Mental Toughness - Taking Your Organization From Good to Great

"Mental toughness is essential to success." - Lord Vince Lombardi

Mental toughness is often associated with high performing athletes yet the principles are far reaching and can be applied to each of us as leaders within our communities, our organizations, and every aspect of our lives. Mental toughness is not something you are born with, it is a transferable trait that can be harnessed and nurtured and separate those who are good from those who are great.

In essence, there are four key principles to mental toughness. The first of which is having the right state of mind. Knowing where our true strengths and weaknesses lie and being able to build upon them is critical. It allows us to perform on demand with unshakeable confidence and belief to reach our goals. A second key principle is to focus on Pre-Play vs. Re-Play. Don’t keep playing over mistakes in your mind – focus on yourself performing the way you want (confident, energized, full focus). Research shows when Olympic athletes visualize themselves in competitive situations the same brain neurons fire as if they were physically performing. The third principle is QTIP - quit taking it personally. By taking things personally you create obstacles for yourself and others, part of staying mentally tough is to remove the negative emotion from the situation and focus on the issue at hand. The final principle of mental toughness is to have disciplined thoughts about mistakes. Athletes are the best mistake makers – Babe Ruth had 1330 strikeouts to his 714 home runs. The difference is he knew the only way to hit a home run was to step up to the plate and swing at the ball. What mistakes are you willing to make and what are you willing to learn from them?

In a year of continuing to do more with less – it is more critical than ever to maintain that competitive edge. Through further examination and implementation of these four key principles you too can transition from good to great.

For assistance in taking your organization from Good to Great though maintaining Mental Toughness contact Kendra Wilburn@ kwilburn@cinci.rr.com or 513-314-9659