More on Toughness

What is toughness?
It’s not yelling. It’s not chest-pounding.

Toughness is:

💥 Doing hard things without excuses
💪 Being accountable when it’s not easy
🧠 Staying composed under pressure
🧱 Showing up, every single day

Tough teams win.

— Greg Berge (@gb1121) June 7, 2025

Toughness is a skill. Often it's doing what must be done...parents working multiple jobs, sacrificing, with too limited gratitude and too much pressure.

Toughness means doing the job right, regardless of the conditions.

Toughness is a skill, a muscle to develop. Toughness includes the ability to play harder for longer. It means maximum focus and resistance to distraction, to reset and make the next play.

A Navy SEAL trainee had done everything right as far as effort and training. But he failed the long distance two mile swim time with fins by a few seconds. 

Per AI, "However, the candidate was given a second chance to retest. For the retest, he was paired with a strong swimmer, which provided him with an opportunity to perform better. The presence of a capable swimming partner not only boosted his confidence but also allowed him to pace himself more effectively throughout the swim.

During the retest, he focused on his technique and stayed motivated by swimming alongside his partner. This time, he successfully completed the 2-mile swim within the required time, demonstrating resilience and determination."

Situations arise where you may struggle to "complete the mission" alone, where teammates can metaphorically pull you along, raising your toughness.

To build toughness, put yourself in safe training situations demanding toughness.