Developing Inner Strength

6 Shortcuts to Reclaim Your Inner Strength in One Day

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If you’ve recently left a toxic relationship, it probably feels like the wind has been knocked out of your sails.  You may still be trying to wrap your mind around what happened and wonder how you’ll ever get through the crippling confusion and shock of betrayal. Developing inner strength probably feels like something that happens for other people, but not for you.

Even more, you wonder if there will ever come a day when you’ll be blessed with the ability to stop obsessing about the narcissist 24/7.

The good news is yes, it’s possible to stop ruminating over the narcissist, but it will take time and practice.  And it all starts with training your mind to think different thoughts.  Specifically, you’ll need to be aware of when you’re in obsession mode and turn your thoughts around to yourself, recall your intellectual knowledge of what you need to do to heal, and reclaim your inner strength.

When tough times trigger your insecurities, you can discover an inner strength that will get you through practically anything.  Keep in mind, however, the wise words of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe – “Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.” 

Following are six recommendations to get you started on reclaiming your inner strength:

1 – Reflect on the tough times you’ve had before. Ask yourself how you got through it. What did you do? What did you think? What did you tell yourself? Your resilience will become evident as you do this exercise and give you real hope for the future in dealing with other obstacles.

  • Recognize that you’ve made it through those difficult situations. Then think about what you’re experiencing right now. Is the current situation similar to or much different from your other tough times? Use what you’ve learned from your past challenges.

2 – Learn to talk to yourself in positive, encouraging ways. This will help you build up your inner strength.

  • As if speaking to your own best friend, tell yourself what will most help and encourage you. What do you most want to hear? What do you need to hear to help gather your strength? Is there something specific you’re hoping will happen? 
  • Practice providing yourself with encouraging, uplifting messages. The messages you give yourself can be less than helpful or they can propel you through the roughest of circumstances.
  • Talking to yourself with respect, care and positivity builds your inner strength so it’s there when you need it. When the going gets tough, you’ll have yourself to fall back on.

3 – Allow yourself time to think through whatever the situation is. It’s okay to feel confused.

  • What are your ideas about how to weather the storm? Examine all the solutions you can come up with. Explain to yourself what you’ll do and how you’ll do it. 
  • A sense of your own resourcefulness can be found in your ability to problem-solve through challenging situations.  Often, survivors of narcissistic abuse believe they have no options, but that’s usually not the case.  There may not be immediate solutions, but there are almost always ways out of tough situations with careful planning.

4 – Consider who you regard as role models or mentors. You follow those people because you respect and admire them. They’re strong enough people that you want to emulate them. A good rule of thumb is to follow blogs and recovery sites that focus on healing and moving forward, not just on the toxic behaviors of narcissists and sociopaths.  Remember, what you think about the most is what will play out in your day-to-day life.

  • Who do you know or follow who has left a toxic situation and redesigned their life? Think about their strength of character. How do you know they have it? What does that strength look like? How does it manifest?  If they were able to do it, you can do it, too.

5 – Reflect on what you’ve done or been through that you’re most proud of. Was it making it through college although you had to work while you attended classes? Maybe it was moving out on your own for the first time and figuring out you could take care of yourself.

  • Even though you might have felt afraid, uncomfortable, lost, or confused, you discovered your internal resources and made it through those experiences.
  • When you examine what you did to handle those situations and how you made it through, you’ll recall your inner strength.
  • You can get in touch with your own resourcefulness by re-visiting those events that bring you pride.

6 – Sometimes, you’ve just got to “fake it till you make it.” You can probably recall a time when you felt afraid or weren’t sure you could succeed, but you stood up and met the challenge head-on.

Discovering your inner strength is possible, even in the toughest of times in the aftermath of narcissistic abuse. Following the steps above will help you discover your courage and resourcefulness. And with this self-understanding, you can handle anything!  You’ve come this far, haven’t you?

If you feel miserable and trapped in your relationship, that’s a problem that likely won’t improve on its own.  Join the many wonderful folks in The Essential Break Free Bootcamp who have finally found freedom and are healing their own lives.

If you’ve just found this site and are ready to begin your first steps to freedom, download your beginner’s healing roadmap below!  You get everything you need to start your healing journey.  It’s free!


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7 comments
Justice4victoms says December 9, 2018

Case in point, i asked the narcissist not to send my husband videos of topless women anymore, and the boundary I set caused him to tell me how ridiculous I am for thinking that is improper and that he “knows things” about me that “will be my demise” if I try to act like I am pure and everyone else is wrong. Almost sounds like Kim Hollands is a narcissist. I feel very sorry for his exwife, linda. She must have suffered alot. And i feel even sorrier for his current girlfriend.

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Justice4victoms says November 19, 2018

Kim Hollands IS the narcissist, he plays the victim, he blames the victim, and he is a flying monkey if I have ever met one. He wants the attention, but the only thing broken from his last marriage was his fragile ego. I never met hus ex wife, but I feel very sorry for her. This man carries around hundreds of videos of him with every woman he has ever slept with…so he never has to forget the “good times”. He says they are part of his history. Beware this man who comments on your blog.

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Tracy malone says June 26, 2017

Great article Kim! Thank you. I should be taking my no contact course right now but I am reading more of your amazing work.
Hugs

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Learn New Skills & Create a New Self After Abuse - SwanWaters says April 30, 2017

[…] 6 Shortcuts to Reclaim Your Inner Strength in One Day […]

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Kim Hollands says February 15, 2017

Hi Kimber, it’s Kim again. Good one but…..I must say that the reason we feel abandoned or hurt or dwell on our heartache is because of not the bad parts but the good parts of our relationships. I will never forget best of times, Trips overseas, the best lovemaking, slow-dancing in the kitchen to no music. I don’t want to lose these memories of the good times with my ex wife. I know i will never take her back as does she….now. I’m afraid in life we must learn you take the good with the bad. It’s up to you to decide t h e dosage of each.

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Judy R says February 9, 2017

I would love to take the course on healing and moving but my understanding is it is over 600.00 which unfortunately I can not afford. I do not need the no contact because my ex Narc. dumped me out of the blue and has blocked after I said mean things (I was really hurt). I feel stuck, I can not seem to shut my mind down. He broke up with me at 1:00 in the morning out of the blue after 2 years. I was so unbelievably devastated and have not been able to let go of it. For the next 4 months after the break up he would get in touch saying he wanted to work it out and of course I jumped on it only to be dumped again. The last time it happened I sad mean things and he has not talked to me since. I don’t know what to do or how to move forward.

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    Kim Saeed says February 12, 2017

    Hi Judy,

    I am sorry for what you’ve been through. Even though you said mean things and he hasn’t contacted you, that doesn’t mean he won’t try to re-enter your life at some point. By the way, you may be feeling highly guilty for saying mean things, but honestly, his repeated cycles of resurrecting the relationship only to dump you called for your taking a stand for yourself.

    The course is only $49. You must have been talking about one of my coaching packages. I would recommend The Essential No Contact Bootcamp because is not only helps with maintaining No Contact, it also helps guide you through the first steps of healing. You’ll definitely need both.

    Wishing you all the best, Judy. I understand how difficult your situation is…

    Kim

    Reply
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