Developing mental toughness and agility

In this communique we focus on developing mental toughness and agility. In today´s work environment, there are challenges that require us to deal with constant and massive change on a daily basis. As individuals we often get challenged to achieve more and take on complex tasks slightly out of our skills set. The question is what we are doing to develop our mental toughness and agility in order to cope with these changes?

It is essential to devise a coping strategy if you are not to be left feeling helpless and out of control.

Enjoy the insightfulness as we combine input from a couple of sources we get to a Mental Toughness and Agility Checklist.


Anything that you want to achieve - requires a plan, which requires micro goals are met

Two practical things are to create micro goals and to make sure your goals are SMART. Micro goals must be developed with the thought in mind of "will doing this meet my ultimate goal".

Micro goals are small achievable steps that allow you to get to the next level and allow you to make progress to your goal. So while you may feel that you have a target of a couple of million to achieve, the reality is that millions are still made from cents. You need to look at how to break down your big goal into smaller micro goals that are achievable and that fuel your success.

It also helps if these goals are SMART - Simple/Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Bound.

There is an old saying that the battle must be won before you enter the battlefield.

Remove clutter - too many ideas
You have tons of things that you want to do. Start focusing on one or two tasks and get them done. People struggling to build their resilience are often overwhelmed with too many ideas. Instead of being scattered, refine all your ideas into the critical two that you can get done today.

Some people spend all of their time getting ready to do something rather than just doing it. If you take one idea and you do it properly - that is more than most people do. It is sometimes more important to get something done than to get organised. Very soon you will find that there is less clutter in all things.

Do what you love - have the passion to express your true potential
You must focus on finding your passion and getting closer to doing something that you are passionate about in order to be happy. If you are really not passionate or engaged in what you do - research show that you achieve lower results, you spend a lot of time and energy coping and your engagement levels drop. For employers it is also important to notice when a person becomes disengaged as it usually indicates that the person is experiencing major life changes and not coping.

Realise you are capable of at least 20 times more than you think
If you are passionate, engaged, energised and working on something that you are passionate about - you are capable of 20 times more than you previously thought yourself capable of. The challenge is to learn how to do this through pushing yourself all the time.

Master what you need to deliver
You may not know about everything but you need to become an expert in at least one thing. It takes 5000 to 10000 hours of life experience to master a specific area. Start with one hour a day and soon you will be learning more. Typically by the time you start a masters degree you have already got more than 6000 hours of learning that you have done through theory and practical and then you spend about another 1500 hours to learn more about the theory and practice of moving towards your goals.

Become "present" and work for a higher purpose
You are required to be present in situations that you want to solve or make an impact on. Do not delegate away your presence - and bad news, increasingly studies show that multi-tasking is not the best way. When you go to a meeting, be prepared. When you attend a session, make sure that you take the most out of it. Let your voice shout out, become spiritually and emotionally present in all situations.

If you work for a higher purpose - you tend to get out more and have a higher degree of satisfaction. This does not necessarily mean you have to work for a religious purpose - but being present and focussed in this work allows you to feel a greater sense of purpose and in the end, accomplishment.

Learn things that allow you to cope
A great way to learn to cope is to let things go that you cannot do anything about. It really is a skill that can be learnt. Next time you get angry, frustrated or experience other negative emotions - consciously acknowledge what you are experiencing in your own mind, but let it go as best you can. Make a conscious choice not to over react. Do not give negative emotions power by feeding them. In time, it gets easier and you become more focused and aware.

Other skills that lead to frustration include the inability to present ideas, arguing logically, structuring thoughts or getting people to agree to a common goal, dealing with conflict and negotiation. These are all skills that can be learnt and that you need to put them on your learning agenda.

By building these skills you will increase your mental agility and toughness and it will allow you to focus on achieving your goals.