A foolproof formula for mental toughness

The best way to protect yourself from adversity is to prepare for it. That means learning to believe that no matter what happens, you’ll be ready...

No one’s born with mental toughness. You learn it by being tested over and over.

Real resilience isn’t a measure of how you cope with enormous challenges. It’s about how you react to the little things that go wrong on a daily basis.

Grit is a mindset. To develop the right attitude, you first need to accept some universal truths…

1) You’re responsible for you. Nobody else owes you a thing. 2) All plans are subject to change. 3) You can’t please everyone, so don’t try to. What matters is to be kind and fair. 4) You’re not in competition with anyone except yesterday’s version of you.

If you don’t get out of your comfort zone, you’ll never go anywhere. Every problem should be welcomed as an opportunity to learn and to find clarity. This is how toughness develops.

Play catch-and-release with negativity. If you find yourself thinking something like “I can’t do this”, observe it and let it go. Plan what you could do in order to prove that thought wrong – then execute it. Those thoughts will be silenced.

Whenever you’re near breaking point, or at your lowest ebb, write down the problem – and keep a note of how you responded. This instills accountability and helps you build a track record of endurance.

Learn to weed out weaknesses. (We all have them.) Identify one thing you love but, deep down, you know isn’t helping you (e.g. alcohol). Give it up for at least a week. Try to avoid impulsive decisions and sources of instant gratification. You’ll notice the difference.

Bottom line: The only teacher of toughness is experience itself. The more setbacks you face, the more failure you encounter, the more opportunities you’ll have to grow stronger. The key is holding yourself accountable: no one can get you there but yourself.