Amy Morin

"Spending time with negative people can be the fastest way to ruin a good mood. Their pessimistic outlooks and gloomy attitude can decrease our motivation and change the way we feel. But allowing a negative person to dictate your emotions gives them too much power in your life. Make a conscious effort to choose your attitude."

"A lot of problems stem from a desire to avoid discomfort. For example, people who fear failure often avoid new challenges in an effort to keep anxiety at bay. Avoiding emotional discomfort, however, is usually a short-term solution that leads to long-term problems."

"Being a top performer - whether it's in business or on the athletic field - requires grit and tenacity, as well as the continuous desire to become better."

"Building mental strength is the key to reaching our full potential in life."

"Establishing healthy habits - like eating a healthy diet, getting plenty of sleep, and participating in regular exercise - can also go a long way to improving how you feel. Similarly, getting rid of destructive mental habits, like engaging in self-pity or ruminating on the past, can also do wonders for your emotional well-being."

"Feeling sad or lonely isn't a bad thing. But those emotions increase the risk that you'll cross the line into self-pity."

"If you've ever felt like you aren't good enough, you're not alone. However, if you're not careful, those feelings can keep you from reaching your greatest potential."

"It'd be nice to learn enough from each mistake that we'd be guaranteed to never repeat that same mistake twice. But, how many times have you said, 'I'll never do that again,' only to find yourself right back at it a few days later. Learning from our mistakes requires humility and a willingness to look for new strategies to become better."

"Positive thinking is a valuable tool that can help you overcome obstacles, deal with pain, and reach new goals."

"Sticking to good habits can be hard work, and mistakes are part of the process. Don't declare failure simply because you messed up or because you're having trouble reaching your goals. Instead, use your mistakes as opportunities to grow stronger and become better."

"Striving for success is healthy - but believing you need to succeed the first time around may backfire. Mentally strong people believe failure is part of the process toward a long journey to success. By viewing failure as a temporary setback, they're able to bounce back and move forward with ease."

"There will always be obstacles and challenges that stand in your way. Building mental strength will help you develop resilience to those potential hazards so you can continue on your journey to success."

"Trying to change before you're ready isn't likely to be productive. For example, most New Year's resolutions don't last because people spring into action without being prepared for the work it's going to take. Forcing change based on a date on the calendar, rather than a true readiness to transform, can be a setup for failure."

"Wasting brain power ruminating about things you can't control drains mental energy quickly. The more you think about problems you can't solve, the less energy you'll have leftover for more productive endeavors."