‘It ain’t about hard you can hit. It’s about hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.’
Rocky Balboa, Rocky VI
There is a big difference between knowing how to demonstrate resilience and handle failure, and then actually doing it. There is a skill to having grit. There is a mindset that we need to build in order to be able to double down on our efforts when things get tough, rather than just running the other way.
A lot of our resilience can be determined by how we initially feel something is going to go – whether it be a school test, a sporting competition, the start of a new hobby. If we go in there with a negative attitude, already half-defeated, then there is a good chance we’ll fail and give up early. It’s like we try our best to match the outcome with the prediction we made in our heads.
But, instead, if we can go in there with a strong will and a genuine belief that we are capable of achieving the task, then we will be less likely to fail. And, more importantly, when we do encounter failure, our response to that failure will be much more positive and productive.
It almost seems like our grit and resilience is decided before we fail the challenge, not after it. It seems to be a matter of mental preparation.
