How To Bulletproof Your Mind

Before we begin, I’d like you to think of a time that you got so angry that you did something as a result of that anger and later regretted it. Maybe you broke something, said something or made a long-term decision you couldn’t retract from. 

We’ve all been there, I’m even guessing it was hard for you to choose one time, as over the years there have more than likely been a few. 

That reaction was a result of an emotion, the emotion you felt led you to do something you would have never done without it. You felt an emotion and acted upon it.

The truth is, this happens to you almost every day, you’ve just never seen it this way before.

Every time you snooze your alarm, eat something you said you wouldn’t, avoid a difficult situation you know needs addressing, procrastinate a task that needs doing, and much more, you’re letting the feeling (in this case, discomfort) have full control over your decisions.

Now, you may have noticed, that discomfort is not an emotion, it’s a feeling, and you’re correct. However, feelings are a response to an emotion, in the cases above, the feeling of discomfort has come from emotions like frustration, desire, fear and anxiety.

Therefore, emotions are the underlying cause of discomfort, which drives your actions.

I say this so that you understand why you’re making such decisions, which will then help during the process of changing them. 

What Does A Bulletproof Mind Look Like?

Before I go any further, I’d like to add the disclaimer that bulletproofing your mind is not numbing your emotions, it’s simply the process of changing your relationship with what you feel and how you act in a way that will better your life. So don’t worry, you will not turn into a robot!!

Bulletproofing your mind is essentially not letting the feeling of discomfort stop you from doing what should be done.

I want you to picture your dream self, what are they doing, where are they doing it, and who are they doing it with? Got it? Okay, now ask yourself what is the difference between you and them? I’ll answer that one for you, actions.

It’s taking the required actions necessary that get you what you want, but if it was as simple as that everyone would have everything, so what is left?

What’s left is whatever stops you from taking said actions, which is what? Feelings.

Doing the things that will lead to success while simultaneously being a human being is quite an intricate dance. 

Bulletproofing your mind is essentially becoming masterful at that dance, it’s the ability to feel the fear, the anxiety, the frustration, the pain, the discomfort, and do it anyway.

So How Is This Done? 

Having a bulletproof mind is the ability to act in spite of whatever it is you’re feeling. 

So, the only question is, how does one work on that ability? 

Unsurprisingly, the answer is, to put yourself in situations where the actions you take are contradictory to the feelings you experience, you want to wrestle with your mind. 

Earlier I mentioned being masterful at the dance, but the only way to become a master at anything is to practice.

If you want to be able to have a difficult conversation with your boss, for example, you have to have practice, but as you can’t logically practice this, you have to practice the process, which is feeling the discomfort, and doing it anyway. 

These are three things that have had the biggest impact on the practice of strengthening my own mind. 

• Cold showers/plunges
• Meditation 
• Long distance running

You could stop reading now, go and do all three and you would gain mental strength, but there is a key component that I have yet to mention for this process, and that’s awareness.

You have to be aware of your mind during these activities, you must become a third-party spectator and observe what your mind does when doing such things.

By creating a separation between you and your mind, and observing it, you gain a valuable advantage, which is understanding your mind at a much deeper level.

When you do anything that is uncomfortable, a battle begins between you and your emotions, the problem is, most people never create the separation between the two. 

When you’re faced with something difficult, your brain's automated response kicks in, it will do anything it can to convince you to not do whatever it is you’re trying to do. 

An example we can all relate to is when we wake up to the painful sound of our alarm, all of the thoughts we get are “It’s too early”, “5 more minutes won’t hurt”, “Missing one day of work won’t hurt”. 

As the thoughts are coming from our own mind, it’s easy to identify with them, this is why so many people give in to them. However, if we create a separation between them and us, and look at them for what they really are, it makes them much easier to ignore.

When we look at these thoughts from a third-party viewpoint, we start to see what’s really going on, which is why I’m including this point in this blog. 

When the cold shower is running and you’re staring at it fully nude, when you’re 5 minutes deep into meditation, and when you’re 5 miles into a 6-mile run are all times when you’re going to be faced with similar thoughts.

By facing them regularly, and viewing them from a new perspective, we can start to bulletproof our minds.

By battling these thoughts, and winning, we become masters at resolving inner conflict.

Therefore, if you want to bulletproof your mind, start putting yourself in situations where these inner conflicts arise, become aware of what comes up, and do it until you notice how much better you have become at dealing with difficult situations.