TOUGHNESS IS DOING WHAT IS RIGHT, EVEN WHEN OTHER EASIER PATHS ARE AVAILABLE. If we follow the line of thought previously where “1” is on, and “0” is off (like a computer), then toughness is either a 0 or a 1. There is no dial to slowly crank it up. Athletes that choke in big games will always choke in big games. The good news is that toughness is a trait that we can train. It is one of the most valuable things we teach our children or students.
SOMEONE WHO IS A “1” OR A “TOUGH PERSON:
- Has great habits
- Makes good mental decisions regardless of the adversity
- Is emotionally resilient and cheerful in the face of adversity
- Craves a challenge
SOMEONE WHO IS A “0” (NOT A TOUGH PERSON):
- Has poor habits
- Makes poor mental decisions when faced with adversity
- Has no emotional resiliency; when things are good they are happy and share their happiness. When things are bad they are mad/sad/angry, and they share their madness/sadness/anger
- Avoids adversity
We are or we are not tough. We can do tough things, show toughness, and exhibit the qualities of a tough person in a practice or game or business day. It does not make us a tough person; it just means we are doing something tough or being tough in the moment.
Toughness, like any core value, means we are tough all the time and in everything we do. Selfless people are not selfless only sometimes or with other people. They are selfless all the time. If integrity is a core value of ours but we only act with integrity some of the time, or when people are around, we are not a person of integrity. Toughness is making the difficult decision, as hard as it is, risking being not liked and possibly facing confrontation. Toughness is a not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. Tough people are tough all the time!
TOUGHNESS ACTIVITIES CHOOSE ONE OF THESE ACTIVITIES AND COMPLETE IT ON YOUR OWN TIME:
- PERFORM 500 PUSH-UPS in under one hour.
- PERFORM 1000 SQUATS in under one hour.
- WAKE UP AT 3AM and clean your house top to bottom, non-stop until 6am. Then get on with your day.
TOUGHNESS CLASS ACTIVITIES
- HOLD PUSH-UP POSITION (tall plank) for 5 minutes.
- PERFORM YOUR FORM, NON-STOP, repeatedly over and over for the duration of one entire motivating song (about 4 minutes). Do not stop no matter what.
– Written By Kumar Bandyo