Stress does not depend on the external circumstances we face; but of the meaning we give to the challenges we encounter on the path of life. That’s why managing stress and avoiding burnout requires mental toughness. This is the quality that transforms high-performance athletes into champions.
Michael Jordan, in an interview, cited mental skills as “the part that separates good players from great players” . “I came here with the physical skills,” he said, but “the mental part is the most difficult.” That is not only true for athletes; it also applies to business leaders.
In fact, mental toughness is what those who do not bow down in the face of falls, failures, pressures, difficulties, but rather get up again should have , continue on their course, remain optimistic, despite the problems and the difficult results. It allows you to use setbacks to your advantage. A meme I saw these days said: “it doesn’t matter how many times you fall, but how many times you get up”. This resilience is the difference between success and failure, mediocrity and excellence, dissolution and fulfillment.
But we rarely give the necessary importance to training mental toughness. We avoid dedicating ourselves to strengthening this skill, perhaps because it requires patience and takes time. But there is no prize without effort, and the benefits of feeding our mental toughness are multiple, such as stress management, stronger self-esteem, the ability to overcome fears, greater impulse control, among others.
Leaders who have mental toughness also focus on what they can control, and do not allow themselves to be controlled by what they cannot control. Finally, they do not see failures and mistakes as a catastrophe, but as feedback, and the opportunity to introduce necessary changes, to innovate and learn. But how can we train our mental toughness? How to be more resilient leaders in this era of uncertainty?
We can be inspired by the habits developed by members of the United States special forces, known as Navy SEALs. The first habit they develop is to maintain a positive self-talk. This allows conditioning the mind to maintain clarity, focus, possibility.
A second habit is to permanently train the skills that lead to success. There are no appreciable results without persistence. Third, they focus on micro-goals. They have the ability to segment a more complex goal, so that success is more attainable. Fourth, they practice visualization, because that facilitates excellence when facing reality.
Finally, they anticipate all the difficulties they may encounter, to prepare and train the best response. Today, our life can often seem like a battlefield. Mental toughness allows us to emerge victorious.
Aldo Civico is a High Performance, Brain Health, Breathing, Mindfulness Coach, Writer and Podcast Creator Inspire Your Mind. He is an anthropologist and adjunct professor at Columbia University. https://www.aldocivic.com/