"Mental toughness" is a term that is used to describe a set of psychological abilities such as poise, intensity, self-confidence, motivation and resilience that are developed through training. Although mental toughness training is most commonly applied to athletic performance, it can be used to your advantage in nearly any endeavor, including business and personal relationships.
Poise
Poise is the ability to stay calm, think clearly and act effectively under pressure. Mental toughness training helps you develop poise by putting matters into proper perspective and disciplining your thoughts. It can be used to hit a crucial free throw in front of a hostile crowd, wrap up an intense negotiation with a potential client, or avoid destructive rage during an argument with your spouse.
Intensity
Intensity is the ability to harness all of your psychological energy towards the completion of a specific task. Mental toughness training will teach you strategies to put distractions out of your mind and concentrate on one task at a time. Intensity can be used to sink an eight ball, solve a math problem or improve your sex life.
Self-Confidence
Self-confidence is a belief that you are capable of accomplishing a task, in contrast with self-esteem, which is a belief in your ultimate worthiness. Realistic confidence comes from constant practice and the positive feedback that occurs when you succeed, and is enhanced by training your mind to remember past successes. Self-confidence is a comprehensive attitude that enhances all of the other benefits of mental toughness----self-confident people typically have more poise than other people, for example.
Motivation
British psychologist Michael Apter, founder of Apter International, has broken down motivation into several different dimensions including conforming/rebellious, serious/playful and self-oriented/other-oriented. Each of these states is useful in its own context. The rebellious motivational state can be beneficial when playing in front of a hostile crowd or facing cross-examination in court, for example. Mental toughness includes the ability to reach the appropriate motivational state at will and switch between motivational states when necessary.
Resilience
Resilience is the ability to "bounce back" after setbacks. Although it is closely related to motivation, it is more closely related to regaining intensity and self-confidence during adversity, or after a real or perceived failure. Resilience is useful when rehabilitating after an athletic injury or training after a tough loss. It can be used to continue "cold calling" potential customers in the face of repeated rejections, or continuing the search for a compatible spouse after years of fruitless effort.
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