Mental Toughness
Are you mentally tough? What is mental toughness? Mental toughness is how we respond when being challenged or tackling an obstacle; it’s the “makes us or breaks us” defining personality. when we feel uncomfortable or feel like giving up, it’s the inner power forcing us to “dig deep” to overcome these challenges. The key features of mental toughness are willingness and optimism. This is not something that you are born with; which is great!! This means that this is something we can acquire through work and time spent on it.
You can practice this skill in different routines; whether it be at work, at school, in the gym, or even through your physical therapy session! It must be practiced and incorporated into your training cycle so when challenging gets tough or the “hill to climb feels taller” you can overcome these obstacles easier without feeling like giving up.
Willingness is when you find the self determination to persevere regardless of the obstacle with out backing down or becoming defeated. Optimism is the positive outlook you have about the tough road ahead of you. It’s finding “the glass half full” in the challenge thrown in front of you. When you look at things with a “glass half empty” attitude, it is much easier to feel defeated and give up your challenge or fight.
The way to build mental toughness is to first, practice daily at it. You can not expect to improve at something that you do not work at. Secondly, you need to learn to accept difficult times or challenges as a way to build your strength at the task or challenge. When times get tough, push through to find a stronger you on the other side and raise that bar of difficulty. Third, find a way and not an excuse to persever. As the saying goes, don’t put off for tomorrow what you can accomplish today. Lastly, give your goal purpose, the WHY to the reason you continue to push forward. When you have a strong why, you will find a how to endure the hill.
I challenge you to raise your bar; achieve new heights; accomplish that dream or goal. Find your mental toughness and practice it daily to become a stronger you!