“Mentally strong people recognize that a quick fix isn’t always the best solution. A willingness to develop realistic expectations and an understanding that success doesn’t happen overnight is necessary if you want to reach your full potential”.

If you are impulsive and passionate like me, this can be a huge problem. Training yourself to be patient and wait, is the hardest thing you can think of. I know. But the reality is, that rarely success is instant. Everything takes time, in every aspect of life. The more you water the flower, the more it grows. Same for you and your success.

Expecting immediate results can set you up for failure much quicker, overconfidence can lead you to make many mistakes, making you abandon your efforts, and can tempt you into taking shortcuts, making it hard for you to be prepared for the future.

Though as hard as it may seem, the best way is to create realistic expectations that will keep you focused over the long haul:

• don’t underestimate how difficult change is
• avoid placing a definite time limit on reaching your goals – deadlines are ok but don’t beat yourself up in case you don’t make it: reassess and reschedule again
• don’t overestimate how much better the results will make your life
• know that progress toward your goal might not always be in a straight line
• know that sometimes things need to get worse before they get better

Immediate gratification is at the heart of many problems but you can avoid it by practicing the below:

• keep your eyes on the prize
• celebrate milestones along your journey
• create a plan to resist temptation
• deal with feelings of impatience and frustration by remembering how far you have got already
• pace yourself
• delay getting what you want now so you can get more later
• establish realistic expectations for yourself

Remember that mentally strong people are able to monitor their behavior, regulate their emotions and control their thoughts. Use this simple phrase to put you back on track anytime you feel lost or overtaken by circumstances around you.

This was the 13th and last thing mentally strong people DON’T DO. Thank you for reading and I truly hope this series was helpful for you, packed with a lot of advice on how to overcome certain obstacles that could prevent you from succeeding.