Strength of spirit implies having complete power over your consciousness and the complete absence of basic obstacles (fears and prejudices). Much greater success in your career and personal life can be achieved by knowing yourself and your essence. A strong personality will never give up at the first failure or difficulty.
Unfortunately, not everyone wants to develop their own abilities, due to the lack of any desire. Some people experience fears of communication, pain, death, heights, water, or the dark. Many perceive it as something that can help them cope and overcome their own fears and doubts. So how to strengthen your mental strength? How to get rid of fears and believe in your own strength?
The main thing is not to confuse fortitude with willpower. So what's the difference? Will is the ability to perform any actions based on one’s own principles and considerations. This is where most people face their own fears, such as apathy, fear, laziness and a lot of doubts. These aspects, or rather, getting rid of them, should be our main goal. Willpower helps us overcome many difficulties and ultimately achieve our goal.
Strength of spirit implies having complete power over your consciousness and the complete absence of basic obstacles (fears and prejudices). Knowing your own strength and capabilities is the ultimate state to which you should strive.
What does fortitude mean?
The moral and spiritual concept of fortitude denotes a qualitative phenomenon characteristic of a person who has embarked on the path of spiritual improvement or has passed through life’s difficulties and adversities with honor, but has not broken down and remained human. The strength of the spirit must be cultivated consciously, as was done in ancient times by people of the military class, and by people who devoted themselves to communication with the Divine.
What kind of strength of spirit is there?
To understand the phenomenon of fortitude, there are many descriptive words, each of which, like the facet of a diamond, highlights qualitative components, for example, invincible fortitude, immediately evokes an association with valiant warriors fighting for their land. What other epithets can describe the strength of spirit:
- unbending;
- indestructible;
- majestic;
- amazing;
- mighty;
- extraordinary;
- endless.
The problem of fortitude
People who survived severe hardships and adversity, but remained human in the high human understanding of this word, grew spiritually and acquired an inner, unbending core. The problem of fortitude is a confrontation with a reality when a weak person may not be able to bear the burden, but a strong person will, but at the cost of what effort? Nobody would want to be in his place. The problem with the strength of the human spirit is that no matter how strong a person is in spirit, the pain of overcoming remains a companion to this strength.
What is the difference between fortitude and willpower?
Strength of spirit and willpower are complementary concepts. If we analyze these two phenomena into their components, then about willpower we can say that this is overcoming constant inertia, following discipline and the intended path, without turning off, without giving yourself concessions, with a lack of self-pity. Strength of spirit is going beyond the ordinary understanding of oneself only as a body, strength of spirit does not allow one to drown in despair and heavy thoughts, it is the force that lifts a person above existence.
Internal mood
Strength of spirit is an internal state. If earlier we looked at how to develop it through outside intervention, now we will look at how to synthesize it spiritually. The connection between external and internal influences will quadratically strengthen our inner core.
#1 Principles
You don't have to appear super-confident, try to please everyone and be a leader. It is enough to have a firm position in life. When you act in accordance with it, you feel your “backbone”, the presence of character.
To be independent and like yourself you need:
- Be able to say NO (Why should you be afraid of another person’s judgment? Why should you care about his opinion?)
- Be able to refuse
- Be able to defend your positions if they are correct
- Be able to resist the leaders - the “authorities” of your environment
- Be able to take responsibility
- Stick to your views, don’t change your point of view with the breeze
To develop a firm position in life, you need to find your principles. To do this, you need to dig into your head and understand what you would like to do always and what you would never want to do. You can also analyze current behavior and take a couple of examples from there. For example, for me it's:
- I strive to achieve my goal with all my might.
- I don’t get lost or embarrassed in front of others
- I don't touch if they don't touch me
- I don’t make fun of friends to gain another person’s authority.
- Other
Find your principles for yourself. They will become a framework for your behavior, a guide for your decisions. They will help you gain understanding of yourself, thereby strengthening your fortitude.
#2 Cleansing
Nothing is worthy of your worries. No fear, no emotion should oppress your life. Today you are alive - tomorrow you are not, all this is empty.
While you live, you must give yourself to the fullest, because for infinity it makes no difference whether you die in a day or in 1000 years. Everything will be forgotten, everything will go nowhere. Compared to the Universe, your fear is a small thing, it will not change anything and will not contribute anything. You alone amuse yourself with it at the everyday level, when so many amazing and beautiful things are happening around you. Get rid of all grievances, forgive, forget about the past. Become a new person who lets go of all the petty issues. Of course, in life it won’t turn out as beautiful as in the text, but at least ease your soul a little. After all, what is inside you will be the material for building strength.
#3 Material for construction
As history shows, strength must be based on goodness. All sorts of Hitlers and Mussolinis were convinced of this by their own example. Their fascism could not last long enough and sank into oblivion.
It's the same in our lives. You must become a kind, pleasant and positive person, only then can you fully develop fortitude. Those around you will feel your warmth and dedication and this will help you grow faster. By filling yourself with love for the world, you will provide yourself with the building blocks of a powerful and pleasant character.
A small disclaimer: you don’t have to be gentle to be kind. Be strict, don't let others take advantage of your kindness. Let them know that you know how to give, but only of your own free will.
#4 Live life to the fullest
Live the way they show in the movies. Position yourself like superman. Give it your all now.
A weak person locks himself in his closet and lives according to a schedule, when a strong-willed person gives everything he has to achieve results. If there is a Ferrari in the world, then you need to ride it. If there is Paris, then you need to visit it. You were born into this world with a 1 in 400,000,000,000,000,000 chance, and if there is something worthwhile here, you should try it.
When you work at full capacity, self-belief, confidence, and success come. The whole body is excited by the busy rhythm of life, character is tempered by endless problems, and strength of spirit increases from their solutions. Feed your soul with action and strength will come as a side effect.
To become a fully-living person you need:
- Never give up
- Work to the maximum everywhere (training, work)
- Don't be afraid of risk
- Concentrate on your desires, do not look or listen to others
- Know what you want
- Never be afraid of anything
- Find a source of energy - books, a loved one, authority
Act as if you have already gained mental strength. Don’t try to develop it - it takes a long time, try to immediately plunge into the transformation. By changing something today, you will see results faster. Of the 100 people who read the article, be the one who doesn’t just waste time reading, but radically changes their life.
How to develop fortitude?
People with an inner core who have achieved success regardless of circumstances and hardships evoke respect and admiration. Many people want to be like such people, discarding all the difficulties they have faced, but they would not have become like this if they had not gone through all this. Others understand the cost of this and ask the question: how to increase the strength of spirit in yourself and cope with all life’s tasks? There is only one answer: start developing the strength of spirit in yourself consciously.
Developing mental strength - exercises
Training for fortitude is not some kind of single, one-sided repetition of certain rituals and exercises; in total, it is both exercise and conscious placement of oneself within the framework of difficult trials and circumstances, being true to oneself, no matter what happens around, nothing should relax or lead away from the goal cultivating your spirit. Exercises play their role, they are necessary and important, they are part of conscious tests and building discipline, without which it is difficult to cultivate the spirit.
Exercises to develop fortitude:
- Reconsidering Beliefs. Stereotyped thinking is the enemy of spiritual growth. Find time to write down all your limiting beliefs and say goodbye to them gradually.
- Positive intelligence. Negative thoughts are ineffective and control a person, because fear negates all noble motives. It is important to practice affirmations for mental strength, for example: “I can handle this!” “My spirit is growing and strengthening every day, I am becoming a stronger person in spirit!”
- Energy control. It is important to learn to control your mental energy and not waste it; an excellent solution would be to start practicing qigong.
- Physical strengthening of body and spirit. Sports, hiking in the mountains, mountaineering strengthen a person's endurance.
Mantra of fortitude and energy
The development of spiritual strength occurs through self-testing, overcoming obstacles, and the spirit needs energy, which can be carried out by certain mantras. People who practice mantras have long been convinced of their effective power. The practice of mantras itself requires discipline and concentration, which already has a beneficial effect on the strength of the spirit. For powerful results, it is recommended to read any mantra at least 108 times a day for a month.
The mantra “Govinda Hare” has strong energetic vibrations, by practicing it a person improves spiritually, the mantra is easy to remember and very melodic: “Govinda Hare, om namah Shivaya.” This is a direct praise of the gods Krishna and Shiva. Chanting their names increases the strength of the spirit to the skies, as the Indians believe, for whom the names of the creators Krishna and Shiva are sacred.
Prayer to strengthen fortitude and willpower
The best prayer is the one that comes from the heart. Sometimes a person lacks support from the outside, which means the time has come to turn to the Divine and a prayer for strength of spirit addressed to the saints will do its job, you just need to believe in it. What prayers and appeals to saints can you read to strengthen your spiritual strength:
- prayer to your guardian angel;
- Our Father;
- prayer of the Optina elders;
- prayer of St. Dmitry of Rostov from despair;
- prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Goals
[adsense1] To develop fortitude, you must have a motive . Without a strong reason, you will use only willpower, at some point you will break down and reproach yourself more than before. Therefore, the first priority will be to set goals.
We hear about this from every word, but we write them reluctantly. A piece of paper with goals lies in some nightstand for months and forgets what its owner looks like. But this is bad: we are like an airplane that flies as long as there is kerosene, and does not know its direction. Someday the kerosene (motivation) will run out and it will fall down.
At least now write again why you need all the changes . This small investment of time will help you “lock in” the desired result so that there is no opportunity to slip away. When you write down what you want, you will receive documented evidence of your real priorities. It will “tell” how to direct events so as not to succumb to them as before.
Tattoo meaning fortitude
Tattoo artists claim that one of the most popular tattoos among male and female clients is the fortitude tattoo with an image of a dragon on the shoulder or back. Why dragon? In Chinese mythology, this is a mythical animal with power over two worlds: the above-ground and underground. It carries magic, spirituality, nobility and strength. The victory of the spirit over the physicality is the dragon. The owner of a dragon tattoo receives its qualities: fortitude, endurance, magic, perseverance in achieving their goals.
Why is all this needed?
The development of a person’s will necessarily forces him to pay attention to certain energy-consuming conditions. Having discovered the emergence of self-pity due to deprivation or fatigue, it is easy to notice how much time and effort is spent on this feeling
By replacing it with satisfaction from fulfilling a decision, a person increases self-esteem.
Trying to avoid unpleasant actions, it is impossible to solve the problem. In some cases, it can get worse (for example, a bad tooth). But cultivating the will, as a victory over one’s own fears, allows one to carry out these actions without much strain, solve the existing problem and enjoy the result.
Often a feeling of pride and personal exclusivity interferes with open communication. Developed fortitude, which makes it possible to adequately evaluate others, allows you to adequately relate to both their strength and their weaknesses. As a result, a strong personality gains the ability to constantly remain in a calm and confident state, without blaming others for their own failures and miscalculations. But these are precisely the traits that are characteristic of a successful individual who knows how to achieve success.
Films about fortitude
When there is no one around in difficult moments of trials, you can watch films about willpower and spirit, and this will be an excellent motivation to move on in life and not lose heart, but to nurture it. The heroes of these films know from their own experience what fortitude is:
- " Pollyanna / Pollyanna
". This girl Polianna faced a lot of challenges. But her loving heart and fortitude melted the hearts of the small town and its callous inhabitants. - " Three Days to Escape / The Next Three Days
" His wife is guilty of murder, but he does not believe it and tries in every possible way to get her out of prison. A film about the power of love and fortitude in the face of vicissitudes of fate. - " Favourite/Seabiscuit
". In this drama there are victories and defeats, love of life and despair, and the horse Sukhari, homely and not stately, an extension of his master, together they are one powerful force of spirit. The film helps you feel the taste of life again when it’s bad and hard. - " Soul Surfer
". This is the true story of the famous American surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm due to a shark attack while training. But Bethany did not give in to the circumstances and continued training and participating in competitions. - " Wild
". True stories always motivate, this wonderful film is based on the biography of Cheryl Strayed, an American writer and screenwriter. During a difficult period in her life, Sharyl decides to go on a difficult journey on foot and return a different person.
Exercises for the will
Another technique for strengthening willpower is to complete simple tasks:
- If you have speech habits (filler words, swearing, etc.), you can try to control yourself and refrain from ordinary expressions in time. An option might be to abandon the custom of crossing your legs, or to focus on a simple action. To understand how to develop willpower, you can start opening the door with your left hand (for right-handers).
- For the same purpose, you should introduce into everyday life and do something every day that is not usual in everyday life. This will be a way to both develop willpower and learn useful habits: gymnastics in the morning or taking out the trash in the evening. The main thing is to strictly implement your decision.
- The development of a person’s will through self-control can be achieved by simply getting into the habit of recording your expenses, making a menu, and recording the time spent in front of the TV.
As a result of following the decision, the habit of paying attention to one’s actions is formed, and the person’s willpower is strengthened. The simplicity and accessibility of tasks for yourself in this case will only be useful: you won’t have to reproach yourself too much for not restraining yourself, forgot to write down the expenditure on ice cream in your notebook, or for not taking out the trash
When performing exercises to develop willpower, you need to pay attention only to following your own rules of the game, without particularly focusing on the result and ways to pump up willpower. Most likely, it will manifest itself at the moment when you have to face a real problem: the ability to break it down into separate elements, solving small problems, and the habit of following changed rules of behavior will also come in handy.
Books about fortitude
They exude confidence and inflexibility, they have gone through many tests and emerged from them with honor, and they know that only through obstacles and overcoming oneself does the strength of the human spirit grow, they are the heroes of books that have become bestsellers. What is power and fortitude in the books of famous writers:
- “ Wolfhound
” by M. Semenov. A series of books about a man nicknamed Wolfhound, he is a warrior who has nothing to lose, because all his relatives were destroyed. He will pass through worlds, time, space, hard labor and wars, and this will only strengthen his fortitude. - “ Me Before You
” by J. Moyes. The main characters are the girl Lou Clark, who was left without work, and he is Will, a young guy who made the most of life and suddenly became disabled. Lou gets a job as a nurse for Will, but he is sarcastic and constantly makes fun of the girl. But Lou does not despair and strives to arrange Will’s life so that he stops feeling outside of active life. They are both strong-willed individuals, both are beautiful and their love is the most beautiful thing that could happen to them, even if only for a short time. - " You changed my life
". A. Sellu. The acclaimed film “1+1” was based on this book. Sometimes fate brings together people who seem to be so different and all that remains is to throw up your hands “for what?” Both heroes will learn a lot from each other and both will grow spiritually. - " Spark of Life
". EM. Remarque. War is the most cruel test of life; it squeezes a person into circumstances where the choice is negligible, and the person is completely vulnerable. But even under these conditions, a person learns, passes tests, and his fortitude grows stronger. - “ Notes on Napkins
” by G. Callahan. True strength of spirit manifests itself in difficult times for a person. This book is a true story in which the author writes about himself and his family. Garth lived the normal life of an average American until he learned that he had cancer. And every day became like his last. The diagnosis did not break him and several years have passed, and Garth continues to make every day of his life and the lives of his loved ones unforgettable.
Example 1
Ship, storm, rocks. Of the team of ten people, only one survived. He was thrown ashore on a small shore in the middle of a huge salty sea, so he was doomed to a long, painful death (unlike his comrades, who died quickly and almost painlessly).
What would a person do in such a situation? Someone, for example, would wait for help, hope for the quick arrival of someone from the “mainland” and would not make attempts to find the tools necessary for survival. But not our man. He began to think about what to do and how to escape. Thanks to his developed fortitude, the situation did not break him, so instead of hysteria and sitting on a deserted shore, the man moved deeper into the island, into the forest, to find food and drink. He soon discovered a stream and a small waterfall with fresh water, as well as some fruit. He lasted the first day.
A month has passed. During this time, most people would have come to terms with the situation. Our man quickly learned to make a fire, and therefore every day in the evening he lit a fire
When it got dark, he increased the size of the fire to attract the attention of potential saviors. He learned to hunt, created homemade weapons and built a home
He did not give up, but continued to act and believe in the best, and one fine day his hopes came true. The man survived thanks to himself and his inner core, his strength of spirit.
What do I really want
If it is impossible to determine the true cause, this may indicate an existential crisis, a search for the meaning of life and what is happening in it, one’s place and the correctness of the chosen path.
The following exercise will help you figure this out.
- Take a sheet of paper and divide it into four parts: 1) I want and I do; 2) I don’t want to, but I do; 3) I want, but I don’t; 4) I don’t want to, and I don’t do it.
- Now analyze your activities in all its manifestations and write down the results under each item, from brushing your teeth in the morning to working on passing a bill.
- Rate the list. How much activity is there in points 2 and 3?
- Now drag things from points 2 and 3 to points 1 and 4.
As soon as you manage to do this in practice, your life will noticeably improve and be filled with new colors.
