What is mental toughness? To put it simple, it’s the ability to push and drive yourself to do hard things. It’s the ability to get over the hump, to finish a difficult workout, to explore new skills and to work hard day in and day out to give your best even in the hardest moments.
Mental skills are to be trained
Having a strong mentality is important because it is what sets you apart from any other in your sport, your field or career, and is what helps you grow. Mental toughness is vital to success in any part of life, and without it we crumble under pressure.
Everyone needs to work on their mental toughness. Daily.
No matter who you are, being intentional about building your mental strength is imperative to success.
The late Kobe Bryant was a great athlete, and after his basketball career he became an outstanding businessman largely in part to his mentality. The hard things pressed him to become better. His drive and determination was unmatched day in and day out. This is part of the reason he wore the number 24.
“It was about approaching every day as if it was my last.
I had to have that mentality; I have to drive this team every day. There’s no days off.
Every time I look at that number, it’s like today is the most important day.”
Kobe’s mentality is what set him apart, and it can be what sets you apart too. Building mental strength takes effort, but the effort you put into it can change everything.
Here are 5 ways you can strengthen your mind and improve your mental toughness starting today!
1. Write it down.
Define, as specifically as possible, what mental toughness means to you and how being mentally tough relates to your life and goals.
2. Focus on small victories.
Move toward your goals, but don’t expect everything all at once. It’s also important to focus on the small wins so you don’t lose sight of your success on the hard days. Each week we like to set a SMART goal to get a reward for you efforts or you can at a minimum set a small victory for this month.
3. Accept what you cannot control.
Accepting what you can and cannot control is a big step towards becoming mentally tough. You must be able to accept that there are some things that happen in life that you can’t control and not allowing those things to negatively affect your mindset is a big step towards becoming mentally tough.
4. Set high standards.
Holding yourself to high standards is important for building a strong mentality. When you settle for subpar performance or effort, you’re giving into the belief that you can’t do more than that; however, when you set the bar high you are acknowledging to yourself that you can and should do better than the bare minimum. Are you fitness goals set toward progress?
5. Acquire new skills.
Try something new to push yourself and test your abilities. Doing so, and finding success or accepting failure, allows you to get into the habit of being vulnerable while also being confident in doing something unfamiliar.
Building your mental toughness can be difficult. We work daily with our clients to help them build their mental strength through teaching them to move in a different way and pushing them to do hard things. Do you need help and guidance to build your mental toughness? Contact us today at 520-686-4789 to set up a free consultation with one of our M3 Coaches, or click here to join our Fall Fitness Challenge!