Mental Toughness . Part 6

Does age or the aging process have anything to do with this particular drive [mental toughness]? Are there sex differences that differentiate between this drive? Is there a common thread between self-imposed or other imposed hardships as related to the drive? How do pain thresholds affect this drive? What about the importance of spirituality, religious conviction, or persistence as related to the drive? In other words, why is one individual, able to endure while others seem not able or capable? As you can see, their numerous questions or hypotheses that we can raise in exploring this concept that is commonly used to describe motivation as related to sports, politics or religious beliefs?

Even though my interest is primarily sports, there are certainly other examples of mental toughness outside of sports. Take a look at the countless number of returning war veterans or individuals who suffered some physical injury, loss of limbs, PTSD or other debilitating conditions. Courage or grit can be found with individuals born with congenital disease, such as poor eyesight, retardation, or some other physical impairment. We often marvel at their ability of someone with impairment or disability and their will to persevere and make the most out of their life.

An additional example regarding the mind-body connection comes from holistic psychology. Holistic bodywork practitioners hypothesize that our bodies incorporate and store ongoing psychological trauma. One way to relieve or exacerbate these stored hurts is through bodywork or deep massage. These practitioners illustrate their point when they work therapeutically on different body parts, and their patients express tears or emotional pain during this process. As a consequence, the interaction of the relationship to the mind-body cannot be overlooked in understanding the mental toughness drive.

More to follow.