Amy Morin

When it comes to physical strength, someone may have a stronger upper body than lower body, or a stronger right arm compared to the left arm. Similarly, we're likely to excel in some areas of mental strength while struggling with others.

Sleep deprivation robs you of mental strength and impairs your ability to deal with stressful events.

Pick friends who make poor choices, and you could get dragged down fast. But, if you choose friends who inspire and challenge you to become better, you'll increase your chances of reaching your goals.

Striving for success is healthy - but believing you need to succeed the first time around may backfire. Mentally strong people believe failure is part of the process toward a long journey to success. By viewing failure as a temporary setback, they're able to bounce back and move forward with ease.

Resilient people recognize that no matter how bad the circumstances are, their situation could always be worse. They don't allow themselves to exaggerate how terrible their problems are, and they don't run around predicting how much worse things are going to get. Instead, they view failure with an accurate perspective.

Rather than dispute their shortcomings or hide their mistakes, resilient people are authentic. Their humble, self-aware approach assists them in developing strategies to become better.

Choosing to avoid uncomfortable feelings offers immediate short-term relief, but avoidance can lead to long-term consequences.

Sometimes people think that regulating their emotions means trying to act as if they don't have feelings. But, that's not the case. A realistic view of emotions shows that we're capable of experiencing a wide range of emotions, but we don't have to be controlled by those emotions.

Sometimes we see things as being black or white. Perhaps you have two categories of coworkers in your mind - the good ones and the bad ones. Or, maybe you look at each project as either a success or a failure. Recognize the shades of gray, rather than putting things in terms of all good or all bad.

Mental strength is not the same as mental health. Just like someone with diabetes could still be physically strong, someone with depression can still be mentally strong. Many people with mental health issues are incredibly mentally strong. Anyone can make choices to build mental strength, regardless of whether they have a mental health issue.

A lot of problems stem from a desire to avoid discomfort. For example, people who fear failure often avoid new challenges in an effort to keep anxiety at bay. Avoiding emotional discomfort, however, is usually a short-term solution that leads to long-term problems.

One of the major dangers of being alone in February is the tendency to dwell on past relationships. Whether you're daydreaming about that 'one that got away,' or you're recalling the fairy tale date you went on last Valentine's Day, romanticizing the past isn't helpful - nor accurate.