Mental Toughness - How to Reach Apex of the Mental Skills Pyramid

The Mental Skills Pyramid

Within the Peak Pathway High-Performance Ecosystem, The Mental Skills Pyramid is how we balance the vitality and wellness pillars to create the warrior / warrioress mindset. At the foundation of this pyramid, we have fundamental mental skills: people skills, goal setting, commitment, motivation, and a positive attitude.

These skills provide a solid base for your mental well-being, and many people may not naturally possess them, but our goal is to aim for the highest level, the apex of the pyramid.

Moving up the pyramid, we encounter preparation skills. When mentally preparing yourself to pursue and achieve your goals, mental imagery and self-talk play a crucial role. Think of self-talk as your own personal cheering squad, but with genuine and empowering affirmations. It's not just about pumping yourself up; it's about building self-confidence, believing you can succeed, and being willing to try.

Mental imagery, which we'll delve into later in this module, involves visualizing your vision and keeping it consistently moving forward.

Then we hit the Apex of the Pyramid: High-Performance. This is where you can control your thinking and your emotions through concentration and positively manage anxiety, even using Anxiety as a catalyst for short term motivation. 

At the Apex is where you find the High-Performer. And the consistent High-Performer is Mentally Tough! Is this something they have inherently? Or can you acquire mental toughness through practiced self-awareness? First let's define Mental Toughness. 

Mental Toughness

Definition by Oxford Reference

A quality of mind or intellect characterized by, among other things, a refusal to be intimidated, a determination to finish a contest even when things are going badly, and an ability to control emotions and remain highly focused when under the pressure of intense competition.

Definition by Wikipedia

Mental toughness is frequently used colloquially to refer to any set of positive mental attributes that helps a person to cope with difficult situations. Coaches and sport commentators freely use the term mental toughness to describe the mental state of athletes who persevere through difficult sport circumstances to succeed

By any definition, Peak Pathway seeks to look at the commonality of the behavior's associated to Mental Toughness, separating these to enable them to be acquired as skills. These characteristics include:

1. Resilience
2. Leadership (pertaining to self-leadership)
3. Accountability
4. Self-Assurance

Mental toughness truly makes an enormous difference in the pursuit of your goals. This is what, I believe, has the most significant impact with people reaching and acquiring long term goals. Mental toughness is where you become a mental giant. It's crucial. First, we must establish your purpose and how you'll pursue it—your goal setting and skill acquisitions. You need a reason to be tough; there's no point in being tough if there's no outlet to apply it. The pursuit of your goals is where you'll need mental resilience. 

Resilience

Mental toughness cascades through the Peak Pathway High-Performance action pillars. We're referring to manufactured/controlled state resilience, which we develop through the warrior or warrioress mindset. To reiterate our definitions, the warrior mindset is the ability to confront challenges courageously and remain resilient in adversity, never giving up, always moving forward, and striving to improve. You need a reason, a "why," to develop this mindset.

Resilience is where we link the pillars, showing the synergy between physiology and psychology. Physiology changes psychology. We aim to be resilient in the face of adversity. As you pursue your goals and purpose, you become vulnerable during the process of Self-analysis, and introspection about your purpose, the impact you want to make, and the legacy you aim to leave—these are all significant steps. Controlling the inevitable fear associated with the pursuit of goals is where your resilience comes to the fore. No quitting, managing the feeling of discomfort, fear of failure or the unknown is mental toughness in action.

Sometimes, you're so close to realizing the potential of an idea or even your potential, but it doesn't seem to work, even when everything's in place. That's where resilience is needed as doubt, fear, and "what-ifs" escalate. Stress, pressure, and anxiety combine into a difficult challenge. This is where resilience is crucial. We like to keep it sharp all the time. We want to feel empowered, knowing we can cope with the worst-case scenario. We don't catastrophize things, but we feel empowered knowing we can handle the worst. This is where embracing discomfort comes in. Discomfort is inherently uncomfortable, but what becomes comfortable is your self-reliance in overcoming it. This builds self-confidence and self-esteem, proving that you can when your brain tells you that you can't.

Leadership

Leadership is not just about leading others; it starts with self-leadership. It involves creating followers through your presence and high-performing actions. Resilience, self-confidence, discipline—all these are foundational qualities of leadership. Being adaptable and maintaining focus in both success and failure, managing change—are leadership attributes.

Leadership is about how you lead yourself. Winning the morning, having a clear vision, being optimistic, and treating failure as a mentor—these are leadership traits that inspire others to be better. It's about handling yourself, managing stress, and helping others along the way. Leadership is about creating followers by setting an example.

Accountability

The next sub-pillar within mental toughness is accountability. Accountability, in the Peak Pathway model, has two facets. First, it involves staying on track and keeping yourself or someone else accountable to the goal. Intrinsic motivation and purpose naturally create accountability as you actively pursue your pathway.

Balanced accountability is crucial. Many high-performing individuals tend to be over-accountable. They want to help everyone, which can distract them from their pathway and responsibilities. Setting boundaries and aligning everything with your purpose ensures balanced accountability. It's about asking whether a particular task serves your ultimate potential.

Self-Assurance

The last action pillar under the sub-pillar of mental toughness is self-assurance, a key aspect for performing well at the moment. Self-assurance comes when you know you have what it takes. You've built resilience, acquired experience, and tested your skills. You've become a mental giant through mental toughness, resilience, leadership, and accountability. Challenges become bigger but not overwhelming. Self-assuredness helps you handle stress and anxiety in the moment.

In conclusion, self-assurance is the number one life hack for performing well in the moment. When you know you're capable, you can face any difficulty with confidence.