Mental toughness: Resilience, grit, determination, commitment, focus.
Do you have what it takes to persist in the face of challenges? To pick yourself up and carry on even when it seems like you have hit a brick wall? Mental toughness is a term used in psychology to refer to the resilience and strength that people possess to soldier on through struggles and succeed.
To develop and maintain the kind of mental toughness that success requires, it’s crucial that you keep your thoughts and self-talk positive and avoid the habits that lead to negativity and unhealthy behaviors. What happens to us plays far less a role in our happiness and success than our responses.
The strongest people are not those who show strength in front of us, but those who win battles we never see them fight. They handle and manage the stress, pressure, and challenges of life really well.
They demonstrate the four critical components of mental toughness:
- Challenge: Viewing challenges as opportunities rather than obstacles.
- Control: Believing that you are in control of your life and destiny.
- Commitment: Having the ability to stick to tasks and see them through to completion.
- Confidence: Possessing strong self-belief in your ability to succeed.
Help to keep yourself prepared for whatever comes your way tomorrow by practicing good habits of mind and attitude today, like:
Emotional stability. It’s important to make good decisions under pressure, to maintain your capacity to stay objective, and deliver the same level of performance regardless of what you’re feeling.
Perspective. Mental toughness lets you carry on when the world seems to have turned against you. Keep your troubles in perspective, without losing sight of what you need to accomplish.
Readiness for change. If change is truly the only constant, then flexibility and adaptability are some of the most important traits you can develop.
Strength under stress. Maintain resilience in the face of negative pressures by developing your capacity to deal with stressful situations.
Focus. Keep your attention on the long-term outcomes to stay steady in the face of real or potential obstacles.
The right attitude toward setbacks. Complications, unintended side effects, and complete failures are all part of landscape. Mitigate the damage, learn the lessons that will help you in the future, and move on.
Acceptance. Recognize that the one thing you can always control is your own response and attitude to situations. You can’t control the uncontrollable.
Endurance in the face of failure. View “failure” as an opportunity to grow and improve, not a reason to give up. Be willing to keep trying until you get it right.
Unwavering positivity. Stay positive even, and especially, when you encounter negative people. Be warned: Their negativity can be infectious. Elevate them; never bring yourself down. Don’t allow naysayers to ruin the spirit of what you’re accomplishing.
Tenacity. It comes down to just three words: Never give up.
A strong inner compass. When your sense of direction is deeply internalized, you never have to worry about becoming lost. Stay true to your course.
Uncompromising standards. Tough times or business difficulties aren’t good reasons to lower the bar. Keep your standards high.
Becoming a mentally tough person takes practice and mindfulness. It requires tuning in to your bad habits and making a point of learning new habits to replace them. And sometimes, it simply means learning to get out of your own way and let things happen.
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