Mental fortitude: the fire within

BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La., Oct. 13, 2011 — As I sat watching game six of the 2011 NBA playoffs, I couldn't believe the Dallas Mavericks beat the Miami Heat. What happened, I asked my husband. Didn't Miami have the "dream" team? Didn't they shell out almost $50 million to get and maintain some of the best players in the league--LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh? My husband said the Mavericks had more stamina, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it was something more. After all, these are elite athletes who dominated the regular season. Needless to say this conundrum continued to plague me for a week--as I was preparing for my fitness assessment, the answer finally hit me. The deciding factor in the playoffs wasn't athletic ability or salary; it was mental fortitude. This internal attribute will overcome brute force and lead to victory in any situation. Each player of the Dallas Maverick team displayed mental fortitude.

You may be asking yourself, what exactly is mental fortitude? It is an internal drive that allows you to press through pain, depression and any other difficulty. It is an inner voice that tells you that you can do anything you set your mind to. This characteristic raised the Dallas Mavericks above the Miami Heat and is the core trait that divides "super star" Airmen from their peers.

Over the years, I have talked to many Airmen. As the years passed it became easy to identify those who would rise to the top of their professions and those who would meet the average success targets (rank, education, responsibility, etc.) within their career fields. This had nothing to do with their Albert Einstein-like intelligence quotients or George Clooney-like charisma. Each "super star" had one thing in common, an internal belief they could succeed at anything no matter the odds. This is what mental fortitude, or as I affectionately call it, the "fire within", is all about. In the military it isn't necessarily the best speaker or the most technically sound that rises to the ranks of chief master sergeant or general. Often times it's the person that tenaciously completes tasks when others have given up due to seemingly insurmountable odds. If you are in doubt about the weight of mental fortitude on performance, think about the Air Force fitness assessment.

It's a fact that the 30 year-old and up age groups consistently out-perform the less than 30 years-old age group. Statistics show the greater than 30 age groups boast the highest percentage of "excellent" fitness assessment scores. At the same time, statistics show the less than 30 age group lays claim to the highest fitness assessment failure rates.

Logically, the stats should be reversed. The youngest group, normally stronger and faster, should out perform the older groups. One of the reasons we old cronies leave the youngsters in our dust, is our inner drive to be the best. How many times have you seen master sergeants and majors outfitted in all types of knee braces and ankle supports getting their PT on. On the other hand, how many times have you witnessed someone under 30 years old, walking during squadron PT sessions?

Mental fortitude separates the older group from the younger group. It not only applies to athletic prowess, you can apply it to every aspect of your life and use this secret weapon to help you reach your full potential in the Air Force.

Whenever you are faced with overwhelming difficulties, or you find yourself up against someone with more education or raw talent, just think about the 2011 NBA Playoffs. The Dallas Mavericks prevailed despite the Miami Heat possessing the "dream team." The success factor was and is mental fortitude. We are familiar with the saying "you are what you eat", but I say "you are what you believe". Dig deep, know you can accomplish anything you set your mind to, and succeed!