13 teachings by bruce lee to become mentally resilient

While we place utmost importance on our physical well being, mental health and all the issues related to it often get sidelined or ignored. Mental health is as important as physical health, both of which create a perfect harmony. You don’t need to go far to look at many successful and influential people who knows how to keep the balance between the two. Bruce Lee, a famous martial artist, actor, director, writer, philosopher and also a teacher, reorganized his life and thoughts in order to attain the ideal equilibrium between mind and soul. Here are his 13 best influential wisdoms for a strong mind, Bruce Lee quotes that will enable you strive harder and become a better version amidst the challenges.

To flow like water: In an interview, Bruce Lee emphasized the need to be mentally non-conformist. “ Be water”, he said, because “ You put water into a cup, it becomes a cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes a bottle, you put water into a teapot, it becomes a teapot. Water can flow, or creep or drip or crash. Be water, my friend.” Needless to say, he was alluding to be a person who can adjust to any situation, looking for the best way of survival. To be like water means to be unaffected by any outer, worldly problems.

When you have attained tranquility with your mind, you are ready to face any kind of challenge that may come your way. This flexibility to bend you mind at your will comes from a non-conformist stance on life and afflictions, where you conduct yourself with a fluidity and an attitude which leaves you harmless. Nothing can touch you or worry you, become you have movies beyond the general fears that life offers; after all, nobody can hit water or catch it. You need to become a force to reckon with, with as ordinary stance as the stance of water flowing through its course, worried about nothing that the way has to offer.

You are the commander of your own mind: You are the power and have the power that commands every aspect in your physical as well as mental health. Positive thoughts enable a positive outlook toward things. It depends entirely on how you perceive your limitations and what you do about it. It is how you react and work around your problems that become the determining factor of your success or your failure. You are the creator of the future that you envision, and there is no external force which is strong enough to overpower your conviction.

There is only self-help: Ultimately, doing your best and believing in yourself are the utmost reason for your survival. This Bruce Lee quote enunciates the need of strong mind that relies on itself in the most adverse conditions. You have the capability to solve anything. Clearly what Bruce Lee meant was that you are bigger than your problems, and not the other way around. “ An individual’s questions are answerable only by the individual himself, and nothing would be gained by his sitting in on the recital of mine”.

Self knowledge as the road to freedom: To know thyself, is the biggest knowledge. Similarly accepting your disadvantages and improving on them will enable you to grow mentally strong and confident. We often forget to talk with our self in a race to talk with the outside world. The most important person who will make you what you are is yourself. Therefore, self knowledge is the vital aspect of growing as a human being.

Defeat is a state of mind: You are defeated if you accept defeat as the reality. Instead, it simply tells you the magnitude of your required improvement. What you think is what you get. Our thoughts have a powerful impact on our physical working and to be strong physically, you need to have a conviction that can only be achieved by honing your thoughts to have a positive outlook on life and challenges that it offers.

Don’t direct the mind: Most of our negative thoughts are stemmed from a preconceived notion of circumstances. We become wary of adversities and instead of focusing of the job at hand; we worry about the failures that may come. Bruce Lee advises us to stand at a neutral position. After all whatever will come is inevitable, so what’s the use worrying about it, right?

Understanding fear: To understand your fears is to understand yourself. More often than not, we tend to disregard what we fear in order to have a temporary escape from our problems. Bruce Lee’s philosophy about fears id to accept them. When you accept your fears, they become merely a problem, an obstacle that can be faced and obliterated. The impossible then becomes a possibility.

Happiness requires action: The thirst for happiness can only quenched if you have the drive to be brave. Happiness is the result of doing something that inspires and motivates you; it is an abstract emotion where the meaning of what makes you happy is solely defined by you. Therefore, nobody can take your happiness as long as you know what makes you happy. Similarly, nobody has the power to make you happy, unless and until you are ready to receive the joy.

The fear of not being esteemed by others: Human nature constantly craves acceptance and assurance. Sometimes, this need to fit in makes us forget that each one of us is actually born to stand out. We disregard our individuality and instead try hard to adjust to the larger perspective, the dominant norm. This assimilation, inevitably, makes us wary of other’s opinion about us, and as a result we become somebody who is always trying to adjust with a larger force of the society.

Our inner self is the truest reflection of our self. We must be willing to be independent from the opinions of other in order to have a better understanding our self and in turn, become a person with insight about his/her own powers and weaknesses.

The will to succeed: Success takes perseverance. There isn’t a single successful person that hasn’t laboured endlessly in order to hone their art and craft. The need of perfection comes with sheer amount of willpower and determination, which instead is the indicator of a strong and well organised mind. You realise you fears and vanquish them by working hard. Therefore the more you get used to working hard and suffering for what you desire, the better you cme at asserting your will in the right place.

To flow like water: To be like water doesn’t limit to mental state. Your physical health, which is as important as you mental facilities, needs constance work. Bruce Lee encourages to have a body that don’t overexert, but which normalises the function of the body. In order to be like water which is flexible and non conforming, we need to be prepared to adjust to any number of situation. Our body is as best as we can make it, something which is shown in this Bruce Lee quote.

Adversity is beneficial to us: Human mind is constantly working, with thoughts evolving and ideas being generated, we are constantly thinking and observing the surround around us. This proves that our mind needs the fodder to feed the curiosity. We may not understand this, but our minds are custom made to solve our problems, doesn’t matter how big or small they are. Then why do we fear challenges and adversities? We certainly aren’t incapable of solving them. Bruce Lee suggest that adversities and problems are essential to examine our conduct and realisation of what is it that we are doing wrong; which in turn improves us mentally and physically. The challenges that we face are catalyst to our growth a sa person and as a survivor, as this Bruce Lee quote suggests.

Sorrow as educator: He says, “ A man can see further through a tear than he can see through a telescope.” Clearly Bruce Lee’s philosophy for sorrows denotes the educational aspect that our challenges provide us. You learn more through your mistakes, since the failure that defines us makes us a much better person than our successes. When you are feeling anguish over a mistake that you made or a problem that seems insolvable, remember these words by Bruce Lee. Disappointments provided by your failure, will give you the clarity that is needed to generate conviction that will definitely give you originality for your success.

In Bruce Lee’s own words, “ Self-actualization is the important thing.” When you are most honest with yourself, no negative thought or worry can affect you. His words of wisdom provide something that we often lack: clarity. Needless to say, he is a true legend who enriches our lives even after his death so long ago. His advice may be helpful to overcome doubts and fears, making us mentally reliable. He continues to inspire us to believe in ourselves, to rely on self awareness for all the victories we can achieve. These Bruce Lee quotes unravels the workings of our minds, enabling us to look past our fears and worries, to have a control on our mind, body and life, in the ways we want. To be our own person, therefore becomes a feat that can be achieved if we put our mind and body into it, as illustrated by Bruce Lee himself.