We live in an age that values social sensitivity, and by no means is this a bad thing. We need to be sensitive to others’ feelings and understand that we unintentionally hurt their emotions with our words and actions. After all, we’re humans who make mistakes and make emotional decisions or reactions.

But when it comes to ourselves, expecting other people to be sensitive to what we feel is but an idealistic expectation. It’s good to expect good from other people, but it can be unrealistic when taken to an extreme extent. And that’s where mental toughness comes in.

Many people often get being mentally tough wrong. Mental toughness isn’t about being insensitive to other people’s feelings- it’s about managing your own and not letting everything get to you. Let’s discuss when mental toughness is necessary and how you can train yourself to be mentally tough.

There Are Moments in Life Where We Need to Be Mentally Tough

We don’t have to be “on” the whole time. We don’t have to be always carrying a sense of self-preservation or be on edge. Sometimes, mental toughness needs to take a backseat. But sometimes, it needs to take the driver’s seat, especially if your job requires it.

Some jobs require more resiliency and thicker skin than others. A home nursing care provider needs to have a degree of mental toughness, similar to teachers, psychologists, and other socially focused professions. Assuming that each of their clients is good and pleasant can set up false expectations that will only lead to heartbreak. There should always be a healthy expectation that people will be kind, but if they aren’t, it’s not a reflection on you.

It’s neither the best reflection on them, as they can be going through something difficult. And they most probably are. People don’t want to be generally rude or mean. Sometimes, they’re just going through a difficult patch in their life, and some professions tend to deal with people in those situations.

But it isn’t just with jobs that grit can be useful. It’s also highly beneficial in rough moments in our life, such as a failed promotion or breakup These are all moments where determination is useful.

And again, these moments aren’t what our life is all about. They’re brief periods in our relatively long life, and there will be moments where we can drop our defenses and be vulnerable. But when we do need to be mentally tough, it pays to have the ability to be strong-willed.

How to Be Mentally Tough

Training yourself to be mentally tough isn’t a one-day trip. It’s a journey, one that’s filled with shortcomings and picking yourself back up. But it will benefit you in the long run, so here are a few tips to help you develop mental toughness.

Not Everyone Is Qualified to Judge You. When somebody says something offensive about us or our work, it’s natural to be offended. But the simple truth is that not everyone is fit to judge you or your work. If you won’t listen to that person’s feedback, it makes little sense to listen to their insults. The same goes for compliments. Practice taking insults in stride and accepting insults with a simple thank you.

Rely on Discipline and Not Motivation. When you find it difficult to follow a routine, the worst thing you can do is rely on motivation. Instead, make it easier for you and rely on discipline. Enforce small habits that lead to your routine, and eventually, it will feel like second nature.

Analyze Your Mistakes. Don’t obsess over what went wrong. Instead, deliberately look at your mistakes with the intent to analyze them. Mistakes are learning opportunities, and it’s best to take advantage of them by learning what you shouldn’t do to figure out what you should do.

Try Again. After looking over what went wrong, the next step is to try again. Only this time, you come in with the awareness of where you went wrong, so make the conscious effort to avoid it. Lessons are built on mistakes, but it’s all for naught if we don’t apply them.

We need to be responsible for how we make other people feel. But we also have power over how other people make us feel. It’s best to be someone that can handle whatever is thrown our way, and that’s only achievable through mental toughness.