If There Was Ever A Time To Be Mentally Tough, It Is Now.
TOUGH PEOPLE COME FROM TOUGH TIMES.
It's really that simple. Every coach, leader, employer, and so forth, wants to surround themselves and their organizations with tough people. People who are never going to complain about their circumstances, have no off switch, and never let up. People who are going to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to get the job or task done.
Not only do leaders want that, everyone wants that. Everyone deep down wants to be known to others as a tough, resilient individual. We want it, but how do we get it?
How do you build mental toughness?
Is it simple?
Absolutely.
Is it easy?
Far from it…
WHAT IS MENTAL TOUGHNESS?
We all most likely have different definitions on what we think toughness is. Toughness is defined as, “strong and durable; not easily broken or cut.” While that is a pretty self-explanatory definition, the “mental” part changes everything. The reason is that the mind is the most powerful thing us as human beings have. The mind controls all.
Our brain knows who we are better than anything on the planet. It knows our fears, our goals, our habits, our breaking points. It truly does know us inside and out.
You can fake being physically tough.
You can fake being emotionally tough.
However, mental toughness is something you can never fake.
At some point, sooner than any other thing in your body, your mind will tell you to give in. It will tell you that whatever it is you are facing is too much. It is at that point, where you must choose to do your job. You must choose to be mentally tough.
Mental toughness is a choice.
Mental toughness is doing your job, the way it is supposed to be done, no matter the circumstance.
No matter if you feel like it. No matter if you think it doesn’t matter. No matter if odds are stacked against you. Why? Because it is right, and people in your foxhole are counting on you. Mental toughness is a choice we all have to make daily. It starts with getting out of bed when the alarm goes off, and continues throughout the day by doing both the things that are expected of you, and the things you said you were going to do. Every single day.
BUILDING MENTAL TOUGHNESS
This is a topic that has been misunderstood numerous times throughout society, myself included. As stated earlier, tough people come from tough times. With that being said, mental toughness is not putting your athletes, or yourself, through boot camp every second of every day.
The term ‘boot camp’ originates from basic training that members of the Armed Forces went through during World War I. We as coaches are not trying to create soldiers. We are trying to create great athletes, as well as great people. However, to create mental toughness, things need to be hard. Growth only occurs in discomfort. When circumstances get hard, we must control the mind.
We have all been there, or are there now. In tough situations, your mind tells you all these things and we start to believe them. We have the ability to block negative thoughts out when things are good, but we are so quick to listen when we are put in hard times. We have to slow down and control our thoughts in hard times and do our job the way it is supposed to be done. When that control becomes a habit, done every single day, then mental toughness can start being developed. Choosing to be mentally tough is easy when it is the only choice you present yourself.
BELIEVE!
Whether you are an athlete, coach, parent, or just someone looking for guidance, always know this: tough times don’t last, tough people do. Whatever it is you’re going through, now or later, you must ALWAYS be in control of your mind.
If the sun always shined, the world would be a desert. It has to rain once in a while for a garden to grow. In rain or shine, choose to think the best in every situation life throws at you. Keep your feet moving, one step at a time.
Again it’s very simple, but also very hard to do. You can choose to control the situation, or let the situation control you. Control the situation, and BELIEVE that choice will pay off!
