Develop Mental Toughness!

Why does one end up as the winner and the second becomes the first runner up?
What is the difference between someone freezing in the face of fear and someone facing an impossible situation and still having the willingness to conquer it?

CEO's, Sportspeople, Top Athletes, Prime Executives, Entrepreneurs and Leaders of all kind possess this amazing quality called Mental Toughness.
For you it might be the difference between reaching your goals or keep staring at them! It is necessary to possess this ingredient in order to overcome any obstacle or to overachieve in all different dynamics of your life; Your Finances, career, lifestyle, relations, emotional wellbeing, physical performance and health, your spiritual connection and your contribution to others.

If I had to describe Mental Toughness I would refer to it as; You having the physiological edge that enables you to be consistent, confident, focused, and determined during high pressure situations in order to perform at your maximum potential.

It's not a skill that you are born with, and neither is it an easy attribute to acquire. That is probably the reason why 80% of all people don't have it. The 20% who do, make all the difference and are mostly referred to as the "examples" or "rolmodels".
They say that to acquire this force is well worth the hard work and the endurance.

Imagine that you have it too in following situations;
- Excel during pressure situations
- Get going under high stress
- Having a mental advantage over competitors
- Being very flexible and able to bounce back fast after a setback
- Being unstoppable through most any circumstance
- Deliver results even when the likelihood of succeeding is low
- Set new standards in times of crisis
- Shift into a higher gear when every one else around you thinks about quitting

And times of crisis might just be;
-Your business or investment has been failing
-You have received a bad management and/or peer review at your job
-Everything at the party/wedding/gathering that could go wrong, has gone wrong
-You lost your company
-You’ve been assigned to work with a group of people that you do not get along with
-You just got fired
-You are getting divorced
-You have to speak in front of a small or large audience
-You are way behind on a project and the deadline is fast approaching

Those who are strong minded are not hard to spot.
True mental toughness, however is sometimes hard to find.
There are many characteristics that a person may possess that may mimic the characteristics of a mentally strong person.
If someone is stubborn, opinionated, outspoken, bossy, or demanding some might see them as strong minded and may confuse that with toughness.
Toughness is not usually seen in the actions of a person, rather in the reaction of that person. You might know a person who seems to be a rock mentally.
This person seems to know what they want and know how to get it. Not only that, they have an answer to every question, an opinion for every topic, and an idea for every circumstance.
That may seem to be the formula for success in the mind, but what happens when something goes wrong? Or a plan or project fails over and over and over again?
This is where those who are mentally tough strive and excel.

There are six major characteristics of mental toughness

-Confidence; Whatever happens, stay loyal to your own values and principles. Believe in yourself no matter what and move on. The darkest hour of the night is the hour before the sun rises. You did it once, you can do it again.

-Focus; Where attention goes, energy flows. What you focus on tends to expand and becomes bigger, brighter and more real. Focus on all the things that bring you energy, vitality, strenght, optimism, passion and wellbeing. Fuel your inner engine with high octane gasoline!

-Motivation; Motion creates emotion, move, shake, exercise and eat healthy vibrant foods. Listen to some inspiring CD's, go and attend a great seminar, read several great books and start motivating yourself. Find some rolmodels to use as an example. Go and have a great conversation with some people who already achieved the success level in the area that you are aiming for.

-Courage; Acting in spite of fear, having the heart and taking the responsability to face the bull. Even if your heart is racing and you blood pumping like crazy. Fail forward. Whatever you do, don't quit ad feel the zest of life running through your veins. Set new standards and step up!

-Strenght and endurance; Life is no sprint but a marathon. People overestimate what they can do in a month and underestimate what they can achieve in a year. Keep your body and your mind sharp to be living on the edge if needed. Endurance is created by consistency and training.

-Resiliency; It doesn’t matter how confident, focused, motivated, courageous, or composed you are, if you do not see your goal to the end then it may turn out to be pointless. Being resilient is pushing through until you reach your destination. Take it step by step, one day at the time, as long as you keep moving in the direction of your Cristal clear goals.

Developing Mental Toughness is the same as developing your muscles, start with it today and practice every day until you reach the level that - you too - are part of the small percentage in this world who make a world of difference.

Leo Stroobants
The Energy Evangelist