Don’t worry, I’m not going to sit here and preach to you about how soft you are or how comfortable life has made you… I’ll leave that to the Navy Seal celebrities blasting it out on social media.
What I will preach to you is the importance of building a resilient and determined mindset that is capable of dealing with stress, unexpected life circumstances and being the most reliable person in the room for your loved ones (and self) when needed.
How does this relate to fitness? Well, I believe your mental training is arguably more important than the physical aspect of your health journey. Why do so many people begin a plan but then fail to continue or live up to the goals they’ve set themselves? It can’t just be because they aren’t physically fit enough. Surely the mindset and resilience to get through the tough times when its raining outside, dark, cold, early in the morning, tired after work, social events happening, at a party with alcohol and deliciously unhealthy foods… these are the moments that knock people off track.
If you’re reading this and can relate then stick around and hopefully something in this blog with resonate with you and help you develop that mental toughness and resilience required to stick to your knew habits so ultimately they become natural behaviours; because that is what the real goal is.
What is Mental Toughness?
Mental Toughness is a personality trait that determines your ability to perform consistently under stress and pressure, and is closely related to qualities such as character, resilience, grit and perseverance.
Mental Toughness is defined as Resilience – the ability to bounce back from setbacks and failures- and Confidence -the ability to spot and seize opportunities. Mentally Tough people are more outcomes focused and better at making things happen without being distracted by their own or other peoples’ emotions.
Resilience
Resilience can be further broken down into two areas;
- Control is your self-esteem – your life’s purpose and your sense of control over your life and emotions. If you are high on the control scale you will believe you are in control of the things that happen to you in life and can react accordingly. Alternatively, if you are low in control you will believe events that happen to you are outside of your control and influence.
- Commitment is your focus and reliability. Being high on commitment means that you are able to effectively set goals and targets and reliably and consistently achieve them without being distracted. Alternatively, if you are at the other end of the scale –and low on commitment –you will sometimes fail or find it difficult to set goals and targets and then prioritize them
Confidence
Confidence can be further broken down into two areas;
- Challenge is your drive and adaptability and being high on challenge means that you are driven to be as good as you can be and to achieve your personal best. Alternatively, if you low on challenge you view change as a threat and so avoid new and challenging situations for fear of failure or wishing not to expend what you perceive will be a wasted effort.
- Confidence is your self-belief and influence and describes to what extent you believe you have the ability to perform productively and proficiently and the ability to influence others. If you are high on Confidence you will take setbacks, whether internally or externally generated, in your stride. However if you are low on confidence you can easily be unsettled by the setback and feel undermined.
What are the key characteristics of mentally tough people?
1 – Resilience in the face of challenges
2 – Strong focus and determination
3 – Ability to handle stress and pressure
4 – Positive mindset and optimism
5 – Adaptability and flexibility
So if we can identify the key characteristics of mentally tough people, can you pick out someone in your minds eye who resembles these qualities or has shown at least one of these qualities in a moment in time? Imagining someone practicing these behaviours will show you first hand how to produce this mindset in a moment of stress, pressure or a tough moment and you can aim to emulate this person during your times of need.
If you don’t have a person in mind that is ok. Instead create an avatar version of yourself who holds these characteristics and play the part when needed. e.g If you’re at a party and you promised yourself you wouldn’t drink then become this avatar version of yourself and use positive self talk to reaffirm you are now this person.
For example; I have a client who bought training gloves for the gym. She was struggling with the impact of holding weights and the stress it would place on her forearms and palms of her hands. We now nicknamed her ‘Gladis Gloves’ and as soon as she puts her gloves on she becomes a new version of herself – one who is stronger, ready for action, intense and can rise to a challenge out in front of her. So if you don’t feel you have the mental strength then create an ‘alter ego’ that does and live through that person!
3 Key Strategies for Developing and Strengthening Mental Toughness
There are lots of ways to develop mental toughness and many strategies work better for some than others. Thats the beauty of the human brain, we are all unique. However, here are 3 key areas I believe that can help you on the road to stronger resilience and confidence
Develop a daily routine and practice consistency
The human brain loves to have routine – just consider the circadian rhythm for sleep – its the same with building a strong mindset. You are less likely to deviate from a plan if you maintain a solid routine each day. Plan your meals, exercise regime, and sleep schedule and you’ll find that your body and mind will respond with tremendous resolve. Your hormones will find balance which will make it much more natural for you to stick to a plan. Be ready to put in at least a month of consistency before it becomes more of a natural habit – it’ll be tough before that point as your body will fight against it, but if your goal is a top priority you will persevere.
SMART Goal Setting
It may be to run 10k
It may be to lift your bodyweight with a bench press
It may be to eat healthier foods and not stop at MacDonalds on the way home
Whatever it is, make sure you are crystal clear on your priority and then figure out how to break it down into smaller manageable chunks that you can achieve one by one. Remember the goal is to get 1% better everyday and this will compound into your ultimate goal with time and effort. Nothing builds confidence better than achieving goals and overcoming problems!
Seeking challenges and getting out of the Fear of Failure mindset
This is probably the hardest and most challenging aspect of building mental toughness. We are wired to avoid failure. It seems to be in our DNA. The main reason being an intense fear of being embarrassed. It’s overwhelming and I understand it completely. I hated speaking in front of the class at school, I still dream about that scenario to this day! However, it’s something we all need to face at some point in order to grow and develop resilience and confidence. Try getting out there and joining a new club, speaking to someone you admire in the gym about their routine, asking a trainer for technique advice or (if you want the ultimate challenge of rejection) ask for 10% your next coffee… you’re definitely going to get rejected, but hey, it’ll help you get over then fear of failure before you know it!
It’s clear to see from this blog I strongly believe in the mental aspect of fitness and exercise. If you’re looking to;
- Increase performance and productivity
- Improve stress management and overall well-being
- Increase self-confidence and belief
- Better decision making and problem solving skills
- Stronger relationships and leadership skills
Then it’s important to make mental toughness and priority along with nutrition and exercise.
Thank you for making it this far, if you enjoyed this blog please leave a comment and share with friends, if you didn’t then thanks for reading anyway 😉
Chris