The mental toughness paradox

#mentaltoughness #resilience #resilientleadership #success #highperformance #grit #character #perseverance

© 2024 Zoryna O’Donnell

This article was first published by The Maverick Paradox Magazine on 14/05/2024

Nowadays, we read and talk a lot about mental toughness.

The mental toughness concept, in its current form, is relatively new. It was developed by Dr Jim Loehr in the 1990s. In 2002, Professor Peter Clough created the MTQ48 framework for measuring mental toughness.

However, its key aspects are thousands of years old and are rooted in ancient history. For example:

-       you can find ideas about focused breathing to achieve mental strength in many martial arts, Buddhism, Zen meditation and yoga;

-       positive thinking is present in Taoist philosophy, the Stoic meditations of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and the works of the Greek philosopher, Epictetus;

-       using meditation to visualise ideal outcomes was one of the methods used by the classical Athenian philosopher Socrates;

-       ancient Greeks and Romans knew how to use body language (eye contact, facial expressions, better posture and other means of non-verbal communication) to build self-confidence and mental strength.

These examples suggest that mental toughness is not the same as resilience, although they are closely linked together.

While resilience is our ability to adapt and bounce back from adversity, mental toughness is our ability to respond better to the challenges we face regardless of our circumstances. In other words, it is a combined measure of our personal resilience and confidence which may predict our success in different areas of life.

So, it is worth putting some effort into developing mental toughness. But beware! It is no mean feat. As David Goggins pointed out, “The only way to gain mental toughness is to do things you are not happy doing. If you continue doing things that you are satisfied and make you happy, you are not getting stronger. You are staying where you are at. Either you are getting better, or you are getting worse. You are not staying the same!”

There are many ways and strategies to build mental toughness. In his book “Can’t Hurt Me”, David Goggins sets the ten challenges for people who want to push their limits and develop mental and physical toughness. …

Please read the entire article here. [ https://themaverickparadox.com/the-mental-toughness-paradox/ ]

Image credit: LMPC.