13 Things Mentally Strong People Don\'t Do: Take Back Your Power, Embrace Change, Face Your Fears, and Train Your Brain for Happiness and Success pdfdrive com

PRACTICE TAKING RISKS

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Prior to his death in 2007, Psychology Today named Albert Ellis the “greatest
living psychologist.” Ellis was known for teaching people how to challenge their
self-defeating thoughts and beliefs. He didn’t just teach these principles, he also
lived them.
As a young man, Ellis was incredibly shy and he feared talking to women. He
was terrified of getting rejected, so he avoided ever asking a woman out on a
date. But, ultimately, he knew that rejection wasn’t the worst thing in the world
and decided to face his fears.
He went to a local botanical garden every day for a month. Whenever he saw
a woman sitting by herself on a bench, he sat next to her. He forced himself to
start up a conversation within one minute of sitting down. In that month, he
found 130 opportunities to speak with women and of those 130, 30 women got
up and walked away as soon as he sat down. But he started conversations with
the rest. Out of the 100 women he invited on a date, one said yes—however, she
didn’t show up. But Ellis didn’t despair. Instead, it reinforced to him that he
could tolerate taking risks even when he feared rejection.
By facing his fears, Ellis recognized his irrational thoughts that had made him
more fearful of taking risks. Understanding how these thoughts influenced his
feelings helped him later develop new therapy techniques that would help other
people challenge their irrational thinking.
Like Ellis, monitor the outcome of the risks that you take. Take notice of how
you felt before, during, and after taking a risk. Ask yourself what you learned
and how you can apply that knowledge to future decisions.
TAKING CALCULATED RISKS MAKES
YOU STRONGER
Richard Branson, founder of the United Kingdom–based Virgin Group, is known
for taking risks. After all, you don’t get to own four hundred companies without
taking some leaps along the way. But he’s taken calculated risks that have
certainly paid off for him.
As a child, Branson struggled in school. He had dyslexia and his academic
performance suffered. But he didn’t let that hold him back. Instead, as a young

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teen he started business ventures. At the age of fifteen, he began a bird-breeding
business.
His business pursuits quickly grew as he went on to own record companies,
airlines, and mobile phone companies. His empire has expanded to a current net
worth estimated to be around $5 billion. Although he could easily sit back and
enjoy the fruits of his labor, Branson loves to continue challenging himself and
his employees every day.
“At Virgin, I use two techniques to free our team from the same old routine:
breaking records and making bets,” Branson wrote in an article for Entrepreneur
magazine. “Taking chances is a great way to test myself and our group, and also
push boundaries while having fun together.” And push boundaries he does. His
teams create products that people say won’t work. They break records that
people claim are impossible. And they accept challenges that no one else
attempts. But through it all, Branson acknowledges his risks are “strategic
judgments, not blind gambles.”
Success won’t find you. You have to pursue it. Stepping into the unknown to
take carefully calculated risks can help you reach your dreams and fulfill your
goals.