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Ask HN: What are the most effective forms of emotional conditioning?

1 points by bpourriahi ↗ HN
I don't mean Pavlov. I'm talking about mental toughness. Emotions are arguably the most important thing to manage in life. In some respect, that's what we do all day long.

I'm wondering if any of you know of any techniques to become emotionally stronger/resilient.

The most effective strategy I have found is listening to motivational/positive audiobooks.

Boot camp? I started making a list of hypothetical situations that would elicit the most nervousness/fear from me in various parts of my life (career/spiritual/relationships/health/etc). Just writing the list was difficult. Anyways, made me think some smart guys hear would have some hacks for managing emotions.

2 comments

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anigbrowl
Group physical activities can be good. Group because emotions are social and you can't develop them without peers, physical activities because everyone's strengths and skills are different and, and there's no hiding a difficulty or weakness behind rationalizations. There are many different contexts where this can be applied; things I've done at different times include construction work, rock climbing, martial arts, and dancing.

There are plenty of volunteer work activities with a physical component, and recreational kinds can be competitive or just participatory. You get some healthy exercise but it also pushes you out of your comfort zone and requires you to interact with other people in a different way. Chances are when you start doing something you won't be that good at it, while being surrounded by those who are much better; accepting that and then working to improve your abilities will boost self-confidence and interpersonal skills as well your physical abilities.