5 Ways to become more MENTALLY TOUGH

1. Guard your thoughts.

The reason why its called mental toughness is because what you think determines how you act.  If you want to become more mentally tough, you have to become tough about what you think.  Certain thoughts should never be in your head.  Replace weak thoughts like, “I can’t, I’m tired, I’m bored, “ with strong thoughts.  A young girl needed to run the mile at school. She shared how scared she was and her desire to be more mentally tough.  She planned to say during the whole run around the track, “I love to run, my body is strong, I feel great.”  The previous time she ran she couldn’t quit thinking how much it hurt, how she hated running, and how much she wanted to stop.  This time she was really surprised how much easier the run became.  She said, “I had no idea how big a difference what I thought made on what I do and how I feel.”

2. Do the hard things first.
   

Pick your weakest spot and work on it first every practice.  Choose the weight lifting exercise you like least and do it right away.  Pick the subject you need the most work in and always start with it.  If you wait chances are you won’t want to work on your weakness or you will not give it your best effort.  When we choose the hard things in life we develop mental toughness and life becomes easier.  When we always choose the easiest, we get weaker.

3. Be specific.

If you want to work on upper body strength, write down the specific number of pushups you will do. Counting backwards can help motivate you to finish.  When working on math, pick a time limit and the number of problems you want to get finished in that time limit.  For shooting, decide how many shots you will make in a row from different spots on the court, if you miss more than two shots in a row, sprint dribble down and back with the off-hand.  Write down your goals and put them somewhere you can see them everyday. 

4. Find someone to hold you accountable
   

Whether you are working on your game, your attitude, your self esteem, or your faith in God, have someone hold you accountable in areas you are likely to give up and not work on.  Choose someone you can work together with or someone who is a mentor who can help teach you how to develop mental toughness.  In ball handling, compete against a good player for the highest score, whoever loses does one push up.  Make a goal to encourage each other and pick someone who will motivate you to keep going.

5. Deal with problems.

When life is hard we want comfort not change, but those who have learned the secret of being mentally tough have learned comfort now can mean pain later, whereas a little pain now can yield a big reward in the future.   We know we are not choosing the right way to handle our problems when we look for comfort in ignoring the problem, becoming bitter, using gossip or slander, or trying to escape.  We need to learn to open up with a trusted parent or adult.  We need to learn to talk to people not about them.  We need to address problems with courage and kindness before becoming bitter and resentful.  Every time we run away from our problems, more problems follow.  The minute we decide to deal with problems we become more mentally tough and better able to handle problems in the future.

"Great souls have wills; feeble ones have only wishes." Chinese Proverb

Coming April 15th
The most important 30 minutes of your year.

Mental toughness is the ability to persevere in pursuit of a goal, no matter how long it takes. It is backbone, daring, determination, doggedness, fortitude, gameness, guts, hardihood, intestinal fortitude, mettle, moxie, nerve, perseverance, pluck, resolution, spirit, spunk, tenacity, toughness.