While many people refer to navy SEALs as the epitome of mental toughness, women tend to be more nurturing and place more value on relationships. Studies also show women find mental strength plays an important role in their lives. Here are key findings from a study surveying six thousand women across the globe about inner strength in 2015 and 2016:
- 92 percent of women said inner strength is important in today’s world
- 90 percent of women consider inner strength to be the key to success
- 71 percent of women feel that with more strength they could reach their full potential
- 82 percent of women wished they possessed greater reserves of inner strength
Being emotionally strong isn’t a matter of things you must do or must not do. We all engage in unhealthy practices at one time or another, especially when we encounter adversity. But emotionally strong women pay attention to the following thirteen unhealthy behaviors so they can better regulate their emotions next time.
They don’t compare themselves to other people
- Viewing everyone around you as your competition
- Using social media to compare your life to that of others
- Using words like should, wish or better
They don’t insist on perfection
- Expecting others to be perfect
- Assuming you must be flawless to succeed
- Hiding your imperfections from others
They don’t see vulnerability as a weakness
- Lashing out your anger and frustrations to mask your pain
- Avoiding social and emotional risks because you think you can’t handle rejection and disappointment
- Suppressing your emotions all the time
They don’t let self-doubt stop them from reaching their goals
- Believing everything you think
- Allowing your emotions to case more doubt on your ability to succeed
- Waiting until you feel 100 percent confident to do something
They don’t overthink everything
- Bleeding that devoting more time to thinking will help you solve everything
- Drawing your friends into your tendency to overthink
- Allowing overthinking to overtake your day
They don’t avoid tough challenges
- Avoiding anything that feels stressful
- Passively waiting to feel courageous
- Looking at past failures or rejections as proof you shouldn’t try again
They don’t fear breaking the rules
- Violating rules out of laziness or disrespect
- Waiting for everyone else to take action first
- Following the rules without considering whether they’re helpful
They don’t put others down to lift themselves up
- Separating yourself from other women to gain a competitive edge
- Pointing Out other people’s flaws to ensure they see them
- Venting or complaining because you think you’re reducing stress
They don’t let others limit their potential
- Staying stuck in unhealthy thinking patterns
- Letting other people’s doubts prevent you from trying
- Living up to your labels
They don’t blame themselves when something goes wrong
- Forgiving yourself too quickly for hurting others
- Feeling responsible for other people’s feelings and actions
- Believing you’re a bad person as opposed to thinking you made a bad choice
They don’t stay silent
- Assuming discrimination would never happen to you
- Allowing others to make sexist remarks in your presence without speaking up
- Being a silent bystander when other women rights are violated
They don’t feel bad about reinventing themselves
- Getting stuck in a rut that prevents you from doing things differently
- Thinking you have to stay the same to be authentic
- Waiting until you feel like changing before changing your behavior
They don’t downplay their success
- Confusing arrogance with owning your success
- Downplaying yourself to try to help others feel important
- Refusing compliments