But
once you DO understand it, you can master yourself and how you
respond to ANYTHING that comes your way. Remember, too, that
YOU ARE GREATER THAN ANYTHING THAT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU.
You do not
have to be born with mental toughness. Mental toughness is a
transferrable trait. You don't have to go through a trial by
fire to experience it. Life will give you what you ask for.
But once you ask, Life sets you to task. You will be challenged,
many times a day to keep moving forward and reach your goal.
Here are
some action tips for you to gain more mental toughness in EVERYTHING
you do.
1. Listen
to the experts. Read biographies and listen to audio programs
telling of winners who have overcome tremendous obstacles and
setbacks to become successful. Check out success stories in
magazines and the Internet - fitness, money, or otherwise -
you'll find they are people JUST LIKE YOU. So if they can do
it, WHY THE HELL CAN'T YOU?
2. No
pain, no gain vs. Patience, pacing, and persistence. You
don't need to go through emotional or physical pain to succeed.
This is a myth. When you realize that failure and handicaps
have NOT prevented winners in any area of life, you gain more
confidence and courage to pursue your own dreams.
But you
don't need to "come from behind" to get ahead. Learn from the
trial and error of others, and expect a lot of yourself. Not
a pipedream, but expect a lot, and expect to get it. It can
be easy to overtrain, overcommit, and overwork if your expectations
are too much. GO WITH THE FLOW. Success WILL come; understand
it may take months instead of days.
3. "What
next?" thinking. Give yourself solution-oriented feedback
when solving your problems. Don't dwell on what went wrong.
What are you going to do about it? Spend your energy on moving
forward, finding an answer. Journaling helps here. What did
you accomplish today? What went well? What can you do better?
How do I feel about my progress? Are my goals making me reach,
or am I just going through the motions? Am I focused? Are my
goals MY OWN?
4. Get
comfortable with the unfamiliar. Make it a part of your
daily routine to do something totally different than what you
normally do. Work out at a different gym. Put your TV in the
closet for a month. Drive to work using a different route. Change
workout routines regularly. You'll be better prepared to handle
diverse environments with greater calm and confidence.
5. THINK
AND SPEAK WELL OF YOUR HEALTH. Teach yourself and your children
to use positive self-talk about fitness and personal health.
Too much attention is paid to minor aches and pains, like there's
value to not feeling good. We tend to make real what is the
"main feature" of ourselves. What's YOUR "main feature"?
6. Don't
be a victim of ads and fads. Yes, the world is full of greedy
people looking for a fast and easy way to put your money in
their pockets. Make sure the thing that impresses you meets
your criteria, and satisfies your concerns. Mental toughness
doesn't mean going it alone, with lose-weight-fast or get-rich-quick
schemes. Mental toughness means learning from the pros who have
been there and done that.
7. Hang
out with people who have already achieved their goals or
who are dedicated to goals similar to yours. Avoid associating
with people who have the same unresolved problems or who are
frustrated by their lack of achievement. You know, the pity
parties. "Oh, woe is me. My life is in an upheaval. How about
you?" "You poor thing. Woe is me, too. I feel terrible about
myself. How about you?"
Some people
tend to thrive on the attention they get when they feel bad.
A strong community of like-minded people give you motivation,
support, and purpose for succeeding.
8. Focus
on desired results. Pure and simple: winners dwell on the
rewards of success. Losers focus on mistakes and failure. Do
what's necessary NOW. Be in the present. Then you don't have
to worry about what happened yesterday or what's going to happen
tomorrow. Thus, two-thirds of your worries disappear.
9. Expect
the unexpected. You can't control what nature and others
do. You can anticipate what MAY happen, and prepare for them
as best you can. You can also control your response to what
happens.
"Imagine
Having The Motivation And Energy To Take Control of Your Body
And Your Health - And Still Have A Life."
Visit http://www.worldpeakperformance.com
to find out how and get The Peak Performance Life ezine FREE.
