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Ask HN: How do you guys develop mental toughness?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you guys develop mental toughness?

#31
Why would you want to develop "intellectual mental toughness", how do you define it?

Edit:

Okay googling a bit, I think mental toughness is an incredibly poor name for the concept. I'm this close to put that "mental toughness" name into the "toxic masculinity" box.

My advice would be don't be afraid to make mistakes, and be kind to yourself when you make some. I've noticed that when facing failure the best pattern would be to pardon yourself and allow yourself to learn from it. Take a step back.

Re: Ask HN: How do you guys develop mental toughness?

#33
post #24

Some ways of putting psychological stress on yourself: - Public speaking - Taking on leadership roles - Do things that are counter to your personality. Eg, if you're shy, force yourself to talk to strangers on the street - Put yourself in situations where you will probably face rejection - Do things that will make you stick out. Eg: showing up at work one day in a suit when everyone else is wearing t-shirts. Or vice-…

- Take a flight to a random foreign country where you don't know the local language, and where most people don't know English. No hotel reservations in advance, no laptop, no smartphone, minimal budget. Figure out how to survive and visit the city's major landmarks over the following 5 days. Bonus points if it's a developing country This could result in you being more than just psychologically uncomfortable. Tourists…

Yes on the visa point - can't be totally random. The rest you can.

I'm about to embark on a 3 week trip through south east asia. Aside from my liveaboard where I'll be living on a boat and diving (which I have to book in advance), I haven't booked a single accommodation. It can be done; hostels all the way.

Re: Ask HN: How do you guys develop mental toughness?

#34
I shot skeet competitively when I was younger. I competed at a high level. Unlike many other sports where competitors affect your play, the only reason you fail in skeet is because of you. The target will fly the same. The gun and ammunition will perform.

The outcome of any one event is Boolean: you hit the target or you miss. Feedback is instant.

You have to learn to put your mind into the zone. You do that through repetition. While competing, if you worry about your competitor, or the next shot, or how you look, you will miss. Coincidentally, you learn to turn off your brain from trying too hard. A relaxed brain and body are quicker to react, and more powerful.

I leaned mental toughness through a game with small Boolean feedback, which rewards focus and rejects excessive effort. It is like instant feedback on meditation.

Re: Ask HN: How do you guys develop mental toughness?

#35
post #22

Practicing MMA (but any single art like Boxing, Wrestling, Muy Thai, etc would work) has definitely boosted my mental toughness. Once you step into a ring with someone who is trying to attack you, and come out okay, you realize you can handle pretty much anything. Even if you don't spar, simply motivating yourself to go to practice can be tough. If you can walk into a room knowing you're going to be pinned and choked…

I agree with this 100%. Though I only do grappling and not any striking (BJJ and Submission Wrestling).

When I did my first competition, locking eyes with my opponent knowing he will do everything he can do to choke me, break my joints and knowing I voluntarily put myself there, it changed me :)

I especially like how you frame your last sentence. Since martial arts can sometimes be uncomfortable physically, like you I have noticed is that things that used to be uncomfortable are not as uncomfortable as being pinned down by someone much larger than you. I consciously remind myself of this if I ever feel nervous about something, and it works almost every time.

I've also read the book by Goggins (loved it) and martial arts really build up your "cookie jar".

Re: Ask HN: How do you guys develop mental toughness?

#37
post #22

Practicing MMA (but any single art like Boxing, Wrestling, Muy Thai, etc would work) has definitely boosted my mental toughness. Once you step into a ring with someone who is trying to attack you, and come out okay, you realize you can handle pretty much anything. Even if you don't spar, simply motivating yourself to go to practice can be tough. If you can walk into a room knowing you're going to be pinned and choked…

I don’t agree with this at all, having boxed (and sparred) for a while. Getting punched in the face hurts a bit, and that’s about it.

Re: Ask HN: How do you guys develop mental toughness?

#38
I'll give you the same advice everyone else is, but word it slightly differently, because thinking this way really helped me: Be OK in your own vulnerability.

'Toughness' implies some sort of everything-proof shield that you expose to different stimulus to gain 'immunity' from it. I've seen advice that follows this line of thought: eg you quit bathing for a week and become 'immune' to some specific social judgements, you go to some extreme sport to be 'immune' from the fear associated with it, etc.

The problem with the above is it starts feeding into this weird 'detached, tough guy' persona that cracks as soon as you realize something has gotten to you. You think "oh no, this thing isn't one of the many things I'm immune from!" and will try to counter it with some sort of extreme, tough-guy exposure. Until the next thing gets to you. Etc.

Rather than doing that, you should realize what creates the toughness in the first place: it's being vulnerable (physically, emotionally, intellectually, etc.) and realizing it's an OK state to be in. Even if you're in a vulnerable state, you've "got it", you'll make it out of it, it's not the end of the world, etc.

Now, you can practice this by putting yourself into vulnerable states and showing yourself that you survive them (but you have to remember to let yourself generalize so you don't get stuck in the 'tough guy' mentality I described above) OR you can explore the concept of vulnerability in general and learn to be OK with it. I recommend the latter :)

To that end, I really liked "the gifts of imperfection".

Re: Ask HN: How do you guys develop mental toughness?

#40
post #24

Some ways of putting psychological stress on yourself: - Public speaking - Taking on leadership roles - Do things that are counter to your personality. Eg, if you're shy, force yourself to talk to strangers on the street - Put yourself in situations where you will probably face rejection - Do things that will make you stick out. Eg: showing up at work one day in a suit when everyone else is wearing t-shirts. Or vice-…

- Do things that will make you stick out. Eg: showing up at work one day in a suit when everyone else is wearing t-shirts. Or vice-versa

If you do this prepare for a raft of questions / meetings with you asking if you have a job interview or something today. Are you thinking about leaving? Are you sure you're happy here etc etc... :D

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