3 Ways To Mentally Prepare For Something Challenging

Everyone is going to experience challenging things in their life. And when this happens, you can either let it break you or let it make you stronger. As you learn from more of your experiences and give yourself a firm foundation to grow on so that you can more effectively face your challenges, you’ll see that you’re ready to handle everything. So to help you get to this point, here are three ways you can mentally prepare for something challenging that you’re having to face, be it a physical challenge of something like a marathon or the emotional challenge of going to court or helping a loved one through an illness. 

Recognize That Perfection Isn’t Possible

While you might have an idea in your head of how this challenging thing should ultimately play out for you, this dream solution likely isn’t going to be your reality. Things might be harder than you initially thought, other people might make different decisions that will affect your situation, or unforeseen circumstances could throw a wrench into your plan. But even if things don’t pan out how you had hoped or you don’t do as well as you had wanted, you need to give yourself some grace and recognize that perfection isn’t possible. 

Regardless of how much you might have planned or prepared, things will happen. And saving space for those unexpected things and going with the flow can make any challenge easier to maneuver around. 

Reach Out To Your Support System

When you know that you have something challenging on the horizon for you, there’s always going to be more strength added to you with the more people you feel like you have on your team. So while it can be hard to ask for help, try reaching out to your support system that you have.

Even if your friends and family can’t actually offer you any tangible help in your situation, giving you emotional support and being there for you how they can can help to make the stress of your situation feel lighter. 

Learn How To Employ Positive Self-Talk

When things don’t seem to be going your way in life or when the challenge ahead of you seems like more than you can handle, it’s easy to start getting down on yourself. While it’s natural to have some doubts about your capabilities, you don’t have to ruminate in these thoughts. You can break this cycle and learn how to use positive self-talk to help you find strength and confidence. 

Rather than allowing your negative thoughts to run wild in your mind, try to make a conscious effort to speak positively to yourself. When you do this, you put yourself on a more positive track and take better control over the situation. 

If you’re needing to mentally prepare for a big challenge you’ll be facing soon, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you in doing this.