Many of us want to level up, but not all of us understand what it actually requires to be a better version of ourselves. Many of us have racing thoughts that we don’t feel that we can control, or we simply overthink. These things stop us from leveling up and keep us stuck.
Being better mentally doesn’t mean you have to be perfect, but it does mean that you need to be in control of your mind. Hands down.
In this blog post, we will talk about how to get out of your thoughts and how to control your mind.
Clarify Your Values and Priorities
Being strong in your mind and emotions comes down to understanding what is most important to you. Only you know what is important to you and what is necessary. When you are not clear about what is important to you, then you open the door for other people to define it for you, and it can cause you to become overwhelmed.
Becoming a better person mentally requires being strong-minded. Now, let’s define what strong-minded means. It means being calm and collected when things get tough or challenging. It means believing in yourself when no one else does. You continue to do what’s necessary for yourself, regardless of what anyone else has to say. It means you fully trust yourself.
When you know what matters to you, your values become a priority to you, and no one can get in the way of that. If you’re having trouble figuring out what your values and priorities are, here are some questions to ask yourself:
- Is there anyone in my life right now that I admire? If so, who is it, and what qualities do they have?
- Are there any rules or principles that I refuse to break? If so, what are they?
- What are the small things I do every day that feel most meaningful to me?
Challenge Limiting Beliefs
Limiting beliefs are beliefs that feel true and hold us back from our goals or where we want to be. So, for example, if you want to lose weight, a limiting belief that you may have is,” I don’t have time to eat healthy or exercise, I tried that before, and it didn’t work, or working out is too hard.” I know there are many more.
Even though these beliefs sound innocent and harmless, limiting beliefs create an invisible barrier between where you are now and where you want to be.
Limiting beliefs shape all of our choices, and they can create unnecessary stress. These beliefs can come from past experiences. We can also create them in our minds until they actually become believable. They live in our subconscious mind, which is the part of the mind that picks up on things without us realizing. It stores our memories, feelings, and habits.
The good news is that you can change these beliefs at any time. You do this by adjusting your thinking.
Write down a current belief that you have on the left side of the page, and on the right side, write down the belief that you want to believe as if it is already happening. Here are some examples:
- Limiting belief: I don’t have time to eat healthy or exercise.
Positive affirmation: I make small, healthy choices that fit into my day and care for my body. - Limiting belief: I tried that before, and it didn’t work.
Positive affirmation: Every day is a new opportunity to make progress and learn what works for me. - Limiting belief: Working out is too hard.
Positive affirmation: I enjoy moving my body in ways that feel good and build my strength.
Do you see what we did there? We turned those limiting beliefs into positives. Repeat the positive affirmations every single day until you start to believe them.
This is how you break down that barrier to what you want.
Learn how to change your thinking when things change
Being rigid in your thinking causes frustration, and it causes you to be too hard on yourself. Being too rigid in your thinking stunts your growth. It causes you to only see things one way, and it doesn’t allow you to be open to other, possibly better solutions.
In life, things do not always go as planned. You know, life just happens sometimes. And when it does, you have to be able to be flexible in your thinking. Things are always changing, and it is so important to adapt. When you learn how to adapt to change, you solve problems a lot better, you become open to trying new things, and you become less stressed when things don’t go as planned.
Here are some practical steps to help you adapt to change:
- Stay calm. It’s not a secret that not all of us can stay calm under pressure, but make a conscious effort to stay calm when things do not go the way as planned. Practice deep breathing in the moment and think logically about the decision you are about to make.
- Get help when needed. Indeed, we don’t know everything. Find people who can support you and have proven track records of giving you good advice.
- Be open-minded. How do I become open-minded? Instead of asking yourself, “I’ve never tried this before, I don’t know if I want to try this.” Ask yourself this instead, “ This may be new, but I’m willing to try it anyway.”
- Learn from your mistakes. Mistakes will happen, but look at mistakes as data. When you look at data, and you look closely at it, you are able to determine what worked and what didn’t work. Look at your mistakes as data and learn from them.
- Stay positive. Stay positive as much as possible. Just because something is new doesn’t make it wrong; it just means it’s different. Practice looking at the positive side of things.
Learn to Concentrate Better
We have so many distractions thrown at us between social media, TV, overthinking, multitasking, you name it; there are so many things that can get us off track.
Being a better version of yourself mentally requires focus and being alert. Being focused and aware gives you mental clarity, which is essential for making wise decisions.
Here are some of the things that have helped me to be more focused.
- Time-blocking. This is where you carve out a specific amount of time to get one thing done. For example, between 5 am and 6 am, you go to the gym to work out, and between 6 am and 7 am, you read a book or write. You get it. The key is to focus on one task at a time within that time frame.
- Start mindfulness exercises. This can look like doing yoga, deep breathing, or my favorite meditation. Choose an exercise that will help you stay present in the moment.
- Get some type of movement every day. This is a big one for me. Every day I aim to get between 7,000-10,00 steps a day. Studies have shown that walking every day can reduce stress and calm the mind.
Take Time to Think About How You Feel
Check in with yourself and recognize if any thoughts or patterns could be working against you. Notice your body and how it’s responding to something new or your decisions. Is your heart racing? Do you feel anxious or nervous?
Ask yourself these questions:
- What am I worried about?”
- What thoughts are helping me?
- Are there any thoughts that are hurting me? If so, what are they?
Taking time to think about how you feel will help you be aware and catch thoughts that aren’t helpful to you before they get out of control.
Build Mental Energy Through Healthy Routines
Build habits that are good for your mental health and energy. Create a morning and evening routine that contributes to your health and slowly destroy the bad ones.
Examples of bad habits:
- Not enough sleep
- Complaining
- Being messy
- Saying hurtful words
- Smoking
- Procrastinating
- Not listening
- Interrupting
- Nail-biting
- Overusing screens
Examples of good habits
- Practicing gratitude
- Meditating
- Keeping your space clean
- Journaling
- Limiting screen time
- Learning continuously
- Exercising regularly
- Reading daily
- Drinking water
- Eating healthy
Having healthy habits and routines encourages mental clarity and boosts confidence.
Exercise Your Mind Daily
Just like exercise is required for your body, your mind requires it too. Exercising your mind builds mental strength, helps regulate emotions, and helps manage stress. There are many different ways to exercise your mind. Let’s cover a few of them.
Meditation is great for a lot of things, like calming your mind. If you’ve never meditated before, start by focusing on your breath and breathing in through the nose and slowly out through the mouth. I recommend starting with a short guided meditation on YouTube. This is where the narrator helps guide you through your thoughts and breathing.
Brain exercises are another one. Maybe you enjoy puzzles or Sudoku. These help to stimulate your mind.
Reflection: Spend maybe 10 minutes a day reflecting on your day, and just be in your thoughts. Silence is a great way to spend time with yourself. Journaling is another way to reflect.
Practicing brain exercises every day helps you build emotional intelligence and mental clarity, and helps you make better decisions.
Takeaway
Follow these steps to level up your mental game, and you will slowly start to see your focus improving. You will start to notice you are being the version of yourself that you’ve always wanted to be. Being consistent is key.
“Mental growth isn’t a destination — it’s a practice you do for yourself every day.”
