Cookies jars and Mental toughness, Ultimate Key, Essential Skill, Inside Game…
This is the final in the series of blogs, on mental toughness where we explore ‘cookie jars’! This is a term coined by the legendary David Goggins, an ultra-marathon runner, retired navy seal, and public speaker who has much to share about developing mental toughness. From being repeatedly abused as a child by his father, ridiculed, discriminated against, and feeling totally hopeless, Goggins writes about powerful ways to rise above adversity with incredible endurance and mental toughness.
Fill up your ‘cookie jar’.
The analogy of cookies is the recognition of all the situations we have come through in life, with the acknowledgment of what it has taught us.
As part of one of our 8 week group coaching programs (Your Authentic Self), together we create an actual cookie jar; pieces of paper that we collect documenting each event in our lives that has made an impact, and the lessons we have learned from it. This is to celebrate the opportunities every single event provides for us. This is a powerful process based on ‘infinite mindset thinking’ of recognising the incredible feats in life that we have come through. All of those things that have created the resilient, determined, accomplished person that YOU are today!
This is not about just the triumphs and wins. Each cookie reflects something we have come through, overcome, survived, or flourished from. Things that have rattled our cage, and things we are proud of. Things that scared us, and things we confidently strode through. All of the events in our lives that we often neglect, which have become the “stories” we continue to tell ourselves or others. Those things that we attribute meaning to and label as “good”, “bad”, “tough”, “fun”, difficult” have all had a vital role in who we are today and the level of mental toughness we have. We cannot be here today on this planet without some degree of toughness! You are reading this, so you have some degree of mental toughness – now let’s strengthen that even further!
Once we have collated our “cookie jar” in the flesh, we are then much more likely to be able to reach into the cookie jar (either for real or metaphorically) in times of need. Those times when we need a booster, when we need to be reminded that we are strong, when we need to be reminded of the incredible things we have come through in our lives so far, and that there is always a lesson we can learn from them.
Mental toughness galvanises us in those moments when we feel like crumbling. It helps us rise above adversity no matter how tough, shocking, disturbing it is initially. When we want to give up. When ‘they’ are ‘having a go’ at us. When we want to jump ‘below the line’ and begin justifying, blaming, or profusely apologising, when we do not need to.
We can reach into the jar, remind ourselves of our strength, our awesomeness, our accomplishments, and keep going. YOU are way stronger than you think!
We are opening up applications for our 8 week programs for 2022. If you are curious about developing more mental toughness, and finding simple time effective strategies within a supportive community of people in STEMM to enhance your career progression, then BOOK A CALL with Christine now.