Episode #21: Why we must build mental toughness with Dr. Gilda Scarfe

In this episode, we talked to Dr. Gilda Scarfe, expert on mental toughness, about what mental toughness is and how to build it. 

Gilda Scarfe is the founder and CEO of Positive Ed & the Mental Toughness Institute, and a member of the advisory board for the Global Flourishing Study, led by the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University, Baylor University and Gallup. Gilda is a positive psychology practitioner and mental toughness expert with a Ph.D. in the conceptualization of mental toughness and its application in education. She has worked in performance psychology, mental toughness, and leadership science for over 15 years. 

Gilda specializes in the design and implementation of flourishing and mental toughness in learning, decision-making, quality of relationships, performance, and organizational climate; measuring mental toughness; and the influence of mental toughness training on key life outcomes. 

Gilda is an international keynote speaker and consults around the world with school and Fortune 500 companies on best practices for integrating wellbeing, mental toughness and positive psychology domains into training and product design. She works with global businesses, high-growth startups, individuals, elite athletes, coaches and teams.

Key conversation points:

• What mental toughness is: Gilda’s “SCARFE” model of mental toughness, consisting of Self-efficacy; Commitment (the extent to which you follow through with a promise); Attitude; Relationships; Focus; and Emotional agility
• The importance to mental toughness of regulating our reaction to stress, self-awareness - being in tune with and responding to our emotions, and being in tune with our emotions
• The emphasis in Gilda’s work of building and expanding people’s agency, and the importance of self-efficacy to human agency

• Why the ability to create an accurate narrative about your life is important for building mental toughness
• The extent to which mental toughness is a personality trait and the extent to which it’s learned
• The virtues and strengths involved in mental toughness, including perseverance; curiosity; grit; resilience; patience; temperance; self-regulation; and distress tolerance

• How to connect mental toughness with knowing when to persevere with grit and knowing when to quit
• What “cognitive flexibility” is and why it’s important for mental toughness, particularly in building the skills to be able to change commitments and navigate change