Developing mental toughness is reason for celebration.
Ralph Jean-Paul, founder of Potential 2 Success, defines mental toughness as having a physiological edge that enables you to be consistent, confident, focused and determined during high-pressure situations in order to perform at maximum potential. The term mental toughness is often associated with sports, but being mentally tough isn't just for athletes. With a little practice, anybody can learn to be more goal-oriented, resilient and mentally controlled even in the most adverse of circumstances.
Instructions
1. Create your own reality. The first step to becoming mentally tough is to act that way. Act confident, composed and courageous---even when you feel none of those---and you soon will be, just out of habit. Practice self-awareness. In challenging situations, assess your feelings. If you aren't feeling the way that you want, change it. You create your own reality by telling yourself the way it is going to be. You can condition your mind to think confidently.
2. Focus on your goals. Decide what you want to do, make a plan, and do it. If you are not an instinctively goal-oriented person, write them down. When you feel unfocused, refer back to your notes and remind yourself of your goals. Practicing visualization is another way to stay goal-oriented. Picture yourself accomplishing your goals in your mind. Take yourself through all the necessary steps from start to finish and then act out the images you create.
3. Cultivate hardiness. Behavioral science researcher Suzanne Kobasa found three key elements in people who exhibited hardiness: control, commitment and challenge. In tenuous situations, you be the one to take control instead of helplessly looking to others to fix things; commit to being a finisher: set a goal, then refuse to give up until you attain it; challenge yourself regularly: learn new skills and view change as an opportunity for growth instead of a source of anxiety.
4. Practice calmness. Decide ahead of time how you are going to react when you experience a stressful situation. Practice self-awareness so you can recognize your anxiety triggers and learn to counter them. Meditation, yoga and martial arts are all disciplines that teach mindfulness and self-awareness. Another place to find calmness is in routine. Develop routines and rituals that you find centering and calming. Before you know it, calmness will be a part of that routine.
5. Develop resilience. The simple definition of resilience is the ability to recover quickly. When you falter, lose site of your goals or have a bad day, bounce back. Condition yourself to acknowledge your mistakes, learn any lessons to be learned and let it go. Focusing on regret, self blame or engaging in negative self-talk serves no constructive purpose. Reaffirm your goals and focus on what's going right instead of what just went wrong.
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