Fortitude is the emotional and mental strength to face adversity; it is the ability to overcome fear in difficult circumstances.
To overcome challenges, especially mental and emotional ones, it takes a strong mind rather than a strong man. When confronted with adversity, a person with the virtue of fortitude exercises patience. They do the right thing even when others criticize them.
Fortitude enables us to overcome fear and remain unyielding in the face of calamity, it gives us the strength to sort out what needs to be done during our trying periods.
What exactly is mental Strength?
Mental strength is defined as the ability to feel, think, and perform at one's best. A person with strong mental fortitude will be able to control his or her life in the face of adversity.
Mental Fortitude and Mental Health
Even though they are intertwined, mental strength and health are not the same things.
Mental strength is concerned with emotions and the ability to deal with adversities and difficult situations, as well as understanding one's emotions, whereas mental health is concerned with how the brain functions, that is, the wellness of our bodies or the absence of mental illness. One can increase one's mental strength to improve one's health, and better mental health makes it easier to increase one's mental strength.
How to Increase Your Mental Fortitude
Exercising is a great way to build/improve mental strength. Exercising mental strength can be done in various ways, such as emotionally, physically, or behaviorally.
- Emotionally deals with how we react to feelings caused by something done to us by others, how we think, or negativity.
- Physically, this is accomplished by exercising or training the body to increase physical strength, as well as mentally. Physical exercise allows one to concentrate on one thing at a time, and it allows the heart and mind to function at a higher level of mental wellness. It also helps to improve one's mental health.
- Behaviorally, is concerned with doing things that make one happy and forgetting about one's circumstances or difficult situations. It's more like a pastime.
When you do things you enjoy, the feelings are always different, and you perform to the best of your ability. It provides a sense of accomplishment, which benefits one's mental health.