Mentally Strong People Don’t Waste Time Feeling Sorry for Themselves

In her book 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do, Amy Morin posits that people are not either mentally strong or weak. Rather, we all possess a level of mental strength that can improved upon if we so choose.

The first of thirteen things that mentally strong people don’t do is:
They Don’t Waste Time Feeling Sorry for Themselves

Morin lost her 26-year-old husband within three years of losing her mother, so if there’s anyone who knows the temptation of self-pity, it’s Morin.

She quotes John Gardner to describe the danger of self-pity: “Self-pity is easily the most destructive of the non-pharmaceutical narcotics; it is addictive, gives momentary pleasure and separates the victim from reality.”

Sadness, sorrow, and misfortune are unfortunate parts of life, but long-term self-pity isn’t good for anyone. From Morin’s book, here are some signs you may be lingering too long at the “self-pity party”:

• You tend to think your problems are worse than anyone else’s.
• You think the only luck you have is bad.
• Your life seems to have more problems than other people’s.
• You’re fairly certain no one else truly understands how hard your life…