What is it?
That has been the discussion this week in the MMS community. Here’s the formal definition of fortitude from dictionary.com
“Having mental and emotional strength in facing difficulty, adversity, danger, or temptation.”
Fortitude refers to one’s resilience in the face of challenges. Someone demonstrating fortitude maintains a certain level of strength despite disappointments and difficulties.
I don’t believe that any of us display fortitude in all areas, circumstances or stages of our lives. There are so many contributing factors that influence our response to situations. Sure there are people who are more optimistic and more easily reframe issues and circumstances. In my mind, fortitude is like a muscle that can be strengthened to grow and develop. The presence of foundational skills determines how well we will hold up during the storms that naturally arise in life.
Fortitude exists on a strong internal mental foundation. Discovery, self-awareness, and new thought patterns all enhance our fortitude capacity. Unfortunately, much like building physical muscles at the gym, it isn’t a one-time “now you got it” event. We all know that old established patterns will still try to break you. It can be challenging to achieve some of our most sought after aspirations without fortitude because, quite often, it does not come without considerable effort and obstacles.
Angela Duckworth, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, tracked a group of cadets.
She studies achievement and how mental toughness, perseverance, and passion impact our ability to achieve goals.
Duckworth tracked a total of 2,441 cadets spread across two entering classes. She recorded their high school rank, SAT scores, Leadership Potential Score (which reflects participation in extracurricular activities), Physical Aptitude Exam (a standardized physical exercise evaluation), and Grit Scale (which measures perseverance and passion for long–term goals). Here’s what she found…
It wasn’t strength or smarts or leadership potential that accurately predicted whether or not a cadet would finish “Beast Barracks”. Instead, it was grit — the perseverance and passion to achieve long–term goals — that made the difference.
In fact, cadets who were one standard deviation higher on the Grit Scale were 60% more likely to finish Beast Barracks than their peers. It was mental toughness that predicted whether or not a cadet would be successful, not their talent, intelligence, or genetics.
What’s the lesson?
Fortitude is an essential trait for us to possess. Whether it be for personal, relationships, or career domains. If you fall short in this area, you have a tendency to stop short of the finish line and, in some cases, avoid the race altogether.
Here are some things to consider as you work on your bounce-back, fortitude capabilities:
- Optimize the health of your mind. Make sure that you are doing what you can to keep it in the best possible condition (i.e. the 6 food centres).
- Choose how to respond to experiences. The “not so good” days are inevitable and we will all go through our share of crises. We do have a choice in the way that we are impacted and how we respond.
- Do your best to maintain a healthy perspective about things. Although hard to conceive in the moment, even the worst problems will eventually subside or be resolved in some way.
We would love to hear your stories related to fortitude. When has your ability to demonstrate fortitude in very challenging circumstances come forward? What about someone that you know? Who are some of the most resilient people you know?
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