The Ultimate Mental Toughness Exercises

Mental toughness is a concept most people assume they know the meaning of ... but are almost always wrong.

They look at it as something that only certain people are “blessed” with.

They think of it as something that just isn’t possible for them … that they weren’t meant to be mentally tough.

As someone who once had these same beliefs … let me tell you something…

Mental toughness is absolutely obtainable.

It’s within your grasp.

And I’m going to share with you 8 mental toughness exercises that you can do to develop the skill of mental toughness so that you can become the person you’ve always wanted to be.

The first mental toughness exercise you can do is this…

1. Practice delayed gratification

In today’s world, we can get ahold of almost everything we could ever want or need with a couple of clicks.

While the ease of accessibility has made things like knowledge, information, and opportunity more readily available … we’ve lost sight of the benefits of delayed gratification.

Delayed gratification is a powerful tool that most people don’t have the patience to ever experience the benefits of.

In fact, most of the amazing things in my life have come as a result of delayed gratification.

Because I understand the power of investing my time, energy, and resources now for a greater life in the future … the power of compounding interest has time to work in my favor.

However, if you don’t develop the mental toughness to say “no” to what you want in the moment … then you won’t ever be able to experience the benefits of delayed gratification.

Another mental toughness exercise you can do is…

2. Practice gratitude

Let me ask you a question … when was the last time you looked around and realized how good you actually have it?

In today’s victim culture … It's far too common for people to compare themselves to what they see on social media.

While I do believe there are SOME benefits to comparing where you’re at to where you want to be … most people choose to not do anything about it and embrace the victim mentality.

Instead of using comparison as a method of cultivating discipline that produces action … they make their identity based around how they’re a victim and focusing on what they don’t have.

Don’t be this person.

Make it a point every day to give thanks for the positive things in your life.

Because when things get hard … and you feel like throwing in the towel … you’ll need every ounce of motivation you can get to keep going.

You can keep a list on your phone … have a picture hung up somewhere to remind you … or whatever works best for you.

The important thing is that you take time every day to remind yourself of the positive things you DO have to be thankful for.

Any time you can replace negative thoughts with positive ones … you’re giving yourself the mental boost you need to overcome obstacles and achieve your goals.

The next mental toughness exercise you can do is this…

3. Practice Being a Realist

There are two kinds of people…

Realists and idealists.

Idealists like to think about what could be.

Or how they want something to be.

Now, is there a time and place for that? Absolutely.

However, when it comes to exercising and developing mental toughness … you need to be able to look at things for what they are.

It’s black and white.

You’re either doing what you need to do … or you aren’t.

You’re either taking care of your body … or you aren’t.

You’re either putting useful and practical knowledge into your brain … or you aren’t.

You need to be able to be honest with yourself about where you’re truly at.

No sugar coating … no cutting yourself some slack … we are trying to cultivate and build mental toughness.

You need to be able to look at situations from a realists perspective.

This way, you know the truth about the situation and know exactly what needs to be done so that you can start taking action toward it.

Once you know exactly where you’re at … your focus can then move toward turning your weaknesses into your strengths.

4. Try new things

This mental toughness exercise is extremely important … because you can’t be mentally tough and hide inside of your comfort zone – those two things can’t coexist.

A cornerstone of a mentally tough person is their willingness to innovate, push boundaries, and continuously raise their standards.

The reason this is so important is because that’s where progress happens.

The spaces outside of your comfort zone are where you learn and gain new knowledge and skills.

Mentally tough people realize they also can’t have all of their eggs in one basket.

By trying new things, they can end up finding plenty of new interests … which can also open the door for countless new opportunities.

Not to mention, when you try new things … you also develop an entirely new set of skills … which in return, will help you become a more well-rounded and developed person.

Try new things … constantly raise your standards … and you will begin to evolve into the person you’ve always wanted to become.

5. Embrace failure

What’s the biggest reason people avoid trying new things? Potential failure.

They don’t want to waste their time.

They don’t want to put in the effort just to have it amount to nothing.

But more importantly … they don’t want to be embarrassed.

They don’t want to fall on their face.

They don’t want to be called a quitter.

This mental toughness exercise is absolutely critical to your future success.

Because if you want to achieve big things … you WILL find yourself in situations that you haven’t faced before.

Which means you will inevitably need to develop new skills & learn from mistakes you make along the way.

But if you’re too afraid to take those leaps of faith in the first place … you’ll never open yourself up for opportunities to build your skillset. 

The mentally tough person realizes that embracing failure is a part of the journey and that it’s impossible to grow without failing.

Mentally tough people know they’re going to fail … a lot.

What sets them apart and makes them mentally tough is how they view those failures and continue to persevere.

Mentally tough people don’t see failure as “the end” … they see it as an opportunity to learn.

The average person fails and then immediately throws in the towel.

They choose to only focus on the fact that they failed … instead of focusing on what they learned. 

The mentally tough person analyzes their failures.

They want to know what went wrong … how it went wrong … and most importantly … how to fix it for the next time.

They repeat this cycle over and over until eventually … they succeed!

Throughout the entire journey, they gain knowledge … even from their mistakes.

They can then apply that knowledge to any other new experience they choose to embark on, and continue to increase their chances of success.

6. Admit to mistakes

The mentally tough person is okay with admitting they’re not perfect and that they make mistakes. They know this, and know that it’s actually a good thing.

Because if you’re not making mistakes … then you’re not putting yourself in new situations to learn from.

When I see a person who thinks they are perfect, I don’t see that as a strength or that they are confident … I see them as someone who is actually very weak-minded.

I see someone who is full of insecurities.

I see someone who will never make it as a leader.

I see someone who most likely won’t succeed at anything.

Nobody wants to fail … or make mistakes.

In fact, our natural instinct is to run away from or ignore them.

That’s exactly why it takes a mentally tough person to admit to them and most importantly … take action on fixing them.

Hiding and ignoring your mistakes only puts you in the way of yourself and further progress. 

On top of that, admitting to a mistake is admirable.

Successful people know how hard it is to do that … which is why most people won’t do it!

By owning up to your mistakes … you’re not only giving yourself the opportunity to grow … but you’re going to earn the trust and respect of those around you.

These two things are going to go a long way if you want to become, or remain, a leader.

Even if you don’t, all relationships (business, personal, and romantic) in your life will benefit greatly from admitting to your mistakes.

It shows you are a strong, secure, and trustworthy person that’s worth the investment of time and effort.

7. Do things you don’t want to

Want a mental toughness exercise that’s tried & true?

Start knocking out the tasks you dread as soon as they come up.

By doing this … you’re going to build character AND mental toughness, quickly.

The tasks you don’t want to do aren’t going to go away just because you wish they would…

Nobody is going to come and do them for you.

What they ARE going to do is linger in the back of your mind.

They’re going to distract you any chance they get, and they’re going to send those feelings of dread over you until you take care of them.

Not to mention, those lingering tasks will destroy your confidence because you know in the back of your head that you’re not doing the things you need to.

So, until you complete those tasks you’re putting off … there is no way you can put your focus on the other things you need to do.

That means everything else you do, besides that task, is going to be done half-assed.

And guess what?

You’re still going to have to do that task eventually.

Mentally tough people realize tasks (especially tasks you don’t want to do) should be completed as soon as they come up.

First off, the sooner they’re finished, the sooner they are off your mind and no longer an issue. 

But they’re also the thing that’s standing between you and happiness.

Think about it, the longer you spend each day, week, month, etc. not taking care of these tasks … the longer they weigh on you.

However, if you complete them as soon as they come up, there is no procrastination.

There is no distraction.

There is no dread.

You just do it, suffer for only the length of time to completion, and move on to the next thing.

If you add up all the time you’ve spent worrying and dreading over these tasks … I guarantee you’re going to be shocked at how much of your time you’ve wasted that could have been spent focused on other things that you actually enjoy doing.

This mental toughness exercise is something that I practice every chance I get … and once you begin to do this yourself, you’ll understand why.

8. Define your goals

This may seem like a no-brainer … yet most people don’t take the time to do it.

By defining and setting clear goals … you’re now able to lay out a clear path to success.

Imagine if you were to set out on a road trip with no destination in mind.

It would be a complete waste of time and total chaos.

You wouldn’t know what to pack.

You wouldn’t have any idea on potential costs.

And most of all … you probably wouldn’t even enjoy it because you’ll be too busy spending time trying to figure out what you’re doing, where you’re going, and how you’re going to pull it off.

Mentally tough people understand that clearly defining their goals is the only way they’re going to succeed in fulfilling them.

Once they define their goals … they can then make sure that all of their actions have intention behind them.

There is no wasted time … and there are no wasted efforts.

All of their momentum, thoughts, and actions are geared toward achieving their goals, and because of that, they achieve more of them at a much higher rate.

By implementing these 8 mental toughness exercises into your life … you will undoubtedly become more mentally strong … and become the person who is capable of achieving whatever you want.

How do I know this to be true?

Because years ago, I realized that I wasn’t accomplishing the things I wanted to.

Even if I focused on one area … I would end up slacking off in other areas, and end up back at the same place.

I realized that developing my mental toughness and doing the mental toughness exercises that I mentioned about above was the answer I was looking for to help me achieve everything I wanted.

But, if you’re looking for more ways to cultivate mental toughness … there’s a free program that I created called 75 HARD.

75 HARD is THE ultimate mental toughness program designed to rewire your brain in 75 days so that you can take control of your life … and develop the mental toughness needed to accomplish whatever you set out to do.

To learn more about 75 HARD …tap here to get all the information sent straight to your inbox.