Kobe Bryant's Definition of Mental Toughness
Kobe Bryant defines mental toughness as the ability to take your mind to a place where the thing that was bothering you is no longer a focus. It is not about gritting your way through everything and ignoring all pain, but about emotional regulation and controlling your emotions when there is a job to be done.
Teddy Mitrosilis
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How Kobe Bryant defines mental toughness:
— Teddy Mitrosilis (@TMitrosilis) March 14, 2023
"When you're going through a tough time, you can take your mind someplace else to the point that the thing that was bothering you is no longer a focus."pic.twitter.com/sTb4aiUXKI -
There are so many layers to mental toughness.
— Teddy Mitrosilis (@TMitrosilis) March 14, 2023
It's not about gritting your way through everything and ignoring all pain.
Pain is information that needs to be interpreted. -
What I think Kobe is describing here is emotional regulation.
— Teddy Mitrosilis (@TMitrosilis) March 14, 2023
The ability to control your emotions when there's a job to be done.
It's an essential skill for all of us, not just athletes. -
The Navy SEALs have an ethos.
— Teddy Mitrosilis (@TMitrosilis) March 14, 2023
One part of it reads:
"The ability to control my emotions and my actions, regardless of circumstance, sets me apart."
This is mental toughness. -
I'm currently studying mental toughness and will write more about it in The Process.
— Teddy Mitrosilis (@TMitrosilis) March 14, 2023
Follow me @TMitrosilis for more on this. -
Mental toughness is also knowing when NOT to take your mind to another place.
— Teddy Mitrosilis (@TMitrosilis) March 14, 2023
There's a time when you need to confront the pain and deal with it.
You can't always go to "someplace else."