Saint Velvet Blog

Question: What is mental toughness and how do you get it?

"Mental toughness is the ability to resist, manage and overcome doubts, worries, concerns and circumstances that prevent you from succeeding, or excelling at a task or towards an objective or a performance outcome that you set out to achieve."

(Highly recommend reading Relentless by Tim Grover)

Mental Toughness is something that’s always captivated me and always drawn me in which is probably why I have always sought out to cultivate personal development in my life.

Some people might say you have it, or you don’t but I don’t believe that for a minute. You DEVELOP it. I don’t care if you’re white, yellow, green, black, indigo (any other color of the rainbow) or where you came from – you can develop mental toughness by controlling your thoughts, habits, and responses to situations.

Own the mental conversation with yourself, take control over that little voice inside you telling you to give up, to quit, to cut corners, make excuses, etc.

Step back and think - Have you ever wondered what makes someone the best at what they do? What makes a good leader? Good parent? Good soldier? Why do some people accomplish their goals while others fail?

I think there’s more to the story than someone just being “smarter” or “faster” than the next person. Actually, when you start looking into it, your talent and your intelligence don’t play as big of a role as you would think. The research studies show that intelligence only accounts for 30% of your achievement… and that’s at the extreme upper end. What makes a bigger impact than talent or intelligence? Mental toughness.

Why is this good news for us? Well because, we can’t do much about the genes we’re born with, BUT we can learn to develop mental toughness.

What Makes Someone Mentally Tough?

Mental toughness, AKA grit and perseverance; What do those things look like in the real world?Well, toughness and grit equal consistency. Mentally tough athletes are more consistent than others. They don’t miss workouts. They don’t miss assignments. Mentally tough employees deliver on a more consistent basis than most. They work on a schedule, not just when they feel motivated. They approach their work like a pro, not an amateur. They do the most important task first and don’t dodge their responsibilities.

SO, how can YOU can become more consistent and develop mental toughness?

1. Define what mental toughness means for you.

For you, it might be…· going one month without missing a workout· going one week without eating packaged food (chips, junk food, etc).· waking up early every morning this week· grinding out one extra rep on each set at the gym today· spending one hour doing something creative every evening this week Whatever it is, be clear about what you’re going after. Mental toughness is a mental quality, but you can’t magically think your way to becoming mentally tough, you prove it to yourself by demonstrating it to yourself.

2. Mental toughness is built through small physical wins.

Mental toughness is like a muscle. It needs to be worked. If you haven’t pushed yourself in thousands of small ways, of course you’ll weaken when things get difficult.Prove to yourself in a dozen of tiny ways that you have what it takes to battle with life; put in that extra rep at the gym, run an extra minute on the treadmill, check over your work one extra time, cultivate small wins.

3. Mental toughness is about your habits, not your motivation.

Mental toughness isn’t about getting that spark of motivation or inspiration. It’s about building daily habits and upholding self-discipline to overcome distractions and challenges. It doesn’t take being more talented, smarter, or braver – it takes more consistency. It really boils down to your habits. It’s about doing what you know you’re supposed to do on a more consistent basis. It’s about your commitment to daily practice and sticking to a schedule.