Thoughts on Mental Toughness
As an athlete growing up and even more so as a coach today, you will hear about the desire for a mentally tough athlete or mentally tough team. It has been made crystal clear that mental toughness is crucial to overall success and achievement — whether that be in the athletic or business world. What is unclear is the definition of mental toughness.
The message becomes blurry when you see the ways that many approach training/developing mental toughness. Overall, it looks way more physical than mental. I understand that there is a mental component when pushing your body to overcome a physical feat, but I also know a lot of tough athletes that wouldn’t blink an eye at a physical feat and yet they crumble under the pressure of a big moment during competition.
To simplify it — completing a hard task doesn’t make you tough. That is only one piece of the pie. Most of the time, completing the simple tasks correctly and consistently makes you the toughest mentally.
Below are four qualities, that to me, make up a very mentally tough individual.
Mental Toughness.. is character in action. — Vince Lombardi
Masters of the Details
One of things I love about my job is the opportunity to work with great coaches both at the high school level and within Performance Course. This year I’ve heard one of our homegrown greats, Zach Fowler, consistently stress to a group of middle school athletes that “there are no little things.. just big things that people can’t master so they minimize it by calling it a ‘little thing.’” I cannot think of a better quote to highlight the significance of mastering the details.
No task is too small or too insignificant to take ownership of and complete. The problem lies within the individual downplaying these details, but as we know, the details are what separates the average from the great.
Showing up on time AND ready. Turning in assignments on time. Hydrating. Nutrition. Following dress code. Listening to and following instructions. Touching the line. Finishing through the line. Performing a true 4-second eccentric (not 2.5 seconds)… etc. The list could go on and on and each one seems simple and elementary, yet people mess these tasks up daily. Why? Because it takes effort!
These tasks are deemed insignificant but they require effort and that equals failure many times. It takes mental toughness to take complete ownership of the simplest of tasks and perform them with the same level of effort in which you would the “big things.”
Be a master of the details!
Calm During Chaos
We have all seen athletes or individuals lose their cool as a result of things outside of their control. A defensive end applying pressure on the quarterback but having his jersey nearly ripped off by the tackle and there being no flag on the play — you then see hands in the air, defeat, and plea to the referee. That’s not the attitude of a player who is focused on the things they CAN control. Being mentally tough in that situation is not easy, but by focusing on the task in front of you or the “next play”, the outside noise is blocked and mentally you are back in contention to perform.
Same thing goes for the “big moments” in competition. Game on the line, bases loaded, two-outs and full count. You are on the mound in a big moment. Execute or crumble? This moment comes down to the hundreds or thousands of repetitions that have already been executed in practice and the mindset of either taking in the chaos or focusing on the task. People may refer to this as “clutch,” but to me this equates to being prepared and task oriented — mentally tough.
The highs never get too high, and the lows never get too low. Mentally tough individuals are calm during chaos.
Desire to be Coached
If you’re an average player, you want to be left alone because you want to be able to slide by. If you’re a good player, you want to be coached. If you’re a great player, you want the coach to tell you the truth every day… they want to be perfect — Nick Saban, Head Football Coach at Alabama
I watched a video of Coach Saban address the Alabama Football Team, with the quote above, earlier this year and it has stuck with me ever since. An individual’s ego can be a fragile thing. It avoids criticism at all costs and therefore results in the individual remaining stagnant; no growth. That is the average player.
The difference between a good player and a great player is not in accepting coaching, but in SEEKING coaching. Like Coach Saban says, a great player wants to know the truth on how they did every day, every play, regardless of if it is good or bad. They seek criticism and therefore desire growth.
To me, this takes a very mentally tough individual. Sometimes that criticism is going to hurt. You are going to think you did everything the right way only to find out you missed the mark. But by being mentally tough, the focus is not on the mistake but instead it is on correcting, growing, and bettering yourself.
Consistency is the Mark of a Champion
And a mentally tough person! Consistency is the sum of all the other qualities previously mentioned and more. Anyone can handle the details here and there.. Anyone can remain task focused for an inning, a quarter, a game.. Anyone can seek out coaching a practice or two.. but those who are great and mentally tough do these things each and every time.
Trusting in being consistent and intentional is a long and sometimes boring process. But the payoff is HUGE! The small steps toward growth and mastery that are taken daily heavily outweigh any sporadic levels of intensity. So the biggest and most important quality in regards to mental toughness, to me, is consistency. (For a deeper look into consistency, you can read a previous post here.)
While there are many approaches to training and developing mental toughness, I believe it comes down to choices, actions, and habits that are made daily. If we can learn to understand the significance of the details and master them, remain focused on the task at hand in the midst of chaos, actively seek and accept coaching, and execute consistently with intent — then we will become the mentally tough people coaches and businesses are desiring.
