As coaches, we are 'in the arena', but moreover, we help our players develop the tools needed to compete at the highest level, to overcome adversity, and to become resilient.
Resilience lives throughout society, but special forces warriors face mission-critical inherent challenges.
Former SEAL Eric Greitens argues that we can develop resilience. In Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life, Greitens writes, “Practice builds habits. Our habits are our character. When it comes to virtue, practice “makes a very great difference—or rather, all the difference.”
He reminds us of the cost, sharing “Courage overcomes, but does not replace, fear. Joy overcomes, but does not replace pain.”
In Ten-Minute Toughness, Jason Selk discusses specific measures to build mental toughness - breathing exercise, identity and performance statements, and visualization using a 'personal highlight reel'. These measures combine physiologic benefits of controlled breathing and self-talk about who we are, how we act, and how we've succeeded.
Michael Jordan, "I can accept failure; I cannot accept not trying." How did that work out for him?
Dr. Sean Richardson, "If you're a leader, get people to focus on actions, not results." Convince people that what matters most is "getting after it."