A Little Book on Mental Strength
3 Umeå, 2022
Stefan Söderfjäll
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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5 contents 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
6 Resilience ............................................. 55 How to develop resilience .......................................... 57 Summary ......................................................................67 References ....................................................................68 Optimism ................................................. 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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This 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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Introduction
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
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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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The Hero Within
Throughout 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 long as possible. And it is probably not unreasonable to assume that most people want their lives, for as long as they last, to contain as many high peaks and as few deep valleys as possible too.
During a person’s lifetime all kinds of biochemical and psychological processes take place in the human body: processes that are set into motion from the moment someone is born until their time on earth is over. Humans are the only living beings on our planet that not only exhibit these different processes, but that also have the ability to reflect over and conduct 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
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the emotional peaks in our lives. This subfield goes by the name ‘positive psychology’, and aims to increase the understanding of what is positive and desirable in our lives and under what conditions we feel, function and perform at our best. From a myriad of ever-growing knowledge, the eminent researcher Fred Luthans developed a new concept at the beginning of the millennium called psychological capital, or positive psychological capital. In general, capital refers to assets and resources of various kinds that we can use to, for example, solve problems, perform well, obtain social status and buy things. So we all have, to varying degrees, economic and material capital in the form of money and other tangible assets such as cars and housing, human capital in the form of knowledge, skills and abilities, and social capital in the form of our networks of mutually beneficial relationships with others.
Just as we all have different amounts of the various forms of capital I’ve just mentioned, we also possess various mental resources that can, in various ways, be considered assets. This so-called psychological capital supports us in developing strong relationships, performing and functioning well in different situations and contexts, and helps us to deal with difficulties
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A Little Book on Mental Strength examines our 'psychological capita!' of hope, self-efficacy, resilience and optimism. Based on the latest research into these important psychological assets, it explores their significance ro our lives, as well as how you can start developing them.
Stefan Söderfjäll has a PhD in Psychology. Since the late 1990s he has devoted himself ro exploring the science behind our behaviours, thought patterns and emotional experiences in order ro make our professional and private lives more productive and enjoyable. He is a sought-after lecturer and has written multiple books on the subject of psychology.
ISBN: 978-91-7773-174-0 111 Il
789177 731740
