How Do You Show Your Mental Strength?

Of course, when it comes to remarkable success, the obstacle is sometimes the solution, as success in any worthwhile endeavor requires certain superpowers.

Steve Jobs, who is used to achieving achievements, believes that solidity is the basis for success for entrepreneurs. He says: "I am convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from those who are not successful is just perseverance. This is very difficult. You spend a lot of your life and effort on this thing, and there are difficult moments when most people give up. I do not blame them, it is really cruel."

It makes sense that having or finding the ability to overcome failure and adversity and stick to your passion and long-term goals often allows “normal” people accomplish more than normal things, and most of the time, the winner is the last person to give up hope on their own.

However, why do some people give up while others go on? More importantly, why is it that sometimes each of us can stay the course, while giving up at other times?

The key is to cope in the first place:

A study published in the magazine Wilderness and Environmental Medicine: "Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional" - the best research title ever - tracked more than 200 participants in a 155-mile multi-stage desert marathon, about 250 kilometers.

Researchers linked participants' adaptation strategies to whether they had finished racing, and some used what they called “adaptive coping strategies,” so instead of seeing them suffer, they decided to view their extreme suffering as a challenge; That is, as something they chose themselves - which they did, of course - or find ways to ignore pain or distract them away from it.

On the other hand, some participants fell prey to “non-adaptive coping strategies”, such as feeling fear of suffering and pain that they have experienced, or looking at a certain level of pain as a clear sign to stop, and to be fair this seems like a reasonable response.

In sum, a one-time non-adaptive coping strategy doubles the likelihood of a participant withdrawing from the race three times, and we can all be affected by that. Also, sometimes one moment of weakness is enough to collapse into a torrent of passivity, despair, and uncertainty, so we give up and we leave.

Not giving up is another key:

It is clear that looking at a setback or obstacle as a challenge - just another problem to be solved - can help you stay the course, so the" Small World" rule can be adopted. Kevin Alschuler, the lead author of "Pain is Inevitable but Suffering is Optional" - recommended a surprising coping strategy in a recent article in Outside magazine.

Alschuler says: "I review with the patient the options presented, which are either a first or a second option, and they want the third option, then there are sometimes times when a third option is not available," and he also says: "For distinguished athletes, it seems that they all do a good job choosing the first and second options as long as the third option is not presented."

Think about it. We've learned that overcoming challenges and adversity requires innovative and new thinking, like looking for creative solutions, and never stop trying to find a new way. I did that when I did a hard job and I got tired. Then I started thinking about options, and I could provide all the equipment, hire people, as well as do a lot of things, but none of them were appropriate.

Worst of all, trying - and then failing again and again - to figure out an easier way made the original task seem more difficult. Not only did the task defeat me, I was defeated by my inability to solve the problem and find an easier way, and I was giving up in the end.

However, I remembered then that I already had the road ahead of me, and I could keep searching, like most things. Also, success was just a matter of time and effort, the (first) option, and going to work would eventually allow me to pave the way and find the solution, soI accepted that fact and went back to work, and I felt a lot of hope in me.

In conclusion:

Sometimes the way is not in the plenty of options in front of us, and sometimes the only way is the first or the second option or even just the first option. When you accept that, it's actually easier to stay on track, not harder because then you're not going to focus on what you don't have, or what you can't control, and in that case you 're going to bow down and do what you want to do, which is the basis of any worthwhile success.