Mental toughness....what is it? Lately I've been watching a show called, Naked
and Afraid where a guy and a girl are dropped into a harsh climate with only
1 survival tool and a map to survive 21-days.
Every single person attempting this challenge had to be mentally tough to
endure the elements and the dangers.
But how do you define "mental toughness"? I'll let my good friend Mike Gillette
(former ARMY paratrooper, SWAT Commander and Anti-Terrorism Expert)
explain in his new article below. Enjoy.
People like the idea of being 'mentally tough' or they say they'd
like to possess 'mental toughness'. But what is it exactly? We could
describe the quality of mental toughness as someone possessing
self-discipline.
It's the kind of quality that enables certain people to
train relentlessly, without benefit of a formalized support structure
like a coach, team, or training partner. Someone who consistently makes
the 'right' choices for themselves in life could also be said to possess
self-discipline.
When I was in the military, the term discipline was often used in
association with doing things that you did not really want to do. These
were generally things that caused fatigue, pain, fear or all of the
above.
And even though discipline is frequently attached to unpleasant
or boring tasks, most people still say that they wished they had more
self-discipline in their lives.
Here's another example... in the late 90s I ran a commercial martial
arts school where I taught traditional Japanese Jiu-Jitsu for kids. And
during that time, I never had a single parent bring in their child
specifically because they thought that their child should learn
Jiu-Jitsu. Not once.
What these parents would say their children needed,
more than self-defense, confidence or self-esteem combined, is that
their child needed to develop discipline.
So we're back to that idea of mental toughness... self-discipline...
guts, you get the idea. We all probably agree that we want to have 'it'
but where does 'it' come from? How do we develop 'it'? Let's examine
what some 'experts' say about this topic...
In a recent study published in the Journal of Applied Sport
Psychology, a group of international-level athletes in a variety of
sports were asked to develop a definition of mental toughness. They
concluded that, within the diverse demands of competitive sport, mental
toughness involves having the "psychological edge" that enables one to
cope better than one's opponents.
Furthermore, mental toughness involves
a consistent ability to remain determined, focused, confident, and in
control under pressure.
But the results of this study as identified in the preceding
paragraph don't really take us any further in terms of understanding the
topic. These conclusions are really just a description of some of the
characteristics of mental toughness.
So let's get back to the idea of how to develop mental toughness.
Like most things, it can actually be simpler and less 'mystical' than we
sometimes make it out to be. Here's an example. I have occasionally
worked with female combat athletes who must compete in various weight
divisions. The big challenge for these athletes is staying strong and
healthy while maintaining, or, if necessary, losing weight. So in the
course of these activities I am frequently asked, "Mike, what should I
be eating?"
Now these are smart, experienced women, so I would say "You
already know what things to eat, just eat those things." And how do they
respond? Like this... "Mike, I know that I know what to eat, I just want you to tell me to eat those things."
So what's the missing ingredient here? Self-discipline. And like
those athletes in the above example, we all generally know what to do.
We know that we need to work hard to accomplish things of significance.
But it is hard to do.
The truth of achieving mental toughness can be illustrated in this
quote which is often attributed to self-disciplinarian extraordinaire
Bruce Lee, but actually originated from 19th Century German writer
Johann Goethe: "Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do."
This quote illustrates the paradox that just because something is
simple, it does not mean that it is necessarily easy. And so it goes
with mental toughness. Life is choices. And the "right" choices, the
choices that can take you the furthest are often the hardest ones to
execute. So, start small.
Make time to work out tomorrow. Lay off the
ice cream. Pick up the book you've been meaning to read. Turn off the TV
and take your kids to the park. Just get started. Start executing. Make
things happen.
The small steps lead to larger steps. Small victories lead to bigger
victories. My wish for you is to define your own idea of success and
then relentlessly hunt it down, one day at a time.
Here's one more quote from Goethe to reflect on: "Live dangerously and you live right". Now... stop reflecting and start doing.
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End of Article
You can find out about the surprise I told you about yesterday at the link below.
Keep training hard,
Mike Westerdal
CriticalBench.com
