Author: Rachel Hanson

I've heard a wide variety of definitions around mental toughness. Many of them are something along the lines of getting back up after failure, being bigger than the moment, being strong in the face of adversity, etc. Although well-intentioned, I think many of these take individuals down a dead end path. They hear those definitions … Continue reading Day 141: Mentally tough…

I'm mixing it up today. Instead of the usual blog post, I'm sharing my perspective on Chet's post from this morning. I want you, leader, to understand the power of your words. Chet gave me the gift of belief yesterday. Belief from a leader can be a total game changer. What I realized during our … Continue reading Belief

I love today's writing in the book. These two lines taken together are right on with my experience. "It is not things that upset us but our judgements about things." -Epictetus "Your mental health takes a huge leap when you realize this fact." -Chet I remember many a night, pre-BTL and when I first started … Continue reading Day 139: Mental health 301…

One of my favorite movies is 300. In it, you see a stark contrast between the leadership style of King Leonidas and King Xerxes. Both were effective, no doubt. Xerxes drove his people and his armies. He ruled with fear and an iron fist. His armies were powerful AND only as good as the strong … Continue reading Day 138: Victory…

"What defeats us doesn't define us. Our response does." Glassware is fragile. Drop it and it shatters. Humans are not fragile by nature, although we at times choose to be. The closest word commonly used to describe how humans can respond to adversity is resilient. But even that doesn't quite capture it. Resilience implies an … Continue reading Day 137: Defeated…

Recently a client of mine was having a hard time seeing her own progress and was getting down on self. She's a stud - a high-flying, kick-ass go-getter, with a tendency to focus on the next peak and how far she still has to climb. During practice she pointed out all the things she still … Continue reading Day 136: Mental health 201…

I've been doing some reading on the effects of social media (facebook, insta, twitter, etc.) on our collective psyche. Here's a few things I've learned from an interesting guy by the name of Jaron Lanier, former Silicon Valley guru now turned fierce critic of all things he helped create. The core strategy and business model … Continue reading Day 135: Smart…

Chronic pain can so easily be like the frog in the pot. The temperature slowly increases without you realizing it until it reaches a dangerous level. You can jump out anytime before boiling, but you don't pay attention to the danger because the increase in temperature is incremental. Degree by degree you let the chronic … Continue reading Day 134: I had…