Would you like to become as tough as a bar of iron? Would feeling as tough as a junkyard dog improve your confidence as you go through your career? If you need a shot of resiliency and mental toughness in your life, read on. 

Do You Make the Same Mistakes Over and Over?  Perhaps you’re living the reality version of the movie Groundhog Day? Or, perhaps you’re thinking that somehow following the same routine each day is getting you one step closer to your dreams. Is that it? People who are mentally tough learn from their mistakes. They admit the mistake, apologize for it quickly, and then INSTANTLY pivot to repairing the damage. They focus on what they’re going to do to fix and learn from the mistake. They plug the gap so that they never, never, NEVER make that same mistake again. Don’t waste one second on finger pointing or blame. Determining who to blame NEVER solves the problem. Contrition and restorative actions are what will solve the problem.

 Does This World Owe YOU A Living?  For That Matter Does the World Owe You ANYTHING?  Let’s talk about the scourge of entitlement. When events don’t match our expectations, we often imagine ourselves to be victims, and then the gradual building of resentment begins. I’ve got a suggestion for you: “Shred Your Victim Card!”  Life is not fair. Things don’t always go our way. Some days we’re the bug, and some days we’re the windshield. Life is NOT fair. Yet, life DOES reward great character and performance. If you focus on THIS, you will be OK. Instead of worrying about entitlement, get your mind right. Realize that by EARNING your way to the life you want, you will achieve happiness and success. Having life given to you makes you dependent and weak. EARN your way, you can do it!

How Comfortable Are YOU with Being All Alone, All by Yourself?  Top performing people know intuitively that a person really needs to get to know him or herself. This world is in a big hurry. Going slow is now so out of fashion it is mind-boggling. If you are not careful, you will just begin to react to the requests of the whirlwind that is your life. Slow things down, for yourself. Slow the whirlwind down for a moment or two. Schedule an hour or two on your busy calendar to allow yourself to be alone with your thoughts. Spend an hour or two to think about what’s really important to you. Have the courage to say no to the whirlwind for a couple of hours and figure out what you REALLY want to be doing. Figure out what you really NEED to be placing a priority on, so you can spend time on it, and get it done. Top performing people are almost always mentally tough, and mentally tough people don’t regret having time alone, they savor the opportunity to invest in a few hours to be alone with their thoughts.

The best thing about life is that we can always choose to get better and get stronger. If you’d like to work on your mental toughness and resiliency, you have some resources you can draw on. Check out www.michaelbeachcoach.com and navigate to the ‘Ask The Coach‘ section for great blog articles on Mental Toughness and a host of other business and executive development topics. Alternatively, you may want to check out the Michael Beach Coaching & Consulting channel on Youtube.com and watch some of the videos, which include a series on Mental Toughness.