The occurrence of the pandemic nowadays created some forms of sorrow within us. Even if we deny it or not something wrong flourishes in our soul.

This is not our fault, nor our weakness, but if we allow this negativity to thrive in, this will lead us into a dim tomorrow. 

(WHO) statistics show that there are 800,000 people die in suicide every year or 1 person every 40 seconds. 79% of suicide cases occurred mostly in low and middle-income countries. This is accounted for 1.4% of all deaths worldwide. Making it the 18th leading caused of death in 2016.

This sounds alarming, right? 

If we do not take action to at least decrease these numbers, the time will come we’ll lose our future nation-builders. Which were our teenagers, and our young adults that were considered as the current strength of our economy? 

We must save them!!! Either way, we should also subject ourselves to a form of awareness to address this global phenomenon. 

For this reason, it is very important to learn how to build the toughness of our minds in order to surpass every setback and obstacle in our daily living. 

Here are some ways we should start doing to build our mental toughness:

•	Develop a strong belief in yourself:	Have faith in your own abilities, because if you don’t who else will? Perceiving yourself as capable of being whatever and whoever you wanted to be can make a huge change in your life. This will enable you to think like a true winner in life’s broad field of battle. If Bill Gates who is a college dropout can be a multi-billionaire through his Microsoft. If J.K. Rowling a dyslexic student who failed three grades at school can be a best-selling author and a television producer, YOU too can also be successful in whatever field you chose. Just need to put in the work and most of all belief in you. 

•	Seeing obstacles as part of your life’s journey:     Success is not a destination, but a journey. Understanding this matter will make us realize that failures, pains, sorrows, disappointments, and rejections are all part of our living. They are inevitable as long as we live, we can always find them on our way. The proper manner on how to handle these is to be resilient. Think that the world is a harmless place to live. Wherein all the circumstances happening whether by good or bad, they are all working together for our betterment. It’s a powerful strategy we can use to build our mental toughness. Sometimes we don’t need to be frightening against our struggles instead view them as lessons that we need to learn, and if we learned them properly, we can be valuable people in this world. 

•	Set goals and write them down:     Studies have shown a clear correlation between goal setting and success. This is applicable in all aspects of life such as health, finance, relationship, and career development. I don’t know any successful people who do not have a vision board or any stuff where they write their goals. Only 3% of the world’s populations have achieved their great potentials in their fields. So how they came where they are today? Simply, they set goals and put a lot of work into it. They never quit even if the universe tested their commitments. I personally do this method. In a piece of paper, I write down all the things I wanted to have. I read this stuff early in the morning when I wake up, and late at night before I get to sleep. I even posted my vision board in one corner of the room. This contained the big goals I wanted to accomplish. It actually inspired me a lot knowing that I have so many things written on a piece of paper that need to put into reality, and so giving up is never been an option. This will give clear direction towards our path, and motivate us to be the best version of ourselves. Try this method by yourself, and see how it will change your life. 

•	Small positive talks:     creating self-made affirmations can increase your mental strength. This is done by reinforcing your belief system with the use of phrases like “I am the best.” or “I can do it.” And you can also use the phrase, “I love myself.” Either way, you can also create your own affirmative phrase. Say for instance, if you are a teacher, and you want to give an excellent performance in teaching in your classes today. You might say, “I am the best teacher.” On the other hand, if you want to be financially affluent, you would say “I am a billionaire.” Doing affirmation amplifies your positive perception towards yourself, and seems more effective when you make your own affirmative phrase. In this way, the affirmation becomes more personal, and something that is more personal can resonates more deeply in one’s mind and heart.

•	Always smile:     all the pieces of stuff provided above would be useless if we do not put a smile on our face. Countless studies showed good benefits when a person often smiles. Smiling frequently helps produce some positive feelings you feel about yourself. These emotions lead us to a brighter perception of the world. Where we are deeply driving to seek the splendid view in every event that occurred in our life. There’s no best alternative for this since we all know the fact that a person having a positive outlook attracts more positive things in his life. This concept is also enlightened by the (law of attraction) which says that we often get, what we focus on more. So the next time you feel lost amidst of nowhere. Don’t hesitate to put a big smile on your face. It will make a lot of change, and you’ll realize that you are already backed on track. 

Mental toughness is a pre-requisite if we want to turn our visions into reality.
 
It’s very crucial that we understand that life is not a sprint, but a marathon. It has a journey. This journey runs through a lifetime. In a marathon, endurance is necessary for the runners to be able to reach the finish line, and for us life-warriors mental toughness is vital. We cannot surpass adversities in our way if we have a weak mindset.

This is a call not only for teenagers but also for my fellow young adults. Think of the world as a collaborative place to live, and not a battleground, where we fight one another in order to succeed. We supposedly help each other to reach our own potentials. Be an inspiration that inspires others, and be a motivation that motivates others. 

Everything starts with you. Have the initiative to build your own (mental toughness), be infectious, and help others build theirs.