Take it On the Chin: a Biblical Path to Mental Toughness
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Fear welled up inside of me as I read and re-read the words of an email which sounded like a lawsuit in the making. I couldn’t sleep much that night or the next few.
Angry accusations smacked of lawsuit probability.
In my field of work, even when a lawsuit is unsuccessful, it creates huge drain and strain. And I was already feeling strained and weary.
I prayed. Ok, I whined to God. I won’t bore you with the contents. You can imagine.
Then a particular scripture came to mind. “Endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ”.
Enduring hardship is part of any calling from God or endeavor worth pursuing. There are rewards and joys. And there are hardships and trials.
“Endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” was an encouraging scripture and a helpful re-frame for me. One version says “bear up under” it. Another says “endure” it. The Message version simply states, “Take it on the chin”.
Ironically, perhaps providentially, I had already been pondering mental resilience for the past few months.
How can we endure pressures better? Can we get to a state where the pressures don’t keep us up at night, result in unhealthy coping strategies or high cortisol levels?
Along these lines, I picked up a copy of On Mental Toughness: HBR’s (Harvard Business Review’s) 10 Must Reads, a compilation of 10 articles.
The jacket cover touts that the reader can learn to “thrive on pressure like an Olympic athlete”. Hmmm.
The first two points below are my personal paraphrase of one of the 10 Must Reads, Crum & Crum’s article. The third is solely my addition.
Acknowledge the Pressure
Acknowledge to yourself the pressure you’re experiencing.
The article states that naming feelings helps to move us out of emotional reactivity and utilize our problem-solving skills. It helps to move us out of the fear or strong emotion in which the brain’s amygdala is most active to the frontal lobes where reasoning and problem-solving occur. It helps us refocus and become objective.
Writing out the situation and feelings can also help to reduce emotional reactivity and move into a more objective and problem-solving mindset.
Re-set Your Mindset. Realize and Acknowledge the Benefits of Stress
Growth and learning generally occur as a byproduct of stress or struggle.
In a study by Salovey and Achor, simply viewing stress as performance-enhancing rather than debilitating resulted in lower cortisol (stress hormone) responses.
By telling ourselves that this situation is an opportunity for growth and development, we can change our chemical, internal response to stress in an important way.
Remind Yourself of God’s Truths
When Paul penned these words to his student Timothy, he was incarcerated for the gospel and eventually he would have his head cut off. Paul’s ability to exert this type of confidence must be rooted in a deep knowledge of whose he was, who he was serving, and that the battle was not his.
Paul could set his mindset and focus continually on the higher goal.
Recalling the verse about enduring hardship as a good soldier of Christ reminded me that God called me to this work and that hardships come part and parcel with anything worth doing.
Recalling this verse helped me reset and put the situation into a more eternal perspective. It also reminded me that I work for God. I also realized that these types of things can increase my faith and strengthen me for greater things that God has for me.
I decided to adopt the attitude of taking it on the chin.
I do believe it is possible to cope with stress and difficulty in a way that reduces the negative impacts of stress while enhancing the benefits of stress for good. Or, as someone expressed it, learning to thrive on stress like an Olympic athlete!
I am learning to remind myself that Christian Care Connection is not mine. My job is to stay on course, do my best, and trust God.
So, if you’re facing challenges and hardship, stay encouraged. Remember! This is a race that God has set for us, and not merely our own.
Get your copy today!