Arguably, stress resilience is the single most significant factor in determining success. We can take this view all the way to the biological macro-level: the creature that can adapt to stress will live longer and be more successful in producing offspring. Or, we can look in the mirror and apply it to you: your capacity to handle stress, recover from it, and learn and adapt from it is your golden ticket to a lifetime of growth. It’s no coincidence that most top achievers in sport or business or whatever else have resilience in spades. The good news is, it’s actually pretty simple to train, and you can fit it into your daily routine:

1. Hold your breath - Take a normal size exhale, then close your mouth and plug your nose and sit there. Get uncomfortable, feel the sensations of panic and discomfort, let your lungs scream at you a little, let your heart beat a little faster, let your eyes dilate in fear, and then when you must, breathe in. You’ll feel awful for a moment, and then a few seconds later, you’ll feel fine. Rest a minute and repeat this a couple more times. Do it every morning before work. Don’t do it in the car, and don’t be stupid. You’re not going to build resilience by passing out and hitting your head on the coffee table.

2. Heat and cold - Sit in a tub full of ice water, jump in the ocean on a cold day, turn the shower down as cold as it will go for the last 60s of your rinse, go for a run in the heat of day or sit in a sauna. Accept the discomfort, breathe through it. Repeat it. Adapt and overcome.

3. Exercise - Did you think this wouldn’t fit in somewhere? In what other context are we able to stress ourselves physically and mentally and see such tremendous, tangible results from it in such a short time?

4. Be hungry - To use the analogy of a car’s gas gauge, we are in the habit of refilling our tank when the gauge says you still have ¾ of a full tank left. It’s okay to be hungry, and in our world of rampant obesity and overabundance of food, the last thing you should be worried about is feeling a little hungry for a few hours. Fuel yourself, but don’t be afraid to accept your hunger for a few hours now and again.

5. Take the blame - When something goes wrong, turn off the instinct to deflect, find, or otherwise create something or someone other than you that is at fault. It doesn’t matter if it was or was not the fault of someone else -- take a moment and ask: what could I have done differently? That’s all you can control, after all. Do this enough, and you might just start seeing ways you can own your actions and improve your outcomes as second nature.

You are more resilient and capable than you may think, and the regular practice of leaning into discomfort, fear, and challenge will develop this resilience and turn your attention to just how capable you are.

- PS

11/15/18

• 30 min AMRAP:

• 800m run

• 4 rope climbs

• 800m run

• 40 push-ups