The Strycharczyk and Clough definition of mental toughness, and the MTQ 4C’s framework that supports it, focuses on resilience and confidence and their related attributes that enable you to perform at your best, whatever the circumstances.
In developing your mental toughness it helps to understand and articulate in your own mind the words or images that best represent mental toughness to you.
The four words that resonate most to me are:
- Measured
- Resolute
- Courageous
- Positive
These words frame the way I think, and hopefully behave, from a mentally tough perspective.
I have these displayed in a word cloud along with 26 other ‘mentally tough’ words.
Please send me the four words that frame mental toughness for you, either from the list below or beyond and I will feature your Mental Toughness Word cloud in the near future.
Thirty ‘Mentally Tough’ Words
- Alert
- Attentive
- Bold
- Calm
- Capable
- Committed
- Confident
- Considered
- Consistent
- Controlling
- Courageous
- Decisive
- Deliberate
- Determined
- Disciplined
- Driven
- Effective
- Focused
- Measured
- Persistent
- Positive
- Productive
- Purposeful
- Reliable
- Resilient
- Resolute
- Responsive
- Stable
- Steadfast
- Tough
My chosen four words are Measured, Resolute, Positive and Courageous and the reasons are below.
In my world resilience is the foundation, which underpins the construct of mental toughness, and two ‘resilience’ words that appear in my top 4 are:
Measured
I think measured is the ‘big brother’ of calmand is defined as, “carefully considered and restrained”. It represents the ability to respond to situations we face in an objective, non-emotive way, which enables us to circumvent the negative effects of uncontrolled emotion on a decision or situation.
Resolute
No matter that this is one of my favourite words but the definition “admirably purposeful, determined, and unwavering” gives the clear instruction of an intense focus on achieving your goal, no matter the circumstances. There are no excuses for not finishing the exercise. It’s akin to a line in the sand behind you, beyond which you cannot retreat.
If resilience is the foundation to mental toughness then confidence is the edifice – the ability to push on and build a bank of competence, capability and positivity to make the most of opportunities as they arise.
The two ‘confidence’ words, which appear in my Top 4, are Courageous and Positive.
Courageous
The definition “brave, not deterred by danger or pain”, represents the importance of sometimes needing to be bold and fearless and taking action that is beyond one’s comfort zone. Often in these situations you feel alone for this key decision or moment.
Positive
Together with the courage you need to be “constructive, optimistic, or confident “. Being positive is essential for mental toughness because it allows you to frame your world in a way that keeps you away from falling into the dangerous whirlpools of negativity.