Toughness – Forge

Bleed A Little.

From our Manifesto…

‘If it doesn’t hurt yet, if your eyes aren’t stinging with sweat and your feet aren’t blistered from blazing trails barefoot in the wild, you’re not working hard enough. Pack the gauze and duct tape and get moving.’

One of the tools that contributes to perseverance is toughness.  Like all 3rdNut qualities, being tough is more about what’s going on in that melon of yours than about physical endurance (though that helps too).  Just like lifting weights to make your muscles bulge, toughness can be grown with intentional, consistent practice.  The more reps, the stronger.  

And just like any other useful human behavior, toughness is something that requires work and practice, BUT it is inspiration that can really give you that push off the ledge, that extra little motivation that gives you an edge.  There are some incredible stories of survival, overcoming and perseverance that motivate and put things in perspective.  Just watch the story of our 3rdNut Courage Master Brad Fite,  This story is incredible and illustrates just the kind of power that you have in you when you choose to use it.

Having a commitment in place, having a goal and outcome seared into your mind is what really enables you to handle physical and emotional pain that would make others quit.  Make sure that you are constantly feeding your vision of where you will be….what you want to accomplish, and then being tough becomes just another part of your plan.  To accomplish anything truly meaningful in life is going to require discipline, sacrifice and hard work…being TOUGH.

Watch Brad’s unbelievable story here and be inspired by just how tough we humans can become when we are determined to reach our goals: https://vimeo.com/197798038

“Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory.” – Bill Russell

WRANGLE YOUR EMOTIONS.

Not to get all zen on you, but emotions make or break you.  3rdNutters aren’t emotionless or cold, but rather have a handle on the ebb and flow of their moods and state of mind.  So do you have yours in check?  We feel the need to emphasize again – this isn’t about repressed feelings, stoicism, or sappy sentimentalism.  It’s about being aware of what makes you tick, what makes you explode, and what you can do to keep your cool no matter what’s happening around you.  Never delved into this world?  Now’s an excellent time to start. Take this week to be hyper-conscious about how you’re feeling in situations, and how you react based on those feelings.

CUT THE COMPLAINING.

If you were faced with the option of climbing a mountain with an ultra-light hydration day pack or a 50 pound bag of rocks, the choice of what to bring would be obvious: one won’t weigh you down too much and provides life-sustaining liquid, while the other offers no benefit (unless you’re attempting to break a world record for carrying useless items up an incline).  Guess which one complaining equates to. Yep, you got it.  Dead weight. Not only does complaining slow you down physically – you’ve just wasted valuable time –, it also zaps your mental energy by bringing you down emotionally and slows the momentum you’ve worked so hard to build up.

This idea takes us back to that discussion we had about responsibility: complainers are choosing to be victims, and that is just plain repulsive to any 3rdNutter.  When the urge to complain strikes, suck it up and choose to focus on a solution to the issue at hand.

ACTIONS TO TAKE THIS WEEK.

• Pay attention to the words that come out of your mouth this week and the thoughts that cross your mind.  Make a note each time you find yourself in a complaining mode.
• For each of these take a moment to reflect on how you could turn the complaint into an opportunity to seek a solution.
• Get out and do something physical.  Nothing gets the juices flowing and the energy you need to overcome, like taking yourself outdoors for a run, walk or hike.  Take a badass friend with you.