When we talk about plants being hardy, we mean that they can stand up to low temperatures and survive.
When we talk about hardiness in people, we mean the ability to tolerate extremely challenging situations, survive and even thrive.
It is a sort of pillar of resilience that holds up our psychological capital when we encounter diverse nocuous agents.
But how many of us live in a hardiness zone mentally?
Hardy people assess stressful situations differently. They are champions of survival and manifest spontaneity and flexibility.
They believe that they can control a situation and even learn from it. They have a high coping self-efficacy and strip away the emotion from the task in hand. It’s about getting the job done come what may.
If you believe you can cope with a stressful situation, then you probably will. It’s like being a prickly pear cactus.
Considering the inherent adversity we have to endure during cancer treatment such as stress, fatigue, anxiety, and fears, hardiness is a key characteristic that can minimise the impact of these stressors.
There is a lot of the cancer experience that is out of our control but there is still a lot that is.
We can control our attitude and our approach to what is happening. The threat to our security can be minimised.
If we exude the components of hardiness then this will positively influence fellow cancer patients to embrace hardiness too.
If you were to dissect hardiness then you would find it contained fibres and fibres of sisu.
Sisu has been described as stoic determination, tenacity of purpose, resilience, and hardiness. It expresses
a characteristic that manifests itself in displaying grit, resolve, and courage in the face of extreme adversity or against the odds. This is hardiness.
If you dig deep, you will find hardiness. Acting with hardiness enables hardiness to grow stronger.
They key to being hardy is seeing everything as a meaningful and purposeful challenge and an opportunity to exercise control rather than succumb to circumstances. It is a chance to overcome adversity.
We can’t physically control the cancer but we can influence events surrounding it by reframing. This is transformational coping or stress buffering.
Diggers of hardiness possess an enigmatic power of mental toughness that enables them to push through unbearable challenges. It is when we keep pushing, keep tolerating and keep going.
Diggers dig deep by surpassing their preconceived limitations and access stored-up energy reserves so they can go further and withstand what life throws at them. They are flexible, mentally fit and full of pluck and grit.
In fact, diggers of hardiness are closely related to grit spreaders in their psychological make-up. Both are strong and tolerant of stressful situations.
A digger of hardiness decides on a course of action and sticks to it no matter what. It’s the sort of thing I do by training for treatment – I decide to exercise everyday even if I’m not feeling well or if I have an infection.
Diggers of hardiness do what they do because they know that their actions have a buffering effect on stresses and that maintains and enhance their morale, health and well-being.
Adversities and unfavourable circumstances are an inevitable part of our lives. Although we can’t escape from these stresses we can certainly reduce their negative effects by adopting and cultivating a hardy personality.
Diggers of hardiness are not easily defeated. Falling down and hurting themselves won’t keep them from trying again x100. They are fiercely self-motivated and independent. They dig deep.
@davidgoggins tells us to ‘Stay hard!’ but what he really means is Stay hardy!
Diggers of hardiness can withstand attack and face confrontation without a loss of inner balance.
Can you dig it?