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Becoming resilient

There are 2 important parts. The first is the original motivation for whatever it is you are trying to accomplish, the second is a shitty attitude (more on this in a bit 😉 ).

The motivation

Why did you go down this path to begin with? If you haven’t read the article on motivation, please start there. Unless the reasons for your motivation have changed and it no longer matters, why would you not continue forward? Usually it’s because we’ve been toiling away and nothing good has come out of it. It’s a bummer I know. But, our goals are real and they are valid.

This is where we have to re-asses if what we’ve been doing has been the right way to solve the problem we’re facing. What are we doing right? What are we doing wrong? Have we missed something? It’s time to circle back and review. And time to do more research on the subject matter.

And through all of this work that we’ve now created for ourselves we have to keep in mind why we’re doing it. We’re trying to get somewhere that matters to us. It’s important to ourselves and the lives we’re living. If it’s important then it’s important that we continue. And let’s be honest, what would we be doing if we didn’t continue forward? Likely sitting on the couch being miserable. What’s the point of that? Be honest, what’s the point?

A bad attitude

Yeah I know, this sounds very negative. But hear me out. You are likely pursuing a goal in order to improve some part of your life. And likely you are doing so because your current circumstances are unpleasant. Maybe you have a terrible job that pays you too little and you’re not being treated well. That’s a shitty circumstance you’re in.

What if your attitude became “shitty” and you *dared* defy your reality? That’s how I approach these things. I say “ok circumstances, you want to be bastards towards me? I’ll be an even bigger bastard.” I’ll be such a bastard that I’ll work and work and work. Until you’re defeated and meaningless to me. And I allow that thought to drive me.

I’m all about positivity. So how do I reconcile that with having a “bad” attitude? Honestly it’s not a problem. I am fully aware that the “bad” attitude is a mental cheerleader used in one particular circumstance. It’s an expression of competitiveness. It’s basically nothing more than trash talk. There’s a reason elite athletes use trash talk. It spurs them on. Go forth and talk some shit. Just keep it contained to circumstances. And perhaps your tennis partners. They may be into that sort of thing.