Have you ever wondered how Michael Jordan was able to make huge shots in pressure moments look easy or how some soldiers can enter battle and have no fear of the outcome? I have constantly and can tell you that it is all about having the mental capacity and strength to face your fears and come out on top. Everyone deals with obstacles in life, some bigger than others, but everyone has them. The ability to face these difficulties with a go–getter attitude is usually the difference between thriving in pressure moments or falling like a brick dropped from a skyscraper.
The ability to succeed in these moments has to start with a positive attitude. In sports, for example, someone who is not confident or does not show the passion and heart to want to have the ball in their hands in critical moments is usually not going to succeed because of their lack of confidence to do so. The same goes for someone struggling in day to day life to overcome their hardships.
If you do not attack the day with the mentality that you are going to make something of this day and not sit in the backseat as you cruise through life, then you are never going to be truly happy with its outcomes.
I am by no means an expert on this topic and struggle to get off the couch long enough to finish mulching the rest of my yard. How I managed to turn this into a three-week job when the total amount of hours to complete the task ranges from four to five hours astounds me.
I served in Iraq with some extremely tough minded individuals and was amazed at some soldiers’ abilities to stare the uncertainty of the mission in the face and prepare themselves for a successful day. Most did this by realizing that whatever happens happens, and there is no reason to worry about failure or the unknown as long as you have prepared yourself to achieve, mixed in with, of course, a pack of Marlboros.
Everyone deals with hardships in life, from family to work to women. Whoops, I meant relationships. The key is to realize that there is no changing the past, so fretting or regretting past decisions is pointless. You must focus in on the future and strive to make every day count.
Lots of people are born with mental toughness, but there are traits that can be learned to become a more overall productive leader in life or at least in one’s own inner life circle. Stay focused and positive and dig deep when life casts a shadow on you.