Talking to sports people, especially the Olympians one ought to discover that, there is more to success than just the final show, which is visible to us on the competition day. Some have records after records or few broken ribs and a lot of disappointments along the path to reaching their potential.

You may not be into sports, but whatever you are currently working on, be it a profession you are trying to grow, studies you are fighting to complete, a business you are pushing for breakthrough, absolutely whatever that demands that you put in some personal effort. I have no doubt, mental toughness plays a role in all that.

Beyond the physical energy and capacity, most life’s battles are fought in our minds and hearts, once we win in our minds and hearts, we are destined for success. It is amazing how we can propel beyond the ordinary to extra-ordinary by just that simple journey to our mind or to our heart.

Who determines when to quit?

I have observed many a times at how we easily give up on our cause, because we let outside and unclaimed forces dictate our fate. Lack of personal confidence along our journey very often cost our breakthroughs, that could have helped us to rewrite history.

Focusing on the tedium instead of focusing on the horizon has many consequences on determining whether we reach our potential or not. Many are opinions that are readily available to suggest otherwise. The tenacity to forge ahead midst such opinions and remain focused towards the goal is what makes us ready for victory.

The small voice inside each and every one of us, which can easily be shattered by what we physically see in the real world, in many cases, is what we need to pay attention to. That string of hope that is left when all we could visually see is gone. What we forget to recall sometimes is that, it is the empty vessels that make a lot of noise, hence a call to pay attention to the silent and forward pushing, I can do it faint yell deep inside us, shouting at a very distant, ‘bravo, you can do it!’

Ideally who determines when to quit is ourselves giving in to the surrounding noise. We wrestle with nature to reverse our planned destiny, because we failed to pull just one more lap to finish the race. When we are the hardest hit, thus when we should stick to the fight.

When all hope is gone?

It’s easier to sit down and counsel when you still have hope for another chance. What if when all hope is totally gone, you are basically plain blank out and can’t figure out any other alternative. This is where we say beyond your breaking point, is the beginning of all greatness. The mind is so powerful; it can carry you beyond all such limits, physically you may no longer be able to carry on, but your mind can finish the race for you.

What the mind can visualise, it can be achieved, so give it a go, let it carry you beyond the physical limitations. This is where we shout, “Don’t Quit!” If you have watched the movie, Facing the Giants, Grant tries to inspire his team to use faith to conquer fear and opposing teams. There you have it, most often, when all hope is gone, fear kicks in and if we give it an opportunity, it reigns and cripple us for good.

When all hope is gone, fight fear. How? Shatter the noise away and focus on the positives. Anything that sends wrong signals, clear it off your way. The positives may not necessarily be nice and comforting words you are yearning to hear at that moment, No!! Your coach’s voice that is shouting and asking, “Hey, What are you doing?” may be the very positive message you want to hear at this moment, that which forces you not to be complacent but to fight beyond the usual.

Hold on Just one more time.

Let me speak to times when all we could see is darkness and no near sign of light, the all hope is gone phase, all is lost moment. This is the crucial moment to hang-on there. What do I hang-on to when all is plain around me, nothing to lean on? You will certainly be right, but find something deep inside of you that will help you to stand even when you are shivering, bruised, feel useless or any worse state you feel you are in at that moment. There is power in just one dream that you believe in so much, to take you through that moment. If you are a parent for instance, you may want your children to be your reason to give you that extraordinary energy to pull through.

There are times when you feel even coaching or counselling is doing you no good, hang-on there, this is the time to lean of your reason for what you believe in, what you are determined to achieve and the milestone you are prepared to reach, Just hang on, one more time and push forward.

This is when mental toughness needs to be invoked, fighting beyond any physical pain, going the extra mile and having the kind of faith that moves mountains.

Let’s be practical for a moment

So what does it take to reach my potential say I am pursuing an online business? Great question, it takes more than just being a great website builder, blogger, twitter or a Facebook guru. It takes consistency, focus, and failure after failure. It takes not giving up when you can’t seem to be visualising any results. It takes dedication towards learning and understanding your chosen niche and type of business. Learning over and over again and staying up to date with what is transpiring in your line of business. Above all, it takes mental toughness to continue pushing forward.

To reach your potential certainly requires you to define what your potential is? If it is not defined, then chasing an open air will be mere efforts in futility. Thus, why it will be necessary to have clearly defined and tangible goals sometimes the ones that scare you when you wake up and read them out or visualise them.

The need for mentorship along the path to realising your dream is one that will help you have a focused approach rather than a trial and error type of approach. You would rather work smarter not dump. Having some clearly defined milestones along the way will help you to visualise your progress and helps you to sharpen your approach towards realising the ultimate goal.

If you are pursuing some goals and want to share personal experiences, I will be glad to interact on such basis, as I have a passion of sharing inspiration or experiences with as many people as possible, feel free to drop a comment, share an experience or ask a question.