246: how to rewire your brain for mental toughness

Building Resilience Through “Meet Yourself Saturday”

Resilience isn’t built in comfort — it’s forged when we push ourselves beyond what’s easy. Over the years, I’ve realized that mental toughness is less about surviving random hardships and more about manufacturing challenges that train your mind. That’s where my practice of Meet Yourself Saturday comes in.

You’ve probably heard the phrase: Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. Weak men create hard times. Right now, we live in relatively good times. Most of us don’t face true survival struggles — which means if we want to be mentally tough, we must create the training ourselves.

Why Mental Resilience Matters

Your mind can be your greatest ally or your biggest enemy. Every day, we fight internal conversations:

• “I don’t want to wake up early.”

• “I don’t want to do the workout.”

• “I’m too tired to focus on hard work.”

Resilience is about controlling that conversation. The mentally weak side of you will always appear — but with practice, you can train the strong side to take over.

Meet Yourself Saturday: My Favorite Mental Toughness Practice

I’ve used fitness as a safe way to push mental limits for over a decade. My favorite method is a once-a-week workout I call Meet Yourself Saturday. The idea is simple: once per week, do a workout so challenging that you meet the version of yourself who wants to quit. When you hear that voice, you have an opportunity to reframe it and push forward.

For three different years, my chosen Meet Yourself Saturday workout was the famous Murph:

• 1-mile run

• 100 pull-ups

• 200 push-ups

• 300 air squats

• Finish with another 1-mile run (ideally wearing a 20-lb vest)

Sometimes my challenge was just showing up when I didn’t want to work out. Other times, it was about chasing a personal record and refusing to slow down. Either way, every Saturday became a mental training session.

How Long It Really Takes to Build True Resilience

Most people want quick fixes — but mental toughness isn’t built in a week. Research shows habit formation can take anywhere from 16 to 254 days. I like to think in terms of five years. Do something hard once per week for five years, and you will become a different person.

That’s 254 Meet Yourself Saturdays. It’s not sexy or fast — but it works. True resilience takes consistent reps over time.

Make It Visible

One thing I love is creating a visual reminder of your resilience training. I’ve done it with my kids by giving them “Try Harder” stickers after tough workouts. Some athletes stack real bricks on a wall in their gym — each brick represents one hard session. Seeing your progress builds pride and keeps you going.

Practical Tips to Start

• Pick a challenge: Start with something difficult but safe (long run, Murph, rowing challenge, heavy EMOM).

• Do it weekly: Only once per week is enough to grow without burning out.

• Recognize the voice: When your mind says “quit,” see it as an opportunity, not a threat.

• Track your wins: Stickers, bricks, or a journal to mark each completed session.

Resilience isn’t built overnight. But if you commit to this practice, you’ll be mentally stronger, tougher, and more capable of handling whatever life throws at you.

Show Notes

• 00:30 – Why mental toughness must be built intentionally in modern “good times.”

• 01:45 – How controlling your inner conversation is the key to resilience.

• 03:00 – Introduction to the “Meet Yourself Saturday” workout concept.

• 04:20 – How I used the Murph workout for mental toughness over the years.

• 06:00 – The surprising truth about how long it takes to build real grit.

• 07:30 – Why tracking and visualizing your progress matters for resilience.

• 08:50 – How to start your own Meet Yourself Saturday routine and stick with it.

• 09:30 – Final mindset shift: seeing discomfort as growth.