A champion mindset is one that looks for new ways to think about adversity, and most importantly, looks for fresh ways to look at problems and roadblocks. Champions look at life with a sense of urgency and respond to the challenges of the changing face of business with innovation and curiosity.

Research into champions be they in sports, the arts or business, highlight the following characteristics:

• They have a strong belief in themselves (Confidence)
• They do not give up, they are committed to success (Commitment)
• They learn to take control of and manage all aspects of their activity (Control)
• When they experience failures or setbacks, it motivates them (Challenge)

Not only that, but all champions have a powerful team supporting them.

Mental Toughness is defined as “a narrow, plastic personality trait which helps to explain how individuals respond to stress, pressure, opportunity and challenge, irrespective of circumstance”.

Mental Toughness provides champions with the emotional competence to manage their behavioural response when under stress and their ability to be effective.

Mental Toughness ensures champions have the engagement to see commitments through to a successful conclusion.

Mental Toughness enables champions to step outside their comfort zone, take on challenges and learn from the outcomes.

Mental Toughness gives champions the self-confidence to stand up to detractors and maintain dialogue under difficult conditions.

Developing a mentally tough organisation starts with developing mentally tough individuals; individuals who have the self-confidence to take up a challenge and the self-control to stay committed to achieve success.

The language, messages, and feedback senior leaders convey to their staff, both explicitly and implicitly can have a profound impact on the enhancement of how people embrace and develop key mental skills; hence, this individual development needs to start at the peak of the organisation.

Once people are aware of the importance of Mental Toughness to individual performance and wellbeing; development can be implemented “collectively” – the strength of a team’s mindset will impact the quality of their performance.

On an organisational level, Mental Toughness contributes to creating a distinct performance environment that enables the organisation to adapt, innovate, and ultimately win and sustain competitive advantage.

Deploying Mental Toughness throughout an organisation will require the embedding of “mental skills” within the organisation’s values.

If people have a “best in market attitude”, they will show “best in market behaviours”.

If you would like to discuss how Mental Toughness can help your organisation to become the best in what it does, do not hesitate to contact me!

Bob

I help people to develop their interpersonal skills, usually within a leadership or teamwork context. If you are looking to develop your leadership, I might be able to help. I’ve been doing this for almost 40 years; roughly four thousand days of seminars, workshops, conferences, coaching, offsites, webinars, etc. – put back-to-back that makes almost ten “full” years.

boblarcher.com

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Quand on dit qu’une personne a fait preuve d’une grande Force Mentale pour surmonter un défi, ce n’est pas la Force Mentale qui a été démontrée, mais le résultat de cette Force Mentale.

La Force Mentale se cache dans les 80 % de l’iceberg de la personnalité qui se trouvent sous la ligne de flottaison ; elle est là, avec nos valeurs, nos croyances, nos expériences, nos pulsions et bien d’autres choses encore.

La Force Mentale est invisible, mais son impact est bien visible !

Son impact se manifeste dans les 20 % émergents de la personnalité : dans nos paroles et nos actes, dans ce que nous disons et faisons.

La Force Mentale est considérée par les psychologues comme une attitude, créée par la combinaison de nos croyances et de nos expériences.

Si vos professeurs, vos amis et votre famille vous disent, par exemple, que vous êtes nul en maths, il y a de fortes chances que vous finissiez par croire que vous l’êtes effectivement.

Cependant, cette croyance et cette attitude peuvent évoluer, comme l’ont démontré Albert Einstein et John Gurdon ; le premier a été décrit par un professeur comme quelqu’un qui “n’arriverait jamais à rien dans la vie” et le second s’est vu dire par un professeur que son travail était “loin d’être satisfaisant” et que ses rêves de devenir scientifique étaient “assez ridicules” ; tous deux ont par la suite reçu un prix Nobel scientifique.

La Force Mentale est l’attitude qui nous donne la confiance nécessaire pour relever un défi et le contrôle nécessaire pour tenir nos engagements.

La Force Mentale n’a rien à voir avec les biceps, les triceps, la testostérone et autres, et s’applique à tous les domaines de la vie. Les grands musiciens, les grands danseurs, les grands scientifiques, les grands orateurs, les grands athlètes et, en fait, tous ceux qui ont persévéré jusqu’à devenir très performants dans leur domaine, possèdent une grande Force Mentale.

La Force Mentale repose sur quatre piliers, chacun reposant sur deux fondations.

Ces quatre piliers sont : Défi, Engagement, Maîtrise et Confiance ; cependant, ce sont ces fondations qui confèrent à chaque pilier sa force et sa stabilité.

Les fondements du Défi, sont la volonté de sortir de sa ou ses zones de confort et de relever un défi, ainsi que la volonté de prendre le temps d’apprendre de l’expérience, tant de ses succès que de ses échecs.

L’Engagement repose sur la définition d’objectifs clairs concernant le défi entrepris et sur la concentration et la détermination à les atteindre.

Le Défi et l’Engagement sont tournés vers l’extérieur et c’est là que réside l’une des différences entre Résilience et Force Mentale.

La Résilience et la Force Mentale concernent toutes deux la capacité à gérer mentalement et émotionnellement une crise. La Résilience est davantage une réaction face à un défi lorsqu’il se présente, tandis que la Force Mentale est plus proactive et consiste à rechercher le défi.

Le pilier Maitrise repose sur le contrôle que nous avons sur notre vie et notre maîtrise de soi dans les situations difficiles. Le Contrôle de Vie concerne la mesure dans laquelle nous prenons nos décisions importantes en fonction de nos propres valeurs, objectifs, rêves, espoirs et désirs, tandis que la maîtrise de soi, ou Contrôle Émotionnel, concerne notre capacité à canaliser l’énergie émotionnelle générée par les défis vers quelque chose de positif.

Le pilier Confiance trouve ses racines dans la Confiance Interpersonnelle. Notre capacité à rester assertif et à interagir avec un large éventail de personnes, qu’elles soient plus qualifiées, mieux rémunérées, plus expérimentées, etc.

Le deuxième pilier de la Confiance est la Confiance en nos capacités, pas seulement la “connaissance de notre sujet”, mais la certitude de le connaître ; savoir dans quoi nous excellons et avoir confiance en nos capacités.

En résumé

Les personnes mentalement fortes sont résilientes, tandis que les personnes résilientes ne le sont pas nécessairement.

Le défi, c’est être optimiste et curieux ; ce n’est pas être téméraire et fermé.

L’engagement, c’est être concentré et déterminé ; ce n’est pas être borné et têtu.

Le contrôle, c’est être décisif et calme ; ce n’est pas être dogmatique et froid.

La confiance, c’est être assertif et ancré dans ses valeurs ; ce n’est pas être agressif et arrogant.

La Force Mentale, jusqu’à récemment, était un concept assez intangible et difficile à mesurer.

Aujourd’hui, nous savons ce que c’est et disposons de méthodes fiables pour déterminer les niveaux de Force Mentale. Certes, nous possédons tous une certaine Force Mentale, certains plus, d’autres moins, mais nous possédons tous un certain degré de Force Mentale, chacun avec des niveaux variables.

Des études ont montré que la Force Mentale suit une courbe de distribution normale : certaines personnes en ont une très faible, d’autres une très élevée, et la plupart ont une Force Mentale moyenne. En réalité, la plupart d’entre nous possèdent le niveau de Force Mentale nécessaire pour affronter la plupart des épreuves du quotidien.

Pour développer sa Force Mentale, il faut commencer par explorer ses fondements et identifier son ou ses maillons faibles.

Novak Djokovic est un bon exemple de quelqu’un ayant (ou ayant eu) un maillon faible. Djokovic possède clairement une Force Mentale élevée ; sans elle, on ne peut prétendre au titre de GOAT de sa discipline. Cependant, après plusieurs crises émotionnelles lors de matchs importants, il a admis avoir laissé ses émotions négatives l’entraver dans sa performance et a commencé à travailler sur des techniques et des méthodes qui lui ont permis de prendre conscience de ses émotions et de mieux les gérer pendant les matchs.

Il existe deux façons d’explorer la solidité de nos fondations. La première consiste simplement à se poser quelques questions et à y répondre honnêtement : suis-je vraiment maître de ma vie ? Est-ce que je me remets régulièrement en question ? Est-ce que je reste calme dans les situations difficiles, etc.

La deuxième méthode, plus fiable, consiste à utiliser un questionnaire psychométrique reconnu et validé, tel que le MTQPlus. Ce questionnaire explore non seulement les fondations, mais fournit également des suggestions concrètes de développement, adaptées à vos résultats.

Une fois que vous avez identifié vos forces et vos faiblesses, vous pouvez commencer à les développer et à surmonter vos faiblesses.

La force mentale peut être développée, mais elle ne se fait pas du jour au lendemain ; il s’agit souvent d’une accumulation de petits changements qu’il faut maintenir consciemment jusqu’à ce qu’ils deviennent une seconde nature.

Le changement d’attitude naît de l’expérience, de la réussite là où il n’y avait auparavant que des échecs ; cela conduit à un changement d’état d’esprit : passer du “je ne peux pas faire” au “je peux faire”.

Pour citer Heny Ford : “Que vous pensiez pouvoir y arriver ou non, vous avez généralement raison.”

Si vous souhaitez explorer les fondements de votre force mentale, vous pouvez me contacter à l’adresse boblarcher@boblarcher.com ; j’accompagne les individus et les équipes à développer leur Force Mentale depuis près de 40 ans.

Bob

I help people to develop their interpersonal skills, usually within a leadership or teamwork context. If you are looking to develop your leadership, I might be able to help. I’ve been doing this for almost 40 years; roughly four thousand days of seminars, workshops, conferences, coaching, offsites, webinars, etc. – put back-to-back that makes almost ten “full” years.

boblarcher.com

The post Comprendre la Force Mentale appeared first on BobLarcher.

When you hear someone saying that a certain person “showed great Mental Toughness to overcome a challenge”; it’s not Mental Toughness that was shown, but the result of Mental Toughness.

Mental Toughness is hidden in the 80% of the personality iceberg that is below the waterline; it’s down there with our values, our beliefs, our experiences, our impulses, our pulsion’s and whole lot of other stuff.

Mental Toughness is invisible, but its impact is highly visible!

Its impact is seen in the emerged 20% of the personality; in our words and deeds, what we say and do.

Mental Toughness is considered by psychologists to be an attitude; created through a combination of our beliefs and experiences.

If you are told, for example, by your teachers, friends and family that you are useless at maths, there is a good chance that you will come to believe that you are, indeed, useless at maths.

However, this belief and attitude can change, as was shown by both Albert Einstein and John Gurdon; the first was described by a teacher as someone who, “would never get anywhere in life” and the second was told by a teacher that his work was “far from satisfactory” and that his dreams of becoming a scientist were “quite ridiculous” – both went on to become winners of the Nobel Prize.

Mental Toughness is the attitude that gives us the confidence to take on a challenge and the control to see our commitments through.

Mental Toughness has nothing to do with biceps, triceps, testosterone and the like and it applies in all walks of life; great musicians, great dancers, great scientists, great public speakers, great athletes and, in fact, anyone who has stayed the distance to become very good at what they do, have high Mental Toughness.

Mental Toughness is built on four pillars, each with two foundations.

The four pillars are often referred to a the 4C’s; Challenge, Commitment, Control and Confidence; however, it is the foundations that give each pillar its strength and stability.

The foundations of Challenge, sometimes called the “Have a go” attitude, are a willingness to step out of one’s comfort zone, or comfort zones, and take on something challenging & the willingness to take time to learn from the experience, both from success and failure.

Commitment, or “Stickability”, is built on defining clear objectives with regards to the challenge undertaken & staying focussed and determined to achieve them.

Challenge and Commitment are “outward” focussed and it is here that lies one of the differences between Resilience and Mental Toughness.

Both Resilience and Mental Toughness are about being able to cope mentally and emotionally with a crisis; Resilience is more a reaction to a challenge when it arises, whereas Mental Toughness is more proactive and is about seeking out a challenge.

The “Can do” or Control pillar sits upon the control we have of our lives and our self-control in difficult (challenging) situations. Life Control is about the degree to which we make our major life decisions based on our own values, objectives, dreams, hopes and desires whereas our self-control, or Emotional Control, is about our ability to channel the emotional energy created, when challenged, into something positive.

The Confidence pillar, our Self-belief pillar, has its roots in Interpersonal Confidence; our ability to remain assertive and be able to interact with a wide range of different people, be they more qualified, better paid, more experienced, etc.

The second foundation of the Confidence pillar is Confidence in our capacities, not just “knowing our stuff” but knowing that we know our stuff; knowing what we are good at and being confident in what we are dealing with.

To summarise

Mentally tough people are resilient whereas resilient people are not necessarily mentally tough.

Challenge is about being optimistic & curious; it is not about being reckless & closed.

Commitment is about being focussed & determined; it is not about being blinkered & stubborn.

Control is about being decisive & calm; it is not about being dogmatic & cold.

Confidence is about being assertive & grounded; it is not about being aggressive & arrogant.

Mental Toughness, until quite recently, has been quite an intangible concept and difficult to measure. Today, we know what it is and we have reliable methods for determining levels of Mental Toughness and yes, we all have a certain amount of Mental Toughness, some people may have more, and some people may have less but we all have a degree of Mental Toughness, we all have varying levels of “Can do”, “Stickability”, “Have a go” and “Self-belief”.

Studies have shown that Mental Toughness follows a normal distribution curve, some people have very low amounts, some people have very high amounts, and most people have an “average” amount of Mental Toughness. In fact, most of us have the level of Mental Toughness that we need to get through the majority of our daily storms.

The starting point to developing Mental Toughness is in exploring the foundations and identify our weak link or links.

A good example of someone with (or who had) a weak link is Novak Djokovic. Djokovic clearly has high Mental Toughness, you don’t get to be considered a contender for  the GOAT in your discipline without it; however, after several emotional outbursts during important matches, he admitted that he was letting his own, negative, emotions get in the way of his performance and he began working on techniques & methods that allowed him to be aware of his emotions and manage them better during matches.

There are two ways of exploring the solidity of our foundations, the first is simply by asking oneself some questions and answering them honestly; Am I really in charge of my life? Do I challenge myself regularly? Do I stay calm in difficult situation, etc.

The second, and more reliable way, is to use a recognised & validated psychometric questionnaire such as the MTQPlus; a questionnaire that not only explores the foundations but also provides concrete developmental suggestion aligned to your results.

Once you know where your strengths and weaknesses lie, you can start building on your strengths and overcoming your weaknesses.

Mental Toughness can clearly be developed, but it doesn’t happen “overnight”; it is often an aggregation of small changes that must be maintained, consciously, until they become second nature.

Attitudinal change comes from experience, experiencing success where there was once only failure; this leads to a mind shift from “can’t do” to “can do”.

To quote Heny Ford, “Whether you think that you can, or that you can’t, you are usually right”

If you would like to explore the foundations of your Mental Toughness, you can contact me at boblarcher@boblarcher.com; I have been helping individuals and teams develop their Mental Toughness for almost 40 years now.

Bob

I help people to develop their interpersonal skills, usually within a leadership or teamwork context. If you are looking to develop your leadership, I might be able to help. I’ve been doing this for almost 40 years; roughly four thousand days of seminars, workshops, conferences, coaching, offsites, webinars, etc. – put back-to-back that makes almost ten “full” years.

boblarcher.com

The post Understanding Mental Toughness appeared first on BobLarcher.

As I wrote in a previous article (www.boblarcher.com/mental-toughness/mental-toughness-the-end-of-an-era/), Mental Toughness is made up from four components, or pillars – Confidence, Challenge, Commitment and Control.

Each of these pillars is built on two foundations and it is the foundations that affect how you do at work, your relationships, how you handle setbacks, even how you reach your goals.

In this article I will focus on the Commitment pillar.

Commitment is built on the foundations of Goal Orientation and Achievement Orientation.

Goal orientation is about setting clear goals, goals that give you a sense of direction as to where you want to go, it’s not just like, I want to be successful, it’s more concrete, more specific.

Those with low Goal Orientation tend to be intimidated by goals and targets and try to avoid them. They focus on what comes along often attack intangibles and feel dispersed getting lost in trivia that is neither important nor urgent.

Those with high Goal Orientation tend to enjoy setting goals and objectives, in particular objectives that stretch them. They define “specifically” what is to be achieved and plan activities with daily “to do lists” of essential things to do; they focus on “micro” deliverables that will contribute to their priorities.

Setting specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and trackable objectives is on the starting point of the commitment pillar, the determination to succeed pillar, Achievement Orientation, is about actually getting things done. Putting in the work, day after day.

Even when it’s not fun, showing up even when you don’t feel like it. The ability to persevere is a big part of Achievement Orientation, unlike the search for instant gratification that seems to be everywhere today.

Those with low Achievement Orientation tend to allow themselves to be distracted and find reasons to miss the target, they give up easily when they encounter difficulties seeing obstacles as problems. They are often poor at managing their time, tackling non-essential activities rather than concentrating on what will move things forward.

Those with high Achievement Orientation tend to see effort as a path to success and persist for long periods even in the face of setbacks seeing obstacles as opportunities. They prioritise their activities concentrating their effort and energy on things that matter.

Again, it is the contribution of both foundations to the commitment pillar.

Those low in both Goal Orientation and Achievement Orientation don’t really set objectives for themselves and are not motivated to make an effort when they have to do something.

Those low in Goal Orientation and high Achievement Orientation set few objectives but get satisfaction from doing a good job.

Those high in Goal Orientation and low in Achievement Orientation enjoy setting objectives and planning what will happen but often give up easily when trying to achieve them.

Those high in both Goal Orientation and Achievement Orientation Not only do set (often ambitious) objectives but maintain focus and determination in achieving them.

So, the commitment pillar is all about setting clear objectives and maintaining focus to achieve them.

If you are curious to know more about Mental Toughness you can take a look at more articles here www.boblarcher.com/category/mental-toughness/.

And, if you would like to measure and start developing your mental toughness, do not hesitate to contact me at boblarcher@boblarcher.com

Bob

I help people to develop their interpersonal skills, usually within a leadership or teamwork context. If you are looking to develop your leadership, I might be able to help. I’ve been doing this for almost 40 years; roughly four thousand days of seminars, workshops, conferences, coaching, offsites, webinars, etc. – put back-to-back that makes almost ten “full” years.

boblarcher.com

The post Understanding the foundations of Mental Toughness – Commitment appeared first on BobLarcher.

Each of these pillars is built on two foundations and it is the foundations that affect how you do at work, your relationships, how you handle setbacks, even how you reach your goals.

In this article I will focus on the Challenge pillar.

Challenge is built on Risk Orientation (willingness to take risks) and Learning Orientation (willingness to learn).

I’ll start with Risk Orientation, this is essentially about embracing challenges and seeing them as chances to grow.

It means being willing to step outside your comfort zone, trying new things and embracing the unknown. It’s not about being reckless but taking calculated risks. Risks that will help you to grow the most – when you push yourself beyond what you’re used to.

In fact, it is about stepping outside your comfort zones – physical, emotional, mental, spiritual …

Taking on a project that seems a little intimidating at first, speaking up in a meeting when you usually wouldn’t, working with people who have different values to you, discussing subjects that you do not master.

Those with low Risk Orientation tend to respond poorly to competitive people and see challenges as a potential threat. They avoid situations where they feel “uneasy” and expect to fail – they like the status quo and keep a low profile.

Those with high Risk Orientation tend to thrive on competition and are motivated by competitive people. They embrace challenges even when success is uncertain and expect to succeed. They readily volunteer for new activities and kind of enjoy feeling “frightened”

Challenge for the sake of challenge is one thing, but in Mental Toughness terms it’s about learning from the challenge, this is where Learning Orientation comes in – the second of the Challenge foundations.

This is about seeing both successes and failures as chances to learn; instead of beating yourself up over a mistake and taking a “win” for granted. It’s about taking time to figure out what happened and learn from it, learn from it so you can do better next time.

Identifying what went wrong and avoid repeating it and identifying what went well and building on it.

Those with low Learning Orientation tend to see failure as a “failure” and feedback as a list of their faults. They often hide or ignore mistakes and quickly move on to the next thing. They are limited in “how” they learn and often forget what they have learned

Those with high Learning Orientation tend to see failures as opportunities for learning and feedback as an opportunity to improve. They enjoy learning new things and deliberately stretch themselves. They Create time to reflect, have a variety of learning approaches and keep a learning log – learning is important for them.

Again, it is the contribution of both foundations to the challenge pillar.

Those low in both Risk Orientation and Learning Orientation like keeping things the way they are and don’t really think about what they can learn from what’s happening.

Those low in Risk Orientation but high in Learning Orientation won’t take many risks but they do take time to learn from what happens to them.

Those high in Risk Orientation but low in Learning Orientation are so busy chasing the next opportunity, that they don’t have time to learn from the outcomes.

Those high in both Risk Orientation and Learning Orientation enjoy taking risks and systematically learn from the outcomes – be they good or bad.

So, the challenge pillar is all about having a go and learning through doing.

If you are curious to know more about Mental Toughness you can take a look at more articles here www.boblarcher.com/category/mental-toughness/.

And, if you would like to measure and start developing your mental toughness, do not hesitate to contact me at boblarcher@boblarcher.com

Bob

I help people to develop their interpersonal skills, usually within a leadership or teamwork context. If you are looking to develop your leadership, I might be able to help. I’ve been doing this for almost 40 years; roughly four thousand days of seminars, workshops, conferences, coaching, offsites, webinars, etc. – put back-to-back that makes almost ten “full” years.

boblarcher.com

The post Understanding the foundations of Mental Toughness – Challenge appeared first on BobLarcher.

Each of these pillars is built on two foundations and it is the foundations that affect how you do at work, your relationships, how you handle setbacks, even how you reach your goals.

In this article I will focus on the Confidence pillar.

The two pillars of confidence are Interpersonal Confidence and Confidence in Abilities

Interpersonal confidence is about feeling comfortable around other people, especially in tough situations. It’s about being able to walk into a room full of strangers and being able to strike up a conversation or speaking up in a meeting, even if you’re the most junior person there and being able to handle conflict.

Those with low Interpersonal Confidence tend to allow others to dominate what is happening and back down quickly when challenged, they find meetings and presentations a major challenge and avoid dealing with people.

Those with high Interpersonal Confidence tend to stand their ground when challenged and not allow others to dominate them, they take criticism and challenge in their stride, they are good at dealing with difficult people, and they easily handle presentations and interviews.

Confidence in Abilities is about trusting your skills and knowledge, knowing you have what it takes to succeed, recognising your strengths and feeling good about what you know.

Those with low Confidence in Abilities tend to avoid the spotlight, play safe and not take risks and avoid doing the things they are unsure about.

They wait for, very safe, opportunities to practice and feel embarrassed when they don’t know.

Those with high Confidence in Abilities tend to enjoy demonstrating their abilities and will have a go at most things.

They actively seek opportunities to practice, doing the things they are unsure about, they acknowledge that they don’t and can’t know everything and do not worry about what others think.

Again, it is the contribution of both foundations to the confidence pillar.

Those with both low Interpersonal Confidence and Confidence in Abilities tend to keep a low profile and don’t show others what they can do.

Those with high Interpersonal Confidence and low Confidence in Abilities do not consider themselves to be an expert at anything but they don’t let people walk over them.

Those with low Interpersonal Confidence and high Confidence in Abilities are not good at facing up to others but they do know when they are right.

And those with both high Interpersonal Confidence and high Confidence in Abilities will stand their ground when criticised and will almost always find arguments to support their point of view.

So, the confidence pillar is all about being confident in who you are and having confidence in what you can do.

If you are curious to know more about Mental Toughness you can take a look at more articles here www.boblarcher.com/category/mental-toughness/.

And, if you would like to measure and start developing your mental toughness, do not hesitate to contact me at boblarcher@boblarcher.com

Bob

I help people to develop their interpersonal skills, usually within a leadership or teamwork context. If you are looking to develop your leadership, I might be able to help. I’ve been doing this for almost 40 years; roughly four thousand days of seminars, workshops, conferences, coaching, offsites, webinars, etc. – put back-to-back that makes almost ten “full” years.

boblarcher.com

The post Understanding the foundations of mental toughness – Confidence appeared first on BobLarcher.

Each of these pillars is built on two foundations and it is the foundations that affect how you do at work, your relationships, how you handle setbacks, even how you reach your goals.

In this article I will focus on the Control pillar

The two foundations of the Control pillar are Life control and Emotional control.

Firstly, Life control, this is about having a sense of knowing where you’re going in life and why. What some people call finding your “True North” or your “Big Why”

It’s about feeling like you can make your own choices, even when there’s pressure.

It’s not letting other people’s expectations or societal norms dictate your life. It’s about being in charge of your own life.

If you’ve got high Life Control, you’re probably the kind of person who’s not afraid to take a different path to others, to follow your own kind of internal compass.

It’s not about being egocentric and ignoring or walking over others, it is however about being guided by your values and your beliefs                .

Those with very low Life Control tend to dwell on failure and see the negative consequences of their actions, they expect to fail and create vicious circles for themselves, and they do things simply because they are asked to while avoiding responsibility

On the other hand, those with very high Life Control tend to build on the positive results of their actions and create virtuous circles for themselves, they look for responsibility and feel that they can make a difference.

Emotional control, the second foundation, is about managing one’s own emotions and the emotions of others.

Let’s be clear, we cannot control our emotions, they just happen to us, we do not “decide” to be happy, angry, sad, disgusted, etc.

However, we can control how we manifest our emotions, our emotional behaviour.

It’s not about suppressing your emotions or pretending you don’t have them. It’s about being aware of your emotions and learning how you express them.

We all have those moments where we get triggered, someone cuts you off in traffic, you get bad news, someone attacks your work.

Emotional control is about being able to pause, acknowledge how you feel. And then choose how you want to respond, instead of yelling at the person who cut you off.

It’s not about ignoring your feelings. It’s about choosing to deal with them in a way that works for you.

Which is useful, especially in high pressure situations, if you can stay calm and focused when you’re making a big decision, it can make a huge difference.

Those with low Emotional Control show anger or annoyance when things don’t go their way, they show discomfort when others “have a go at them” and they deal poorly with provocation.

They tend to be unaware of their own emotional build-up and miss the signs of emotional build-up in others. They can easily lose control, behave erratically and say things they regret.

Those with high Emotional Control on the other hand tend to be insensitive to others’ remarks and ignore provocation, they spot the signs of emotional build-up in others, stay calm and choose their words and they remain consistent in their behaviour

Clearly both foundations are important

Those with both low Life and Emotional control tend to let others decide for them and it’s often an emotional drama.

Those with high Life control and low Emotional control make their own life decisions; however, when it goes bottom up everyone knows about it.

Those with low Life control and high Emotional control tend to follow the flow and not show their emotions when things go wrong.

And those with both high Life and Emotional control decide & assume their decisions and very rarely allow their emotions to show.

So, the control pillar is all about being clear where you are going in life and choosing your emotional responses.

If you are curious to know more about Mental Toughness you can take a look at more articles here www.boblarcher.com/category/mental-toughness/.

And, if you would like to measure and start developing your Mental Toughness, do not hesitate to contact me at boblarcher@boblarcher.com.

Bob

I help people to develop their interpersonal skills, usually within a leadership or teamwork context. If you are looking to develop your leadership, I might be able to help. I’ve been doing this for almost 40 years; roughly four thousand days of seminars, workshops, conferences, coaching, offsites, webinars, etc. – put back-to-back that makes almost ten “full” years.

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Even if the notion of Mental Toughness has probably been around since almost the dawn of time with words such as fortitude, perseverance, hardiness, grit, resilience, attitude and character used to describe it; no one could describe exactly what it is, how it could be measured or how it could be developed.

Today, we are at the end of an era; today there is an international acceptance of what Mental Toughness is, a benchmark system to evaluate one’s level of Mental Toughness and concrete actions that help the development of Mental Toughness.

Psychologists classify Mental toughness as “a narrow plastic personality trait” and describe it as “how individuals deal mentally with stressors, pressure and challenge”.

Mental Toughness is invisible, it’s in that part of our personality, along with our beliefs and our values, where it can’t be seen, it’s among the 80% of the invisible part of our personality, the visible 20% being essentially our behaviours – what we say and what we do.

What can be seen is the impact of Mental Toughness on what we say and do – our words and our actions.

Mental Toughness has somehow managed to get itself a kind macho, testosterone & muscles image and often conjures up a picture of an invincible terminator with the emotions of a plankton; however, it applies to everything that people do, in all walks of life. It is not just for elite athletes or the special forces.

Today, we know that Mental Toughness is made up from four “pillars”, each with two “foundations”

The four pillars are Confidence, Challenge, Commitment and Control and the foundations are:

Interpersonal Confidence and Confidence in one’s abilities

Risk Orientation and Learning Orientation

Goal Orientation and Achievement Orientation

Life Control and Emotional Control

Today, we know what Mental Toughness is, and we know how to measure the foundations.

The MTQPlus is a psychometric measure that evaluates the solidity of our Mental Toughness foundations by exploring “how we think” – a key driver for behaviour and emotions.

The MTQPlus is a normative measure, with the results for an individual being compared to a global norm group. This provides both the ability to “take a photo” of our Mental Toughness and reliably assess change and growth in Mental Toughness over a period of time.

This photo of where you are “today” in terms of the foundations of your Mental Toughness provides the basis to identify how YOU can have an effect on your “future” level of Mental Toughness.

The starting point is understanding which of your foundations need reinforcing; is it your lack of emotional control that is letting you down? Is it your reluctance to take risks that is letting you down? Is it unclear objectives that is letting you down? Or maybe it’s a combination.

Maybe you need to concentrate on clarifying what it is you want to achieve, maybe you need to take short excursions outside your comfort zones, maybe you need to break down what it is you want to achieve into smaller “chunks”.

We are all only as strong as our weakest foundation(s) and it is by both capitalising on your strengths and developing your weaknesses that you will increase your overall level of Mental Toughness.

If you are curious to know more about Mental Toughness you can take a look at more articles here www.boblarcher.com/category/mental-toughness/.

And, if you would like to measure and start developing your Mental Toughness, do not hesitate to contact me at boblarcher@boblarcher.com.

Bob

I help people to develop their interpersonal skills, usually within a leadership or teamwork context. If you are looking to develop your leadership, I might be able to help. I’ve been doing this for almost 40 years; roughly four thousand days of seminars, workshops, conferences, coaching, offsites, webinars, etc. – put back-to-back that makes almost ten “full” years.

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Mental Toughness is a personality trait that determines how well individuals cope with stress, pressure, and challenges, regardless of their circumstances. It’s not about physical strength or big muscles, but rather an internal attitude that fosters resilience, determination, and self-belief.

Is Mental Toughness just another “fad”

If it is a fad, then it is probably a fad that has been around since the dawn of time; those cave men and women who survived the sabre tooth tiger and freezing winters were (without knowing) undoubtedly mentally tough. Charles Darwin’s famous quote, “It is not the most intellectual or the strongest species that survives, but the species that survives is the one that is able to adapt to or adjust best to the changing environment in which it finds itself”, quite possibly has its roots in Mental Toughness.

What are the key elements of Mental Toughness?

Mental Toughness is commonly represented by the 4C’s model:

Control: Encompasses Life Control (knowing your direction and purpose) and Emotional Control (managing your emotional responses).

Commitment: Includes Goal Orientation (setting clear objectives) and Achievement Orientation (focusing on and achieving goals).

Challenge: Comprises Risk Orientation (willingness to step out of your comfort zone) and Learning Orientation (embracing learning from both successes and failures).

Confidence: Involves Confidence in Abilities (believing in your skills and knowledge) and Interpersonal Confidence (feeling assured in interactions with others).

How does Mental Toughness benefit performance?

Mentally tough individuals are better equipped to handle pressure, setbacks, and distractions. They can maintain focus, commitment, and motivation even in demanding situations. This resilience contributes to consistent high performance across various domains, including sports, work, and personal life.

Is high Mental Toughness always a positive trait?

While high Mental Toughness is generally beneficial, it’s important to strike a balance. Individuals with extremely high Mental Toughness might be prone to stubbornness, recklessness, or burnout if they ignore signs of stress or push themselves beyond reasonable limits. Self-awareness is crucial to leverage the strengths of Mental Toughness while mitigating potential downsides.

Can Mental Toughness be measured?

While you can’t physically “see” Mental Toughness, its presence can be inferred from an individual’s behaviour. There are also psychometric tools, like the Mental Toughness Questionnaire (MTQ), which measure the eight components of Mental Toughness, providing a quantifiable assessment of an individual’s strengths and weaknesses in this area.

Can Mental Toughness be developed?

Yes, Mental Toughness can be developed like any other skill. You can work on strengthening specific elements of the 4C’s model where you identify weaknesses. By focusing on both your strengths (“superpowers”) and weaknesses (“Achilles’ tendons”), you will see an improvement in your overall Mental Toughness. This development might involve setting specific goals, practicing emotional regulation techniques, or seeking challenges outside your comfort zone.

If you would like to discuss anything related to Mental Toughness, do not hesitate to contact me: boblarcher@boblarcher.com

Bob

I help people to develop their interpersonal skills, usually within a leadership or teamwork context. If you are looking to develop your leadership, I might be able to help. I’ve been doing this for almost 40 years; roughly four thousand days of seminars, workshops, conferences, coaching, offsites, webinars, etc. – put back-to-back that makes almost ten “full” years.

boblarcher.com

The post Seven Mental Toughness Questions appeared first on BobLarcher.

The aircraft has been cleaned and is sitting empty on the tarmac – no pressure, no stress. The pilot starts up the APU, the cabin crew are onboard, and the engines are starting to turn; maybe a bit of flexion of the wings but nothing to worry about.

The passengers start boarding, luggage is being put into the hold and the engines are turning slightly faster – a bit of vibration in the wing but nothing the wing of an A350- 1000 can’t handle. The aircraft has been towed out of its parking lot and is on the runway ready for take-off, the engines are winding up; the breaks are off and the plane is thundering down the runway ….. V1 …. VR and finally V2, the flaps are angled, and the wheels are off the ground – there is now a fair amount of stress on the wings, the leading edge is under pressure and gravity doesn’t want the plane to stay in the air. But it does!!

As the flight progresses, the plane will go through zones of turbulence, temperature changes and different weather conditions; all of this causes pressure and stress on the wing, but the wing holds up and lands safely at St. Denis in a temperature of 40°C – having left Orly at a wintry -2°C.

Now let’s take a look at us. There we are on our way to work, listening to the radio, maybe a bit apprehensive about the day to come but not under pressure and not feeling particularly stressed.

We park our car, and the first SMS arrives, a colleague needs to see us to discuss a lead-time slippage on an important project – the first pressure & stress.

Walking quickly to the office, the telephone rings and it’s the boss wanting you to go directly to his/her office to discuss an urgent problem – more potential pressure and stress.

And so, the day goes on; difficult meetings, a negotiation with a supplier, a report to finish without all the information available, work to reschedule …………. and just as you are about to go into an end of the day meeting, your spouse rings you asking you to pick up your son at school …….!!

How are you at the end of your day!?!?

Let’s go back to our aircraft wing. So, why doesn’t the aircraft wing give in to all the pressure and stress it is exposed to?

Wings are designed by engineers who understand strengths of materials; they will have chosen highly resistant and “tough” materials (all materials are tough, but some are tougher than others), they have calculated “rupture” stress and have built in margins, they will have strengthened and “toughened” certain parts of the wing, they will have reinforced the parts of the wing more “exposed” to pressure and they will have tested the wings under extreme conditions to insure the overall “wellbeing” of the wing.

Also, the wings are regularly inspected for signs of stress and fatigue, moving parts are oiled and greased and other parts are cleaned.

There is, obviously, a big difference between an aircraft wing and us.

Aircraft wings are fairly “predictable” in how they will perform under pressure and when they will rupture, we are much less predictable, and no two people will react exactly the same way to pressure.

However, we are similar to an aircraft wing in that we can “toughen” ourselves; engineers will use tempered metals, reinforced hinges, toughened fasteners, etc., i.e. they will work on the different components of the wing. Just as we can work on and develop ourselves; we can develop the control we have over our lives; we can develop our commitment to getting things done, we can develop our capacity to get out of our comfort zone and seek challenges and we can develop the confidence we have in our skills and in ourselves.

In order for us to “survive” the pressure and stress we experience at work; we need to apply the same principles as stress engineers.

Firstly, we need to be in good shape and our “critical components” need to be looked after, eating, drinking, sleeping, etc. We need to be aware of our limits and stay within our margins.

Secondly, we need down-time; we need some “laminar flow” during our turbulent days.

Thirdly we need to look after ourselves, exercising regularly, health checks, etc.

Metal toughness contributes to the absorption of energy and plastic deformation without fracturing

Mental Toughness contributes to positive behaviour, increased performance and better wellbeing.

If you would like to read more about Mental Toughness you can do so here: www.boblarcher.com/category/mental-toughness/

If you would like to evaluate, explore and develop your Mental Toughness, do not hesitate to contact me at boblarcher@boblarcher.com

Bob

I help people to develop their interpersonal skills, usually within a leadership or teamwork context. If you are looking to develop your leadership, I might be able to help. I’ve been doing this for almost 40 years; roughly four thousand days of seminars, workshops, conferences, coaching, offsites, webinars, etc. – put back-to-back that makes almost ten “full” years.

boblarcher.com

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