Author: Rachel Hanson

"Today, choose suffering." Who in their right mind would embrace a mantra like that? Suffering, by definition, is not fun and does not feel good. And yet a few crazies always choose it. Here's why I do. I know that if I want moments of victory (like Phed), or life's deepest joys, it comes with … Continue reading Day 144: Phed…

In softball, catcher is one of the hardest positions to play at a high level. In many ways they're the QB of the defense - calling the pitches, the plays, reading the base runners for steals, commanding the defense. They process, communicate and act on a lot of information in literal split seconds. Not easy. … Continue reading Day 143: Grateful for Greece…

I want to tell you about a different Major. Actually, a Captain. Some members of the band built into this Captain recently, and it was magic for all of us. You see, this Captain is struggling with his identity right now. It's a source of pain and frustration for him - we could see it … Continue reading Day 142: Major Taylor…

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…