How to Become Mentally Strong
A story is told about a villager who had a son and a horse. One day, the horse left its stable and hid itself in the forest. When the villagers heard, they went to meet the villager. ‘We heard that your horse has disappeared, you must be really unhappy,’ they said. ‘Maybe,’ the villager replied.
The following week, the lost horse came back home with other horses. The villagers received the news and came to celebrate with their fellow villager. ‘You must be happy since your horse has not only come back but also brought along other horses too,’ they exclaimed. ‘Maybe,’ the villager replied.
The son was very happy that they now possessed more than one horse, so he went outside to play with them. He hurt his legs, and since the villager had very nosy neighbors, they caught the news and came to display their support. ‘You must be sad that your son has been injured by your horses,’ they said. ‘Maybe,’ he replied.
There was a war, and the soldiers came to recruit the firstborn of each household in the village. The villager’s son did not go into the war because of the severe injury that happened to him. The villagers came back to tell him how lucky he must be that his son did not go to war. ‘Maybe,’ the villager replied.
There are three types of beliefs that hold us back from our mental growth:
1) Unhealthy beliefs about Ourselves
It’s okay to be sad, but self-pity magnifies your problems. Hosting your own pity party keeps you stuck, and later you are unable to find solutions to your problems. If I have learned anything, it is that good habits are not enough to help you when you are going through a mental breakdown. It’s the small unhealthy habits that you need to keep away from. It’s like when you want to be really healthy, you have to exercise, but if you really want to see results, you need to give up junk foods.
2) Unhealthy beliefs about Others
Like the villagers, they kept on reminding the villager of his fortunes and misfortunes. The villager did not give up his power because he had a different reaction from what the villagers were probably expecting. Again, when you only hear about what people have to say about your life, it will hold you back from looking at the bigger picture.
3) Unhealthy beliefs about the World
We expect that the world owes us something, but that comes with its disappointments. That if you really work hard, you have to be successful. Once we are able to change our mental state, we look at the bigger picture. The only person you are allowed to compete with and compare yourself to is the person you were yesterday.
Like the villager, we should focus on how we react to ourselves, others, and even the world so that we cannot lose our power. Once you recognize that you have the power, nothing can stop you from attaining what you hunger for from this universe. Train your brain to think differently and positively every single time, and you will be the king and queen of your own kingdom. I recently came across a meme: ‘Don’t force issues because everything that happens has before now been written.’