Life is going to be hard and present you with situations that are extremely challenging.- no matter who you are or what you do. 

However there is a big difference between the people who make it through these hard times and those who don’t:

Mental Toughness

This is the difference between staying where you are now or changing your life for the better. It is a cultivate skill that propels you towards building the life you truly want instead of staying where you are. 

It is staying comfortable in the uncomfortable. Rejecting pity for yourself and choosing growth instead of seeking comfort. Your ability to endure through the pain and struggle no matter how badly you want to quit. That is mental toughness. 

Mentally tough people have worked just like elite athletes do increasing their endurance and strength to develop their mental strength. It is about adopting  the habits and traits to develop toughness. 

There are a few rules to stand by in order to make these changes. 

DO NOT feel sorry for yourself

Life is not fair. This is a straight fact that you need to accept. Each days brings new challenges and obstacles that push your limits. 

IT. HAPPENS. TO. EVERYONE. You are not special. 

You cannot sit around and feel sorry for yourself. Getting mad is one thing, but using that anger to productively make your life better is a whole other positive outcome. 

Embrace the change

Change is hard. Another straight fact. 

Change is uncomfortable and challenging but improving your life requires these things.

If you want to work on making things better for yourself, you must start embracing the change. The struggles are opportunity to grow and becoming a better version of yourself.

Focus on what you can control

Let’s say your flight is delayed because of a thunderstorm.There's nothing you can do to control the weather, so worrying about it won't make the storm go away. 

You can control the work you get done.

You can control the calls you make.

You can control what you eat & drink.

You can control your positive or negative mindset.

So while the flight itself may not be in your control, everything related to it is. 

This is an absolute key when it comes to becoming mentally tough. 

You need to be aware of all the things that are affecting you and your life & not dwell on uncontrollable. 

Let the universe handle what you can’t and focus on the things you CAN control.

Focusing on the  uncontrollables is a huge road block to becoming the best version of yourself. 

Learn from the past and grow from it

Practice makes perfect. 

It is something we grew up hearing, whether, writing letters, sports, instrument or even choir. 

You will never develop mental toughness unless you are willing to face your past learning from it - including all the dumb things - and do better next time. 

You shouldn’t dwell on the past and let it negatively affect your mindset. You need to learn from it so the same mistakes aren’t repeated over and over. 

When you use your past experiences to grow and become a better human you can better recognize when a situation needs to be addressed to benefit your future and grow from it. 

Self-awareness is mandatory to stop repeating the same mistakes. 

Set boundaries for yourself and stick with them

Taking risks in life is necessary. 

If you have goals the only way to make a change and have positive progress is to get uncomfortable and take a risk. 

At the same time you have to know when to draw the line. 

It is about putting yourself and goals first and saying no to people who are holding you back. 

It is also important o step on the gas when it is time and chase your goals. 

The most beneficial thing you can do is saying no to things that aren’t positive outcomes or your future success. 

It is uncomfortable at first, but when you come to the realization of saying no at the right time, you will have no problem saying it when it is necessary. 

Define your own success

We grow up being told going to college, working a 9-5 owning the average home is successful. When in reality it is average. 

Don’t take this the wrong way but but YOU are not like most people. 

You have greater goals, but the best things in life are NOT given to you, they are earned. 

It takes a great deal of mental toughness to reach this. 

It comes down to your vision. Majority of folks do not understand your vision or see you working towards your dreams. 

You will be labeled as a human wasting their time, not taking life seriously. 

They are about dragging you down to their average level. Since you are trying to become better than they are with your goals, vision and dreams, they will try and drag you down to their level. 

YOU know what YOU want. Do not them them fool you into thinking you are failing or wasting your time. 

You define what true success if your yourself. Chase it with everything you have. 

Learn to live with discomfort

Change comes at a big cost: 

Giant paychecks come with long hours of work week days and weekends becoming a human of true value and significance.

Being an elite athlete comes with hours outside of practice & drills.

Losing weight comes with following a nutrition, recovery & training plan consistently. 

No matter what you want to do, everything has its own price. 

It may get uncomfortable but the sacrifices are necessary for you to reach your goals and live the life you truly want to live. 

You learn to deal with discomfort and use the pressure created as a driving force to perform better.

From time to time it is good to seek out discomfort. Stay comfortable being uncomfortable. It helps you grow and become a mentally tough person. 

These people are the ones who rule the world. The mentally weak rarely do anything great.  You have to put in the effort becoming a mentally tough human - otherwise you can continue to never see a change. 

STAY UNCOMFORTABLE BEING UNCOMFORTABLE. ON PERCENT BETTER EVERY DAY.