The Science of Developing Mental Toughness in Your Health, Work, and Life

The Science of Developing Mental Toughness in Your Health, Work, and Life

Have you ever wondered what makes someone a good athlete? Or a good leader? Or a good parent? Why do some people accomplish their goals while others fail?

What makes the difference?

Usually we answer these questions by talking about the talent of top performers. He must be the smartest scientist in the lab. She’s faster than everyone else on the team. He is a brilliant business strategist.

But I think we all know there is more to the story than that.

In fact, when you start looking into it, your talent and your intelligence don’t play nearly as big of a role as you might think. The research studies that I have found say 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.

Research is starting to reveal that your mental toughness — or “grit” as they call it — plays a more important role than anything else for achieving your goals in health, business, and life. That’s good news because you can’t do much about the genes you were born with, but you can do a lot to develop mental toughness.

What Makes Someone Mentally Tough?

It’s great to talk about mental toughness, grit, and perseverance … but what do those things actually look like in the real world?

In a word, toughness and grit equal consistency.

Mentally tough athletes are more consistent than others. They don’t miss workouts. They don’t miss assignments. They always have their teammates back.

Mentally tough leaders are more consistent than their peers. They have a clear goal that they work towards each day. They don’t let short–term profits, negative feedback, or hectic schedules prevent them from continuing the march towards their vision. They make a habit of building up the people around them — not just once, but over and over and over again.

Mentally tough artists, writers, and 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 thing first and don’t shirk responsibilities.

The good news is that grit and perseverance can become your defining traits, regardless of the talent you were born with. You can become more consistent. You can develop superhuman levels of mental toughness.

How?

In my experience, these 3 strategies work well in the real world.

1. Define what mental toughness means for you.

For the West Point army cadets being mentally tough meant finishing an entire summer of Beast Barracks.

For you, it might be…

• going one month without missing a workout
• going one week without eating processed or packaged food
• delivering your work ahead of schedule for two days in a row
• meditating every morning this week
• grinding out one extra rep on each set at the gym today
• calling one friend to catch up every Saturday this month
• spending one hour doing something creative every evening this week

Whatever it is, be clear about what you’re going after. Mental toughness is an abstract quality, but in the real world it’s tied to concrete actions. You can’t magically think your way to becoming mentally tough, you prove it to yourself by doing something in real life.

Which brings me to my second point…

2. Mental toughness is built through small physical wins.

You can’t become committed or consistent with a weak mind. How many workouts have you missed because your mind, not your body, told you you were tired? How many reps have you missed out on because your mind said, “Nine reps is enough. Don’t worry about the tenth.” Probably thousands for most people, including myself. And 99% are due to weakness of the mind, not the body. —Drew Shamrock

So often we think that mental toughness is about how we respond to extreme situations. How did you perform in the championship game? Can you keep your life together while grieving the death of a family member? Did you bounce back after your business went bankrupt?

There’s no doubt that extreme situations test our courage, perseverance, and mental toughness … but what about everyday circumstances?

Mental toughness is like a muscle. It needs to be worked to grow and develop. If you haven’t pushed yourself in thousands of small ways, of course you’ll wilt when things get really difficult.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Choose to do the tenth rep when it would be easier to just do nine. Choose to create when it would be easier to consume. Choose to ask the extra question when it would be easier to accept. Prove to yourself — in a thousand tiny ways — that you have enough guts to get in the ring and do battle with life.

Mental toughness is built through small wins. It’s the individual choices that we make on a daily basis that build our “mental toughness muscle.” We all want mental strength, but you can’t think your way to it. It’s your physical actions that prove your mental fortitude.

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

Motivation is fickle. Willpower comes and goes.

Mental toughness isn’t about getting an incredible dose of inspiration or courage. It’s about building the daily habits that allow you to stick to a schedule and overcome challenges and distractions over and over and over again.

Mentally tough people don’t have to be more courageous, more talented, or more intelligent — just more consistent. Mentally tough people develop systems that help them focus on the important stuff regardless of how many obstacles life puts in front of them. It’s their habits that form the foundation of their mental beliefs and ultimately set them apart.

***This article was written and published by James Clear on his website, jamesclear.com.

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Great leaders and managers should be mentally tough to lead, inspire and to motivate their teams. To help you achieve the ultimate level of resilience to any stress and problems at work, the Center for Global Best Practices will host a two-day program entitled, Strengthening Mental Toughness for Leaders and Managers to be held on Thursday & Friday, December 5 & 6, 2019 at the Marriott Grand Ballroom, Resorts World Complex, Pasay City, Philippines.

Listen from the only trainer who runs this special topic in Asia, Dr.Robin V. Velasco, who will make use of the principles he learned from his Masters degree in Existential, Humanistic and Transpersonal Psychology at Saybrook University, USA – the best school which teaches this specialized discipline.

Among his accomplishments is having implemented change management programs in 12 countries. For 6 years, he was the HR Vice President of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC) which is the holding company of the Philippine's largest power distribution company, 12 of the largest hospitals, the largest Toll Road Network and Water Distribution Company.

Presently, he is an independent director and the interim CEO of Potato Corner -- overseeing over 1,500 branches globally.

This program is aligned and in compliance with the RA 11036 or Mental Health Awareness Act that took effect July 5, 2018 and DOLE's policy to promote mental health awareness in the workplace.

Interested participants are encouraged to avail of the following discounts:

a) 5% Early Payment Discount (valid until Nov. 25 only)
b) 5% Group Discount (for those registering 3 or more attendees)

Registration is open to the general public. This special program is highly recommended not only for aspiring leaders and managers, but also for those who would like to empower themselves by training their minds to be mentally tough and to build emotional resilience at work and in everyday living.

CGBP also accepts in-house training and consulting. For inquiries and complete details of this training and other upcoming best practices programs, you may contact

Center for Global Best Practices

Telephone Numbers:
Metro Manila: (+63 2) 8842-7148 or 59 and
(+63 2) 8556-8968 or 69
Baguio City: (+63 74) 423-2914
Cebu City: (+63 32) 512-3106 or 07