MENTAL TOUGHNESS

If you have ever played sports you have heard a coach tell you “be tough.”  What does that mean?  How does it apply to the world outside of sports?  Former secret service officer Gary Byrne in his book Crisis of Character provides a term he learned through his law enforcement training:  “warrior mindset.”  He states that this “refers to a state of mental preparedness in the face of danger and harm.  Warriors are committed to surviving no matter what and never giving up even in the face of great adversity.”

Byrne explains that this mindset includes four things:

1. Mental toughness – personally I like to call this fortitude. Author James Loehr in his book The New Toughness Training for Sports: Mental Emotional Physical Conditioning from One of the World’s Premier Sports Psychologistsdefines mental toughness in the competitive arena as “the ability to consistently perform toward the upper range of your talent and skill.”  This ability to perform at a high level regardless of circumstances exemplifies mental toughness.
2. Focus – I think of the mini-series Band of Brothers which chronicles the experience of a group of WWII soldiers. In one of the scenes these men are running with bullets flying all around them.  As a warrior in battle one must be focused and not allow the bullets fired at them to sidetrack or fatally wound them.  As a leader at home or work “bullets” will fly, can you stay focused enough to not let them fatally wound you?
3. Concentration on goal – in order to accomplish any goal, big or small, one must keep focused on the end and not get distracted by the less important goals that may not lead to the greater goal.
4. Perseverance – Byrne states it as “doing everything necessary to attain [the goal].” If the goal is big enough and worthwhile enough then you will not let anything stop you from accomplishing it.  I think of my children when they were younger and they really wanted a specific electronic device.  Mom and Dad were not going to buy it so they had to save their money.  All of a sudden with each boy there was an intense determination to figure out ways to make money.  They were willing to do work they normally wouldn’t do if it meant they would earn a little extra money.  If the goal is important enough, nothing will stop us from accomplishing it.

You have heard what Byrne has to say, what about you?  Do you have a warrior mindset?  How would you rank yourself in each of these areas on a scale of 1 to 5?  First we have to have the right mindset, but sometimes we need to have someone alongside us in the journey to help us get to the ultimate destination.  Do you have that someone?  Do you need a coach just like a warrior needs a commander?  I am here to help you become the best version of yourself, but it starts with you taking the first step.  Start developing that “warrior mindset” today so you can live a life of significance through all your tomorrows.