A Little Book on Mental Strength

Stefan Söderfjäll

A Little Book on Mental Strength

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Stefan Söderfjäll

A Little Book on

Mental Strength

Umeå,3 2022

A Little Book on Mental Strength ISBN 978-91-7773-174-0 © 2022 Stefan Söderfjäll Graphic Design: Daniel Åberg/Åbergs stilus et forma Cover: Daniel Åberg//Åbergs stilus et forma Cover Cover image: Shutterstock/rudall30 Translation: Darren Packman/The Craft Consultant

Copyright Notice: This work is protected by copyright law. Infringement of the author’s rights under the Copyright Act may result in penalties (fines or imprisonment), damages and seizure/destruction of illegally produced material.

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co ntents Introduction............................................9 The Hero Within...................................... 15 Psychological capital....................................................16 HERO – your inner champion ...................................19 Bringing out the hero in you .................................... 20 Summary ......................................................................22 References.....................................................................23 Hope ........................................................ 25 How to build hope ......................................................30 Summary ......................................................................36 References..................................................................... 37 Self-efficacy......................................... 41 Can you have too much of a good thing? .................44 Developing self-efficacy.............................................. 46 Summary.......................................................................50 References..................................................................... 51 5

Resilience .............................................. 55 How to develop resilience...........................................57 Summary.......................................................................67 References.....................................................................68 Optim ism .................................................. 71 Optimistic and pessimistic patterns of attribution.75 Realistic optimism .......................................................79 Developing optimism ................................................. 80 Summary.......................................................................91 References.................................................................... 92 And finally... ........................................ 95 About the author ................................. 99 About ‘A Little Book’ ...............................................101

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I nt rod uction

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his little book is all about mental strength. You might be forgiven for thinking that anyone who chooses to write such a book has, or at least likes to think they have, mental muscles the size of an Olympic powerlifter. But nothing could be further from the truth – at least as far as the author of this particular book is concerned. I wouldn’t say I am a complete mental wreck, but would rather describe myself as “exceptionally average”. I probably feel sorry for myself, doubt my own abilities and worry about the future as much and as often as everyone else does. Including you. I’ve developed a burning interest in what makes us think, feel and behave the way we do, as well as what makes us feel and behave better or worse in different situations and circumstances in our lives. It is this interest that drove me to write this book.

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What I’ve discovered is based in part on research devoted to understanding how we think and behave when we feel and function at our best. In other words, it’s a study of patterns of thoughts and actions that appear to occur when we perform optimally, develop strong, lasting relationships and have positive emotional experiences. This research is, in turn, taken from and influenced by positive psychology, which is an offshoot of the far larger branch of psychology that focuses on human wellbeing and performance.

Positive psychology is, in itself, an expansive area of research, and from it I have chosen to pick out and take a more detailed look at something that goes by the name of psychological capital.

One concern I had about writing a book like this one is that it could give the impression that I, as the author, believe that everything about your life is going to be fantastic, just as long as you believe in yourself and think positively. That somehow, just by reading this book, you will discover the secret to eternal happiness, achieve your life’s ambitions and go on to develop amazing relationships. Which is why I want to take the opportunity right now, in the opening few pages of this book, to clarify that this is by no means what I believe. In fact, I often feel the beginnings of 10

my gag reflex when I read or hear sickly-sweet mantras and catchphrases such as “Everything is possible if you only believe” and “Think yourself happy”.

Research into our psychological capital is thankfully much more nuanced and grounded in realism. It goes without saying that psychological capital is generally positively related to how we feel and function, but as with all other psychology-related knowledge, it is advisable to look at things from a probability-based perspective.

When reading this book you should, therefore, try taking a “it depends on” and “it’s likely that” point of view. I also recommend you take the same approach when reading about ways to develop psychological capital, both in yourself and others. Although research has shown that mental skills are developable, it is important to recognise that the path to any development requires an active effort and willingness to invest time. And even if you do both these things, there is still no guarantee it will have a positive effect, and the extent of this effect will depend on a lot of different factors such as your genetic makeup, your social and physical environment and the resources available to you.

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I’d hate to find this little book nestling among the sermonising publications on the self-help shelves of bookstores declaring anything is possible with the power of thought. Instead my hope is that this book will give you a sound and nuanced insight into a set of thought patterns that, if you’re willing to do what it takes to develop them, stand a good chance of making a positive impact on your life and your wellbeing.

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T h e H er o W ith in

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hroughout the millennia we have played out our lives on this tiny round rock we call home.

Everyone that enters this world gets to experience it in their own unique way, based on infinite combinations of genetic predispositions and the different events and circumstances that end up shaping the course of their lives. For some people their time on earth will be short lived, while for others they will have more time at their disposal. Most people will experience emotional highs and lows of various kinds during their lifetime. For some, the valleys and disappointments will be deeper and more numerous than they are for others, while the number of peaks and personal achievements will also vary from person to person.

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It’s probably fair to say, without venturing out onto ice that’s too thin, that a large majority of people want the time between their birth and death to be as A Little Book on Mental Strength examines our ’psychological long as possible. And it is probably not unreasonable capital’ of hope, self-efficacy, resilience and optimism. Based to assume that most people want their lives, for as on the latest research into these important psychological long as they last, to contain as many high peaks and assets, it explores their significance to our lives, as well as as few deep valleys as possible too. how you can start developing them.

During a person’s lifetime all kinds of biochemical and psychological processes take place in the human Stefan Söderfjäll has a PhD in Psychology. Since the late body: processes that are set into motion from the 1990s he has devoted himself to exploring the science behind moment someone is born until their time on earth is our behaviours, thought patterns and emotional experiences over.

Humans are the only living beings on our planet in order to make our professional and private lives more that not only exhibit these different processes, but productive and enjoyable. He is a sought-after lecturer and that also have the ability to reflect over and conduct has written multiple books on the subject of psychology. research on them. Psychology, probably more than any other field of scientific study throughout history, has devoted itself to observing people’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours – questioning how they are affected by our genes, our accumulated life history and the different life situations we find ourselves in.

Psychological capital In recent decades a new subfield of psychology has emerged that has largely devoted itself to studying 16