliefs about being friendly to animals and children, you may correct someone that hit their dog for being disobedient. If you believe in being loyal and honest with your friends, do not tolerate friends who lie and are shady.
For example, instead of saying, “I think that was a really good movie,” you would say, “That was a great movie. You need to go see it. ”
You may need to soften up a bit to comfort a friend, help someone in need, or show humility. You can be a hard man and still have emotions.
