What is inner strength? Some believe this concept refers to our built-in qualities, while others think that having inner strength means being able to stand tall in the face of adversity.

1 Get in touch with your inner self

The first and most important step of the process is getting to know ourselves on a deeper level. We can’t expect to access and cultivate our inner strength if we don’t spend time in the “inner” territory of our mind.

The inner self is our most intimate and precious quality. There we will find lasting motivation, burning passion, and unshakable inner strength.

One of the fastest ways to reach the core of our personality is through meditation. Try using these five steps:

• Find a comfortable position.
• Close your eyes. (It is just you and yourself, getting to know each other better)
• Sit in silence for a couple of minutes.
• Pay attention to your thoughts, emotions and bodily sensations.
• Observe and describe them.

Practice this exercise regularly and your mind will begin to pay more attention to what’s going on inside. That way, you will have access to a source of unlimited inner strength.

2 Invest in your strengths…

Building inner strength is as much about hard work and learning, as it is about having a set of inborn traits. Although inner strength comes from within (as the name suggests), we still have to put in some effort to sharpen our skills and take advantage of what has been given to us.

Investing in your strengths is clearly not rocket science. Anyone can do it!

First and foremost, you need to identify your strengths. Think of something you’re good at; something you do with passion; something that you can improve and master through training. After that comes the hard part where you need to learn, practice, fail, learn some more and practice again.

At some point, you will be so good at what you do, that the one skill/trait you chose to perfect will become the foundation of your inner strength.

3 …but be mindful of your weaknesses

While our personal skill set is of paramount importance in cultivating inner strength, let’s not forget that humans are not perfect. We each have our flaws and imperfections which, if left unchecked, can chip away our personal power.

Some of us try to hide their weaknesses behind arrogance, while others just refuse to talk about them, pretending like they don’t exist.

As always, the best course of action is to face your imperfections head-on. That way, you know exactly what you can and can’t do; what you’re good at and what needs improving.

Write your qualities and defects on a piece of paper, then draw a circle around them. The circle represents the idea of “wholeness.” In other words, both strengths and weaknesses are part of the same personality – YOU.

Come to think of it; this exercise is also an excellent way to get in touch with your inner self and explore the foundation of your inner strength.

4 Challenge yourself on a regular basis

Challenges and competition are part of the whole learning process that takes us from doubt and hesitance to unshakable inner strength. Many of us love comfort. We enjoy doing the same things, without ever taking chances or doing something outside our comfort zone.

As we mentioned before, nurturing inner strength requires practice and practice will occasionally put you in situations you’ve never experienced before.

Imagine you’re training for a marathon and five miles is the best you can do right now.

Running six miles (or more) would be outside your comfort zone. As a result, you get used to the idea that five miles is the best you can do and you tell yourself: “Hey, at least I’m doing something!”

Practice, if not taken to a new level, will prove ineffective in helping us build inner strength.

Based on the strengths we want to improve, what we need to do is find small, achievable challenges that will help us push our limits a bit further. Something that is challenging enough to take us outside our comfort zone, but not too demanding that we lose motivation and give up entirely.

Cultivating inner strength is a step-by- step process that requires us to endure a fair share of “discomfort” from time to time.

If it doesn’t “hurt” a bit, you’re not doing it right!

5 Stop taking things personally

Occasionally, people tend to take things too personally. To cultivate unshakable inner strength, we need to get used to criticism and doubt coming from people who don’t resonate with our worldviews. We need to look at life from a purely objective perspective and understand that finding inner strength is a personal journey.

Whenever you feel like someone is trying to criticize or discourage you, just ask yourself this:

• How will that help me?
• Is there something in his/her opinion that I can take as useful advice?
• Does it make sense to feel (insert negative feeling here) just because someone said something I don’t agree with?

Once you stop caring about other people’s “bad” remarks, building inner strength will become your personal goal and nothing will keep you from reaching it.