People often equate athlete mental toughness with a relentless grind, but that effort can easily lead to exhaustion if you’re not careful. We hear it all the time. As I’m writing this, I’m reminded of a story Rick Ross tells in his book “Hurricanes” about how he was hospitalized after he famously suffered a seizure from pushing nonstop and abusing drugs along the way.
Whether mentally, physically, or emotionally, we all have breaking points.
I recently had a casual conversation with a woman who wanted to know how to balance out being mentally tough and pushing to reach her goals without as she put it, “hitting a wall of exhaustion.” She described it as an endless cycle: Going, going, going, and then hitting the wall.
This woman was determined to push past her limitations so that nothing stood in the way of reaching her goal. What she was missing was that she was putting in so much effort, she was actually overly expending her energy by over-compensating in her actions.
I didn’t get to have too deep of a conversation with her, but I suspect that the reason for all this “effort” had something to do with underlying worries, fears, and doubts. Going another layer deeper, it may not have been just her physical output, but the stress she felt to put in that effort.
Her approach to “mental toughness” probably needed some tweaking.
Consider for a moment that being in a constant state of an outpouring of energy is not only exhausting; it’s physically impossible to maintain. Secondly, mental toughness requires trust, so if you’re so busy “doing,” there’s no room for trust or faith.
Yes, sometimes being mentally tough means pushing past limitations and doing things you don’t feel like doing, but it also doesn’t mean sacrificing your health or suffering to do so. Mental toughness also means trusting that the work that you are doing is enough, which means you have to learn to trust in yourself. Developing trust can also help with stress management.
Learn to put forth effort and conserve energy by setting boundaries, and also by understanding your emotional relationship to the actions that you’re taking. Ask yourself questions like:
Need someone to hold a safe, confidential space for you so you can unpack the heavy stuff? Join a one-on-one VIP coaching program with me so you can develop the trust, confidence, permission, and resiliency to overcome conflict and enjoy inner peace.
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