When we hear about mental strength, we often picture grit, determination, and the ability to push through life’s challenges. Popular advice frequently centers on toughening up, staying positive, or building unshakable habits to withstand stress. But what if mental strength isn’t about being rigid in the face of adversity, but about being more in flow and adaptable, like water flowing around rocks?
At The Healthy Living Plan, we view mental strength through a different lens. Using the principles of Logosynthesis®, we offer an additional approach to reclaim your energy by identifying and resolving the mental imagery that keeps you stuck in stress responses. This allows to better respond to life from a position of strength with a sense of calm and clarity.
The energetic nature of strength.
When you think of mental strength as a cognitive function, it relies on you being able to choose your actions. This may serve you well when times are normal but when you encounter significant change and adversity, your automatic and patterned behaviours kick in and you often are not in a position to chose. Also, you naturally are prone to becoming more “stuck in your ways” with age.
When you are conditioned to “be strong”, your automatic patterns often involve powering through the situation without really giving pause and thought to other options. This behaviour may work very well until conditions become too much and things snap. More often, you are blind to the gradual impact of your stress reactions on your own health and on those around you.
Mental strength isn’t rigid like a steel rod. It’s more like a flexible tree that bends with the wind. As you experience life, you do naturally create more rigid structures in the form of beliefs and based on memories. You may think of these rigid beliefs and memories as “frozen energy” that becomes stuck in automatic, patterned behaviours. For example:
- A rigid approach might look like forcing yourself to power through a stressful situation, ignoring your feelings. You might hear yourself repeatedly saying “I have to do it all.” or “I am responsible.”
- A Logosynthesis approach involves pausing to notice these sayings … your stress responses. You can then identify and shift the underlying trigger. From this position, you are calmer and better able to recognize other options and resources.
Adapting an energetic perspective, in combination with cognitive and physical perspectives, allows you to face challenges with a greater sense of presence and adaptability.
Reframing mental strength.
Conventional views of mental strength often focus on control—over emotions, circumstances, or outcomes. While discipline and persistence are valuable, they can sometimes lead to overwork, emotional suppression, or burnout. In Logosynthesis, mental strength is less about control and more about connection—to yourself, to the present moment, and to your inner wisdom.
We know that it is normal to react to life’s challenges with stress responses and over time these “frozen” patterns can harm our health, relationships and work – often without even recognizing the impact. When we shift our lens, we see that our Essence is strength and our work becomes the task to pay attention to our stress responses and resolve the triggering mental imagery, in the form of memories, beliefs and fantasies. Layer by layer, are better able to respond to life from a position of inner strength.
Logosynthesis: Accessing your full potential.
Logosynthesis® offers a unique model to uncover and release the invisible stressors that drain your mental energy. These stressors often take the form of:
- Intrusive thoughts or memories.
- Limiting beliefs that you may perceive as a weakness or a strength.
- Fearful fantasies about what could happen.
By using the Logosynthesis® Basic Procedure, you can neutralize stress responses. As a result, you gain a greater sense of calm and clarity for options that are available to you.
My personal experience.
I grew up in a busy farming family. I was strong and adaptable and these traits served me very well throughout my corporate career and in my family life. However, over time I did become more reactive. And because I was doing what needed to be done, my impression was that it was other people who needed to change: to work harder; to do more; to go faster; to be stronger. And yes, my life got busier and I maintained my “strength” but my reactions became more intense. I was snappier, my words not as kind and my jaw more prone to clenching.
It wasn’t until I was introduced to Logosynthesis that I was able to get a grasp on what was actually happening and start to make meaningful shifts. I couldn’t get there through rational thought because my beliefs were keeping me stuck. Now however, I have an elegant model with a simple, repeatable technique to notice and let go of my reactive patterns. Today, “being strong” feels very different for me. I enjoy time in a different way while being more content and accepting of what shows up in my life. I also enjoy work that is meaningful to me. I share my experience through two books:
Strength in Flow!
True mental strength isn’t about being unshakable. It’s accessing your full strength by flowing with life’s challenges rather than resisting them. Through Logosynthesis, you learn to be more accepting of these challenges and to navigate life’s ups and downs with grace. This perspective not only transforms how you see yourself but also how you live. Instead of striving for a rigid version of mental toughness, you discover the peace and power of being in flow—mentally strong, yet fully human.
Are you ready to explore this new path to mental strength? Dive into Logosynthesis® with our courses and resources. Grab a glass of water, find a quiet place and watch the YouTube video below. Get in touch with any questions!
