5 ways to boost your emotional toughness

5 ways to boost your emotional toughness

No one will be, or should ever expect to be happy ALL the time.

It’s OK not to be OK sometimes; it’s normal and appropriate to experience some of the so-called “negative emotions”.

But it’s also OK, and healthy, to try to manage those emotions; to find ways to navigate the darker times and to bounce back as quickly as possible.

This is what we might call resilience, or emotional toughness, and if this is of interest then read on …

via Fast Company by Harvey Deutschendorf

Anyone who has stepped outside of their comfort zone and attempted anything that could have them mocked has had to develop the ability to stay the course, despite the naysayers and critics. This includes many well-known people who have changed the world, such as Bill Gates, Alexander Graham Bell, and the Wright Brothers. While we look up to these famous people after they became successful, we need to remember that they had to have incredible resolve and emotional toughness to keep going toward a vision that others couldn’t see. They had to keep in check fears and doubts that would have stopped most people.

We may think that kind, caring, empathic people lack the ability to be emotionally tough and can be more easily taken advantage of. Emotional toughness, however, does not require us to be belligerent, stoic, or unconcerned with what others may feel or think. It just means standing up for what we believe in and setting firm boundaries.

Some people believe that emotional toughness is something we are born with—that we either have it or not. However, like with any other skill, it is something that can be developed with consistent practice and the right habits. Here are five thoughts and ideas we can do to develop our emotional toughness.

1. LEARN WHO TO TRUST

“Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.” 

Emotionally tough people are no more gifted than others when it comes to finding out who they can trust, and in what situations it is safe to be open and vulnerable. They make mistakes, trust people they shouldn’t, but learn from their mistakes and make the necessary changes. They remember their mistakes and seldom make the same ones a second time…

… keep reading the full & original article HERE