Champions don’t always have perfect victories. Most of the time, they encounter plenty of road bumps and obstacles on their way to success.
Winners succeed when life throws inevitable curveballs their way because they have the mental toughness to keep going. They have the strength and grit to never give up, and the confidence in their beliefs to make it past the finish line.
You can adopt that same attitude, and become mentally tough too, with some small tweaks to your routine:
Practice the 40% rule
The Navy SEALs, who have a thing or two to say about being mentally tough, swear by the 40% rule to stay determined.
It was developed by David Goggins, a Navy SEAL Veteran and Ironman triathlete, who said that: “When your mind is telling you you’re done, you’re really only 40 percent done.”
This is more than just a motivational statement: science backs up that we’re often more physically and mentally capable than we believe. For instance, researchers found that subjects who were given a placebo but told it was caffeine were able to lift significantly more weight than those who were really given caffeine.
When your mind is telling you “no”, push yourself just a little further; where you get to eventually will surprise you.
Create tiny daily goals
Mark Spitz, a USA Olympic gold medalist in swimming, said, “I’m trying to do the best I can. I’m not concerned with tomorrow, but with what goes on today.”
Sometimes it’s difficult to focus on the big picture, like completing SEALs training or making it to the Olympics. So instead, these competitors set daily goals. They select one or two things that they want to accomplish that day to bring them one step closer to their ultimate milestone.
You can follow the same idea in your own business and stay mentally tough by writing down small goals each and every day. A study from Harvard showed that people who have goals are ten times as successful as those without goals, and those who write them down are three times as likely to reach them as those who don’t.
For some, it may simply to get one new client or to make it through the day with no customer complaints. You can celebrate these small successes along the way to your larger goal. And if you fail (which will happens to even the best of us at some points), you start all over with a new goal the next day.
Seek out others
Brent Gleson, Navy SEAL veteran and motivational speaker, once wisely said,
“When setting goals and pursuing success, you must sometimes lead and get others to paddle with you. You can’t do it all alone. The minute you realize that you don’t know everything and need help along the way, the better off you will be.”
It’s a misconception that mentally tough people go at it alone. It takes a strong person to ask for help. Many of us either have no idea that we could benefit from help, or are too afraid to come forward because we assume this is seen as weakness, or a lack of intelligence.
The one piece of advice you need to hear as a current, or future, successful business entrepreneur is that it is absolutely acceptable, and sometimes necessary, to seek help.
So don’t be afraid to reach out to a friend or seek out a mentor. They’ll be glad to give you a helping hand; after all, they’ve been in your position before.
Do you have any habits to become mentally tough?
If you have any secrets to help us become more mentally tough, reach out to The Tribe and share them!
