10 Ways to Cultivate Inner Strength.

When we feel lost, depressed, uncertain, or just distracted, we lack inner strength - a resource that is invaluable for dealing with the enigmas and hurdles we must face

  everyday, and for living in a confident, intense, and coherent way. Luckily, as I show in my book Your Inner Will: Finding Personal Strength in Critical Times, we already do have more inner strength than we think - we just have to discover it. We can also cultivate it, and everyday circumstances offer us the possibility to do so.

Train Your Will

Each day make one or two acts of will with conscious intention. It can be anything you decide: exercise, make a phonecall, read a book for fifteen minutes, do something you would like to postpone, postpone something you would like to do. Any act that is not automatic and habitual will work. Research proves that the will can be trained like a muscle. Having a stronger will makes you feel more confident and resilient.

Breathe

Most of us breathe with our chest only - that is anxious breath. Breathe instead with your abdomen: long, slow, deep breaths starting from your belly. Breathe in and out through your nose, and think of wide empty space as you do so. Your state of consciousness is reflected in your breath. And viceversa. Studies show that breathing correctly can succesfully counteract anxiety and depression.

Find Your Center

With your eyes closed, imagine going to the temple of silence. This is a most beautiful, ancient building. If you enter it, you will be immersed in a silence that nourishes and regenerates you. There you can find your center, the part of you not affected by adverse circumstances. In good or bad luck, good or ill health, happiness or despair, your center remains the same.

Re-direct Your Attention

Whatever occupies your thoughts and makes you angry or worried or sad is not a permanent fixture in your mind. You can learn to simply re-direct your attention. Your vital interest and energy will go where you make it go. Redirecting attention is like cultivating a vegetable garden - you grow what you want, not the weeds.

Learn From the School of Life

See any difficulty or obstacle you meet as an opportunity to grow. In this predicament, instead of just reacting and being unhappy, you ask what  you can learn. What new quality or competence can you develop? How can you re-interpret this unpleasant situation? We may not be able to change outer circumstances, but we can consciously transform the way we look at them.

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

Sometimes taking a risk is a way of renewing and strengthening ourselves. Instead of following the same rut, imagine acts of courage you can do in your present life - acts that are not part of your habits. You can take risks in relationships, in your work, in everyday life. That does not mean looking for danger and courting disaster - just finding your leading edge - and moving beyond.

Visualize Yourself Strong

Use creative visualization: with eyes closed, imagine yourself the way you would like to be. More specifically, imagine having inner strength - an attitude of serenity and inner poise, courage in face of adversity, equanimity in the ups and downs of daily life, and the capacity to affirm yourself. Vividly imagine how that feels in your body and in your mind. Also imagine in detail the behaviors that go with this new state. Imagine in detail carrying them out .

Make an Inventory of Your Strengths

We often ignore or forget what we can count on, and we engage in sorry, angry thoughts. That need not be. You have strong points without even knowing it. Think of qualities you already have, such as honesty or patience; competencies, such as making cakes or knowing a foreign language; and any other aspect of yourself you enjoy and are happy to have.

Persist

If you are discouraged, do not give up. Just persist a little more. In a relationship, go deeper, explore new feelings and aspects you usually do not care for; in a project, take the extra step. Sometimes it is worthwhile to persist even though it may look like all hope is lost. If we remain on the surface, our attention is feeble and scattered. The deeper we go into anything - a relationship, a project, an interest - the stronger we become.

Think of Infinity

Picture yourself surrounded by the galaxies. Our stupendous universe is huge, time is immense. Thinking of right proportions can help in  reassessing our difficulties and drawing more strength from immensity. Our everyday mishaps are small if we look at them in the context of the stars. 

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