There are many forces and energies known. In science it is customary to talk about gravity, electromagnetic and nuclear interaction. They can be measured and recorded by instruments. In everyday life, physical force is often used, which is also easy to measure or feel. Even a strong character can be compared among different people. But there is one concept that scientists cannot measure or analyze. Even now it remains a mystery what fortitude is. What is its nature? Why is it needed at all? How can you develop this quality? Let's try to answer these questions.
The Divine in Man
Much has been said about what fortitude is. This quality is often compared to willpower, or it is said that these two qualities go hand in hand. Human will is the ability to make decisions and strictly follow them. Fortitude is directly related to will, but it is more of an ideological concept.
The Slavic Magi of antiquity have a prayer. One of the quotes in it is about the strength of the spirit: “My body is a sheath for the blade of my spirit.” In many religious, as well as esoteric treatises, one and the same idea can be traced: the spirit is endowed with the nature of fire, or ether - that is, that place of the universe where the gods live. Regardless of concepts, this part of a person is considered to be given to him from above.
Some psychologists believe that alcoholics and drug addicts do not know what fortitude is. This is why the most expensive treatments are powerless against these addictions. From this follows the well-known principle that addiction cannot be cured - it only passes from one form to another.
Sometimes it happens that a difficult situation in a person’s life does not find a solution for a long time. In this case, the human spirit does not become stronger. One does not lose hope that everything can change for the better. The other simply adapts to new living conditions. In the latter case, the person does not become stronger, his spirit remains weak. After all, avoiding a difficult situation is not a way to overcome life’s obstacles.
For example, a person may quit a job where he is having problems. And at his next workplace a similar situation will await him. Or he cannot build good relationships and strives to find a new husband or wife. In this case, he will also face similar problems. After all, in the previous situation he did not learn a valuable lesson, which means that life will continue to confront him with similar circumstances until he learns to strengthen his spirit and overcome the obstacles facing him.
Example 2
Another small option taken from the film: a girl ended up in a cage with a crazy man. He was not going to kill her, but she understood that this was for the time being, and one day she would come to the end. The cage is strong, you won’t be able to get out of it. Every day the girl slowly tried to pull out a nail that was slightly sticking out between the bars. She pretended to be an obedient girl so as not to anger the maniac, but he had no idea what thoughts were hidden in the head of his captive. One day, as you probably already guessed, the girl managed to get a nail. Big, sharp. She plunged it straight into the scoundrel's body. As a result, the girl survived, taking out the key to the cage. In horror films and thrillers, by the way, you can often see heroes whose fortitude is worthy of respect and praise.
What happens?
In science, there are many formulas for calculating and calculating natural forces. Like the physical strength of people, they can be measured using various instruments. But there are no such formulas and instruments that could capture, record and measure the strength of a person’s spirit. It can only be seen in the behavior and actions of specific real people, not fictionalized by the artistic imagination of writers.
One can only sincerely admire her, showering her with various bright epithets. What kind of strength of spirit is there? It can be invincible, huge, colossal, great, unshakable, indestructible, unbending, exceptional, amazing, incredible, amazing, stunning, unparalleled, iron, all-conquering.
Self-discipline and self-improvement
Learn to do everything through “I can’t.” Start getting up and going to bed at a certain time every day. Stop eating junk food. Start doing physical exercise. Find yourself an entertaining hobby that will help you learn to search for information and devote yourself entirely to what you love. Discipline yourself, improve, stop being afraid and making excuses. You are capable of much, you are capable of everything, the main thing is to sincerely believe in it. By the way, about “being afraid”: the third point comes from here.
How to develop fortitude?
Strength of spirit is undoubtedly given to man by nature and is necessarily implanted in each of us. Of course, it is different for everyone, as different as the people themselves. It may not manifest itself in any way until a certain moment, and a person may think that he does not possess it at all. But under those circumstances when it becomes necessary, fortitude shows everything it is capable of, it works like a defense mechanism, like immunity.
If you are asking questions such as “do I have fortitude?”, “is my spirit strong?”, “how strong is my spirit?”, “can I make my spirit strong if it is weak?”, “can I make is your spirit even stronger?”, then in search of answers to them you need to familiarize yourself with some time-tested effective methods and methods that are used to achieve this goal.
- It is important to start mastering some kind of sport, physical and breathing exercises, as well as meditative techniques. Remember the wisdom that only a healthy mind lives in a healthy body.
- It is equally important to learn to think positively and control the flow of internal energy.
- You also need to get acquainted with spiritual literature, try to imbue yourself with the high ethical and moral values of society.
- It is necessary to do good deeds and learn to free yourself from evil, forgive people and let go of the negative past and grievances.
Let's take a closer look at each of the conditions that develop fortitude.
The concept of human internal energies is found among all peoples of the world and in all cultures. Since ancient times, people have understood that there are certain forces that force a person to live and move forward, no matter what. There are other destructive forces that prevent a person from living a normal life. There are many different theories and opinions on this matter.
The concept of internal energies is considered both from a medical point of view in the context of the physiology of the human body, and from the point of view of all religions of the world from the perspective of the divine principle in man. And from the standpoint of astrology and connections with the stars and space. And even from the standpoint of mysticism, white and black magicians, for their part, explain the nature of human internal energies.
In order to develop and strengthen the strength of spirit in yourself, you need to learn to control your internal energies, the very first and most understandable of which are the energy of good and the energy of evil. To do this, you need to get rid of the negativity within yourself, from the craving for the negative side of life, from the desire for the bad and base, including bad habits that drag a person to the bottom and contribute to personality degradation, and not waste your resources on meaningless and empty activities.
Positive thinking
Recently, it has become fashionable to say that if you learn to think positively and look at the world, then life gets better, and all problems disappear almost by themselves. Is it really? There is an expression that everything in life comes back like a boomerang. Perhaps there is both wisdom and truth in this. What a person gets from life depends on a person’s thoughts, feelings and actions.
The energy (positive or negative) that a person directs from himself to the outside world, reflected in it, like in a mirror, returns to the person back. We can say that this is the law of nature - good begets good, evil begets evil. And those who want to strengthen their spirit need to learn positive thinking.
Since ancient times, the human body has been called the vessel of the soul. For the soul to be strong, the body must be healthy. One of the important principles on which the teachings of Tibetan monks are based is that only those who are able to control their body are strong in spirit. By increasing physical endurance, a person thereby increases mental strength.
You need to improve your body not only through physical exercise, but also through breathing practices. The same monks of Tibet claim that only a person who controls his breath can control his body. One of the most famous and effective techniques that originated in Chinese culture is qigong. It is aimed at healing the body, cleansing the mind and strengthening the spirit.
Wanting to strengthen the strength of spirit, it is important for a person not only to work on physical health, his worldview and mood, but it is also important to develop his mind and replenish his knowledge. In solving this problem, books come to the aid of a person. Reading spiritual literature can give answers to various questions, help you understand internal contradictions, and reveal many truths.
Such sources of knowledge can be different literature: religious, philosophical, artistic, biographies of real people who have great strength of spirit and have demonstrated it in different life circumstances. Each person is free to choose according to his own taste. But the more we fill our minds with knowledge, the higher the level of our spiritual development rises and the wider the horizons of life become for us. This means that our spirit also has something to feed its strength.
Another way to strengthen your spirit is meditation. When you read various literature and want to learn something, your energies are directed to external sources. Meditation means going inside yourself, into your subconscious, into the depths of your mind. People who practice such methods of knowing their essence claim that the human subconscious contains the answers to all the questions that interest him.
With a regular approach to such activities, a person manages to clear his mind of unnecessary empty thoughts and tune in to a calm and constructive course of thought. In this way, you can give yourself the opportunity to consider what is bothering you differently and without worry, from different points of view, and solve the problem correctly, without destructive emotions.
Good deeds
There is such a thing as philanthropy. This is philanthropy, which allows people to engage in charity, help those in need, and patronize those who need it. Good deeds include giving alms to the poor, volunteering, helping the elderly, and much more. Nothing in the world makes a person more humane than good deeds. Well, who else on earth can boast of such a skill?
Only a person who is strong in spirit can perform good deeds; a weak person is incapable of the selfless and generous gift of a particle of his soul. And here the principle of climbing a spiral staircase comes into play: a strong-willed person does a good deed, this deed allows him to climb higher up the steps and become even stronger.
The ability to forgive
When a person experiences negative emotions, a powerful release of stress hormones begins in his body. To avoid this, you need to learn to control your emotions. One of the tools for such control is the ability to forgive. By learning to sincerely forgive, you will stop the flow of evil, preventing it from spreading and consuming everyone around you.
Cultivating spiritual strength includes various exercises, performing which you can achieve enlightenment. Some of them are related to specific physical training, while others are aimed solely at mental strength, and may outwardly resemble inaction. But the effectiveness of these methods is impressive:
- Control of internal energies;
- Positive thinking;
- Physical and breathing exercises;
- Spiritual literature;
- Meditation techniques;
- Good deeds;
- The ability to forgive.
Let's look at these techniques separately.
Various energies continuously circulate in the human body. Some provide its connection with the cosmos, others appear as a result of the work of internal organs, or rather, individual cells. Each of them contains small energy stations - mitochondria, which ensure our vital functions.
It cannot be said that fortitude depends on them. But the ability to control and direct your life energy is precisely what ensures the development of this quality. If a person learns not to waste his internal resources on negativity and bad habits, but devotes them to more lofty goals, then the person’s spirit will become stronger, and his effectiveness in life will increase noticeably.
One of the first energies that you should learn to control is sexual. The famous American writer Napoleon Hill in his book “Think and Grow Rich” noted that for success it is necessary to subjugate your sexual energy, directing it in a creative direction.
The feedback principle is one of the most powerful in this world. A person receives a result equivalent to his thoughts and actions. Evil is rewarded with evil, good is rewarded with good. A person’s spirit grows stronger if actions and thoughts are aimed at its development. A positive attitude attracts appropriate situations.
Exercises for the will
Another technique for strengthening willpower is to complete simple tasks:
- If you have speech habits (filler words, swearing, etc.), you can try to control yourself and refrain from ordinary expressions in time. An option might be to abandon the custom of crossing your legs, or to focus on a simple action. To understand how to develop willpower, you can start opening the door with your left hand (for right-handers).
- For the same purpose, you should introduce into everyday life and do something every day that is not usual in everyday life. This will be a way to both develop willpower and learn useful habits: gymnastics in the morning or taking out the trash in the evening. The main thing is to strictly implement your decision.
- The development of a person’s will through self-control can be achieved by simply getting into the habit of recording your expenses, making a menu, and recording the time spent in front of the TV.
As a result of following the decision, the habit of paying attention to one’s actions is formed, and the person’s willpower is strengthened. The simplicity and accessibility of tasks for yourself in this case will only be useful: you won’t have to reproach yourself too much for not restraining yourself, forgot to write down the spending on ice cream in your notebook, or for not taking out the trash. When performing exercises to develop willpower, you need to pay attention only to following your own rules of the game, without particularly focusing on the result and ways to pump up willpower. Most likely, it will manifest itself at the moment when you have to face a real problem: the ability to break it down into separate elements, solving small problems, and the habit of following changed rules of behavior will also come in handy.
What does fortitude give?
- Turning any defeat into your own small victory.
- Allows you to openly look your biggest fears in the eye.
- Will give you the opportunity to learn from your own mistakes.
- It will help you to abstract yourself from unnecessary motivations inspired by unfriendly advisers.
- Will allow you to strengthen your own motivation.
Firstly, a strong person is faster able to disarm his inner critic. After all, on the way to any goal you cannot avoid obstacles. And at some point there is a risk of giving up, deciding that there is not enough strength to reach the end. Only those whose spirit is strong will have a chance of defeating this negative inner voice and further moving towards their goal.
This quality also allows you to draw the right conclusions from mistakes made and not get stuck in self-accusation. A strong person will not waste his life energy on unnecessary repentance. Nor will he ignore his mistakes. His strategy is responsibility for the actions taken. Therefore, the strength of spirit allows you to consider every step as an acquisition of new experience.
In addition, this quality allows a person to honestly face his fears. Leaving your “comfort zone” is never easy. However, if a person is strong, he knows that he will be able to cope with stress and move forward no matter what.
Examples
One example of fortitude is Pasha Pasynkov from the work of the same name by K. Chukovsky. At the cost of his own life, he decides to take the fire of all enemy anti-aircraft guns on himself. Pasynkov's plane burns and becomes uncontrollable, but he still manages to land on the Neva. So the hero managed to keep intact not only houses and several bridges, but also many human lives. All this is thanks to the willpower of the protagonist.
Also, an example of firmness of spirit can be found in the texts of L. Ovchinnikova. They talk about the children of besieged Leningrad. Many of them were left without parents; before their eyes, houses collapsed and people died of hunger. Children gathered at the first call in the Palace of Pioneers, despite hunger, cold and deprivation.
V. P. Astafiev: an example of spiritual power
Also, an example of the strength of a person’s spirit can be found in the text of journalist G.K. Sapronov, who is also a member of the Association of Book Publishers of Russia. The author reveals this topic using the example of the biography of Viktor Petrovich Astafiev. He was able to go through many hardships in life - orphanhood, homelessness, the war years, as well as post-war poverty and devastation.
However, he managed to cope with all the troubles and remain himself. At the same time, Astafiev worked tirelessly. Every day he sat down at his desk and completed the stories he created in order to feed his family. Despite all the hardships, he did not give up and continued to work for himself and his family.
The best way to learn about fortitude is from quotes from great people. This is what Lucretius said about this: “The spirit is strong with joy.” One cannot but agree with this statement. After all, it is thanks to internal psychological resources that a person can be strong. Vitality, love and energy reserves allow you to move on, despite any obstacles.
Joyful events of the past may be forgotten, but they continue to exist in the unconscious memory, giving strength to overcome obstacles and new achievements. When your soul becomes sad, there is no faith in your own strength, you are overcome by anxiety or fatigue, it is important to remember the words of Lucretius. By reflecting on good events, a person has the opportunity to strengthen his spirit.
Strengthening inner resilience
And here is what the French writer and entomologist J. Fabre said about this: “Happy, thrice happy is the man who is tempered by the adversities of life.” It is believed that by going through life's difficulties, a person becomes stronger. After all, a crisis is a turning point when previous actions turn out to be ineffective, and a person has not yet come up with new ways of behavior.
A mentally strong person is one who knows how to invent these ways of coping with a difficult life situation. Anyone who does not know what fortitude is has every chance of finding it in difficult circumstances. It is the positive experience of meeting difficult situations that strengthens a person. After all, this knowledge will give him confidence in the future. If he was able to deal with problems before, he will know that he is capable of solving these problems.
Formation of volitional qualities in children
For mothers interested in how to cultivate willpower in a child, the methods should include a playful moment. It is not at all necessary to try to make a giant of spirit out of a little man, forbidding him to enjoy the natural joys of his age. Compliance with the rules of the game, which contains elements of achieving a given task (go through a maze, write the required number of hooks in a copybook, etc.), gradually prepares the child to perform more complex actions related to overcoming certain obstacles.
Upon successful achievement of the final goal of the task, encouragement must follow. This will continue to form a direct connection between the result and satisfaction from it. It is advisable to discuss a certain type of reward with your child in advance: a walk, watching a cartoon, a treat, or something else. But when completing a task, it is worth demanding a responsible approach and focusing not on encouragement, but on actions.
If the child does not cope with the task, then the reason may be that the demands placed on him are too high. An adult should soberly analyze the capabilities of his child and take this into account when selecting the next tasks. Their complication should occur gradually and only after the future strong-willed personality learns to overcome the difficulties of the initial stage. Otherwise, nurturing positive qualities in a child may result in his confidence in his own powerlessness and inability to do something right. In the future, this will only result in the ability to give up in time in the face of the most insignificant difficulties and will lead to a refusal to carry out your decision.
