How Tough Are You?
Life is hard. It throws difficulties at us all the time. The weight of those problems can crush a person.
Toughness, in my opinion, is the ability to withstand life's hardships. It is resilience against the things that go wrong. Toughness is having a strong will that enables you to pursue goals with tenacity.
Are you tough? There's a test at the end of this post which you can use to measure your toughness. Some people are strong; some are not. Some are hardy; some are not. See how you fare.
My mother was tough -- which surprised people because of her short height (4'11") and gender. My mother could struck fear in anyone's heart. I saw grown men quiver at her approach. Her visceral strength was astounding: when my mother bit your leg, she didn't let go until you did what she wanted. My mother single-handedly turned a group of misfits into a "family;" she controlled and dominated the entire herd. Maura and I used to joke that my mother could have run Russia better than Stalin; she had a stronger iron grip.
Here are some questions to gauge your personal toughness. Feel free to answer any of them or just free-associate your thoughts on the subject:
- When your brother pulls your ponytail, what do you do? Cry for Mommy? Try to reason with him? Squeeze his grapes?
- When your boyfriend forgets an important occasion, do you make excuses for him? Confront him in anger? Reach for a kitchen knife?
- When a project at school or work turns out to be harder than expected, how do you react? Buckle down and dig into the work? Pull out your bong? Shop for shoes?
- When your motorcycle hits 140 mph at the racetrack, are you excited? Scared? In need of new underwear?
- When someone leaves a nasty comment on your blog, do you ignore it? Write a new post about how your feelings are hurt? Or blast the offender on her blog with snappy insults?
- When a co-worker acts haughty or passive-aggressive, what do you do? Complain to the boss? Put laxative in her coffee?
- When you fall off your motorcycle and break some ribs, how long do you wait to order new riding gear? Two hours? Two days? Forever?
Your turn...
Toughness, in my opinion, is the ability to withstand life's hardships. It is resilience against the things that go wrong. Toughness is having a strong will that enables you to pursue goals with tenacity.
Are you tough? There's a test at the end of this post which you can use to measure your toughness. Some people are strong; some are not. Some are hardy; some are not. See how you fare.
My mother was tough -- which surprised people because of her short height (4'11") and gender. My mother could struck fear in anyone's heart. I saw grown men quiver at her approach. Her visceral strength was astounding: when my mother bit your leg, she didn't let go until you did what she wanted. My mother single-handedly turned a group of misfits into a "family;" she controlled and dominated the entire herd. Maura and I used to joke that my mother could have run Russia better than Stalin; she had a stronger iron grip.
Here are some questions to gauge your personal toughness. Feel free to answer any of them or just free-associate your thoughts on the subject:
- When your brother pulls your ponytail, what do you do? Cry for Mommy? Try to reason with him? Squeeze his grapes?
- When your boyfriend forgets an important occasion, do you make excuses for him? Confront him in anger? Reach for a kitchen knife?
- When a project at school or work turns out to be harder than expected, how do you react? Buckle down and dig into the work? Pull out your bong? Shop for shoes?
- When your motorcycle hits 140 mph at the racetrack, are you excited? Scared? In need of new underwear?
- When someone leaves a nasty comment on your blog, do you ignore it? Write a new post about how your feelings are hurt? Or blast the offender on her blog with snappy insults?
- When a co-worker acts haughty or passive-aggressive, what do you do? Complain to the boss? Put laxative in her coffee?
- When you fall off your motorcycle and break some ribs, how long do you wait to order new riding gear? Two hours? Two days? Forever?
Your turn...
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