Mental Toughness Test

About The MTI Mental Toughness Test:

Watch any sporting event, and you’re bound to hear some version of the phrase: “That athlete has great mental toughness.” Ironically, in our experience talking with commentators and pros across most sports, they have no clue where mental toughness comes from. They do however have a general ability to describe what it looks like to be mentally tough as an observer:

• Staying calm after mistakes
• Adaptable when faced with adversity
• Performing well when it matters most

Interestingly, while there are vast differences in how you prepare for an athletic event or key business event, how you train and prepare mentally are quite similar. Mental Toughness consists of four pillars:

• Motivation
• Concentration
• Overcoming Pressure
• Confidence.

If you can get all of those pillars to be highly positive at the same time, you’re very likely to have a peak performance in whatever it is you do. The first step is finding out how you rank in those pillars. The next step is learning how to improve them. That’s what this test is all about.

More About The 4 Pillars of Mental Toughness:

Here’s how we describe each of the 4 Pillars of Mental Toughness:

Motivation:

• Pushing yourself beyond your abilities
• Working hard (harder than others)
• Persistence – refusal to give up
• Setting difficult/attainable goals
• Bouncing back from performance setbacks
• Internal motive to succeed

Concentration (Attentional Focus):

• Remaining totally focused on the task
• Not being distracted by events surrounding the performance of the task
• Not being distracted by personal events
• Remaining in control despite unexpected, uncontrollable events

Overcoming Pressure:

• Cope effectively with adversity
• Stay calm under pressure
• Accept that anxiety is inevitable – enjoy it
• Make quick decisions under pressure
• Thrive on the pressure
• Maintain focus and effort under pressure

Confidence (Self-Belief):

• Having an unshakable belief in your ability to achieve your goals
• Believing that you have unique qualities that will allow you to succeed
• Believing that you can overcome obstacles placed in your way

Why you can trust us:

Mental Training, Inc. was founded in 2006 by Dr. Robert Neff. After playing professional tennis, Dr. Neff completed a Ph.D. in Sport Psychology from Michigan State University. Dr. Neff has been providing mental toughness training services for Olympic and professional athletes, coaches, and business professionals since 1990. Dr. Neff was on the United States Olympic Committee Sport Psychology Registry from 2006-2016 and has been a Certified Mental Trainer® (CMT) since 1994. His athlete clients include countless national junior and collegiate champions, professionals, world champions, and Olympic gold medalists.

Mental Training, Inc. has developed several web-based and mobile training programs and services to address the key elements needed to develop effective mental skills. These are taught by sport psychology experts following best practices in mental training, and provide useful tools and support to enhance individual program success. Performers must be able to satisfy all 3 mastery steps in order to perform consistently when it matters most:

• Understanding the key mental skills
• Converting the skills into habits
• Applying the skills appropriately when needed

MTI publishes its client mental skill improvement data annually. Within the first month, clients improve 55% and within 3 months, clients improve over 110% (based on 1244 clients over 10 years).

Here are some of MTI’s Partners & Clients: