060. The Key To Thriving Under Pressure

In this episode, we cover the critical skill of mental toughness for firefighters. We'll break down what mental toughness is, why it matters, and how you can start building it today.

Expect to learn:

• the connection between stress and mental toughness for firefighters
• the 3 strategies for building mental toughness
• how to apply an easy roadmap to start adapting to stress today

This episode aims to help firefighters not just survive, but thrive both on and off the job.

00:39 The Importance of Mental Toughness

01:15 Defining Mental Toughness

01:46 The Inevitability of Stress

02:44 Building Mental Toughness: Strategies

02:51 Visualization Technique

03:33 Positive Self-Talk

04:08 Stress Inoculation Training

05:45 Applying Mental Toughness in Firefighting

06:20 Action Plan for Building Mental Toughness

07:08 Final Thoughts and Resources

08:05 Call to Action

Transcript

TJ: Hello, everybody. Welcome to this week's episode of the keep the promise podcast. The podcast that helps firefighters, like you not just survive, but also thrive. Both on and off the job. Um, TJ, and today we're going to be talking about one of the most important skills you can develop. As a firefighter. And that is mental toughness. We've all been there. On a rough call. Dealing with exhaustion stress, or maybe even fear. And it's in those moments that mental toughness makes all the difference. So today we're going to break it down. 

What it is, why it matters and how you too can build it. By the end of this episode, you'll have actionable strategies. To start strengthening your mind, just like you do your body. Every single day. Let's start with the basics. What is mental toughness? Mental toughness is your ability to perform consistently under stress. Adapt to challenges and stay focused no matter what's happening around you. It's not about being fearless. 

It's about showing up, staying calm and pushing through when things get tough. Think of it like this. Your physical fitness determines how much weight you can lift. But your mental toughness determines whether you'll even step up to the bar. Makes sense. Here's the thing about stress. It's inevitable. Whether it's a challenging call, a tough shift. Or personal struggles. 

Stress is part of life in the fire service. There's no getting around it. But here's the good news while you can't always control what happens to you? You can control how you respond. That's where mental toughness comes in. It's the tool that helps you channel stress into focus and action. Instead of letting it overwhelm you. Think about a time when everything felt like it was just going wrong on a call, maybe your equipment was breaking. It could be your engine or your ladder truck that just went out of service on the widow. 

A good fire. Maybe the communications were breaking down. Maybe you even got injured. What got you through it? Your ability to stay calm. To focus on solutions and to keep moving forward. That's mental toughness in action. 

So how do we build it? Here are three proven strategies that you can start using today. Number one. Visualization. This is about mentally rehearsing high pressure scenarios before they happen. And here's how it works. Close your eyes. And picture yourself in a challenging situation. Maybe it's a tough fire ground or an intense training scenario, or maybe it's facing your family when you get home. Visualize every step. What you'll do. How you'll feel and how your respond. The more vividly, you can imagine it the better. When the real situation arises, your brain will feel like it's been there before. It's like, pre-loading a mental map for your success. Next up. Number two. Positive self-talk. Our inner dialogue has a huge impact on how we perform. If you're telling yourself I can't handle this, or I'm not good enough. Guess what. Your brain believes it. The fix simple. Replace those negative thoughts with positive ones. Instead of saying, I can't do this. 

Try, I have trained for this. I've got this. It might feel awkward at first, but over time, it rewires your mindset to focus on solutions instead of problems. The third strategy is stress inoculation training. This is all about gradually exposing yourself to stress in a controlled way to build resilience. Think of it like strength training, but for your mind, When you push your limits into the gym, your muscles adapt and get stronger. The same thing happens with your brain when you face controlled stressors. For example, during training drills increase the pressure. At a time constraint or simulate more chaotic environments. One of the shifts of the firehouse was notorious for taking this to the extreme. And. Adding low air to the scenario. 

I think there was one scenario where we had to sprint to the back of the firehouse. Like out of the back doors to the back hill and back in. On a couple breaths left. It was awful. It was insane, but it was stress inoculation at its finest. Over time, this conditions, your brain to stay calm and effective under real world stress. I also back in the day, I used to be terrified of needles. Not like tattoo needles, but like actual medical needles. So I made it a point to donate blood every time the blood bus would come to my school. 

And, um, yeah, after that, I just was no longer scared of needles. That's on a much less insane level, a bit of stress inoculation.

But. How do we connect this to firefight? Okay. Stress inoculation is cool and visualization and positive. Self-talk. How does it deal with the fire service? Mental toughest is not just a personal skill. It's one that we need. Professionally. Think about those critical moments on the fire ground. It could be pulling a victim out of a structure, making that split-second decision of where you're going to make entry. 

Where are you going to put that ladder? What line you're going to pull, whatever it is, the environment is chaotic. And your ability to stay focused, to adapt and to execute under pressure can literally save lives. Mental toughness is what separates good firefighters from the real great ones. It's that edge that helps you perform at your best when it matters most. Okay. 

So how do we put this into action? Here's a roadmap for this week. Number one. Identify one stressor in your life. It could be work related. It could be personal, it could be financial, whatever that stressor is identified something that's making you lose sleep. Number two. Choose the mental toughness strategy that you're going to use and apply to that stressor. 

Now, remember those three are visualization, positive self-talk or stress inoculation. And number three, the most important one, the feedback loop reflect on how it feels. Did it help you stay calmer, more focused or that to make you more confident? 

 Building mental toughness is a process, but every small step you take gets you closer to mastering it. 

All right. People. Here's a takeaway. Being tough mentally is a skill. And like any skill, it can be trained. Start small, stay consistent and watch how it transforms, not just your firefighting career, but your life. If you're having troubles. Being consistent. I covered this in depth. In the resilience manual, which is included in the fit for service program, that's linked below. Think of it. 

It's like a. Um, couch to 5k. But for firefighters, it's a program that I created when I looked in the mirror and I was like, oh my God. I am not who I want it to be. And it has changed my life and counting we're up to about two, three. Just below 300 firefighters. Who have seen incredible gains from it. So I linked the below. And we cover quite a bit of the mental toughness side of things in fit for service. Also, if you find value in today's episode, please, please, please do me a favor. Shared with a fellow firefighter, leave a review and subscribe to the podcast. Think of how you got ahold of this, maybe somebody showed you the podcast. 

Maybe it came across your feed. And somebody else in your firehouse said, oh yeah, I've listened to it. It's pretty cool. Whatever it is. Word of mouth means a lot. And together we can build a community of resilient and unstoppable firefighter. So it would mean the world to me. If you could share this with a fellow firefighter. And it could change their life for the better. 

Until next time, stay safe, stay strong. 

Remember to keep the promise you made to your community.