Leaders and cultures in the world today require mental toughness, resolve and grit. So, it’s critical to redefine what true toughness looks like and practice how we can help share good oxygen with those along our path.
SHOW NOTES
Jason introduces Season 6 episode 39 of the podcast, Redefining Toughness. Welcome back to the podcast on corporate culture and leadership and thank you for listening. We engage thought leaders like CEOs, CFOs, managers, VPs, directors, and more for this podcast. We wish to create content that engages your mind and heart and allows you to step back and think and add some positivity to your life. We deep dive into today’s topic.
We can’t control everything but what we can control is our response. Still a lot of work to do but wanted to remind the audience what is within our control is the temperature we create in the organizations and teams we work with. If you have a suggestion, please send it to info@jasonvbarger.com
Please leave a review for the podcast It really helps the podcast to spread these messages out into the world. Please share this podcast with your organization, on your team, or in your life to help spread these messages. Thank you!
“We’re talking about redefining toughness.”
6:30 – Jason redefines toughness by defining terms in similar ways by starting with an example of elementary school. When we are young the tough kid was often the biggest kid but that didn’t mean they were actually the toughest. Toughness is the ability to withstand great force without tearing or breaking. Toughness begins in the mind and heart and grows outward. Mental toughness is the ability to endure and suffer in some ways, to feel, to care, and to respond in the midst of that suffering to take a step forward to care for yourself and to care for other people. Pushing a smaller kid on the playground isn’t tough; it is easy. Stepping in front of that kid to stop the bullying is real toughness.
11:55 – We need tough leaders who withstand the ability to endure and to care, the ability to be venerable, and to respond and to step forward to stimulate progress. It requires toughness to strive to be excellent at what you do. It requires toughness to put yourself out there to challenge the organization when it needs to be challenged. The easier path is to ignore it or not saying anything. It requires toughness to admit when you are wrong. Toughness to walk toward someone you disagree with. These are all examples of true toughness and what truly defines toughness. No one is perfect, sometimes we are mentally tougher than other times. Leaders and teams that learn to breathe in oxygen and practice mental toughness to walk beside and with each other exhibit grit. Mental toughness and resolve. Far easier to cut and run and avoid the challenge, we know that. Mental toughness causes use to move forward and toward a better future.
15:00 – Jason talks about the book Toughness by Jay Bilas and in it Jay says that soft is when you choose the easier path when the right path is the harder one.
16:10 – Jason talks about some of the times in his life that took mental toughness sharing a story about his parents being ill and both of them passing away required grit and resolve. To sit in that suffering and choosing to care takes toughness. Recently there has been fighting in the world, racism, the global pandemic, and the toughness that Jason is taking about here is absolutely necessary.
Questions to Ponder
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In what ways does your life and work need a bit of toughness in terms of enduring, standing, and caring for those around you?
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What examples in your life and work need some deep breaths?
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What practices would help you breathe differently to help you practice this type of thinking in these mindsets?
Jason shares at the end of the episode how to help as part of the book launch team. The best way is to read and share the new book below. It makes a great gift for your team. If you have unique ideas to help share the book contact info@jasonvbarger.com
Please leave a review for the podcast It really helps the podcast to spread these messages out into the world. Please share this podcast with your organization, on your team, or in your life to help spread these messages. Thank you!
Remember, the best leaders, teams, & cultures stimulate progress by recalibrating their thermostat together.
If you like the podcast, have a question, or just want to share your thoughts about daring to begin please leave a comment below or please leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.
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ABOUT THE THERMOSTAT
Conversations and micro-thoughts to engage your mind and heart.
A thermostat is proactive. It sets the temperature in a room. Controls the temperature. Regulates the temperature. But in today’s distracted, fast-paced and digital world, it’s easy for individuals and organizations to act more like thermometers, slipping into reactionary thinking, becoming scattered and inconsistent. The most compelling leaders, teams, organizations, families, or collection of humans of any kind operate in thermostat mode. They calibrate their mind and heart to set the temperature for the vision and culture they want to create. Jason Barger, globally celebrated author, keynote speaker, and founder of Step Back Leadership Consulting, is the host of The Thermostat, a podcast journey to discover authentic leadership, create compelling cultures and find clarity of mission, vision, and values.