What is 'Emotional Stamina' and why you need it?

Aug 19, 2024

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Hello friend! 👋

If you’ve joined us from LinkedIn, a warm welcome from the Super Sunday community - it’s good to have you! 🙌

Let’s talk about a concept often overlooked on the road to success and well-being: Emotional Stamina.

Emotional stamina is the ability to keep going and stick to commitments, even when motivation is low, or you just don’t feel like it.

It’s how you maintain consistency and achieve long-term goals.

I learned about this concept from Phil Stutz — a renowned psychiatrist who wrote the book “The Tools”; a set of practices designed to help people overcome obstacles and build resilience.

(You might also know him from the Netflix show STUTZ with Jonah Hill — I highly recommend it.)

So, how do you get emotional stamina?

Let’s unpack that together.

1. Build awareness

(define the concept)

You hear about physical stamina all the time — the ability to keep going ‘physically’ even when you’re tired.

Emotional stamina is as crucial (if not more so).

Especially if you want to keep commitments you make to yourself and others.

Stutz tells us that emotional stamina is what separates those who achieve their goals from those who don’t — It’s about doing what you need to do, not just when you’re motivated or inspired, but especially when you’re not.

Why is this important?

Because life is unpredictable. Motivation fluctuates, challenges come up, and sometimes we fail to over come those challenges.

Emotional stamina allows you to push through these moments so you stay on course.

2. Make these choices:

(decisions/actions to bring it to life)

To build emotional stamina, you want to integrate these practices into your routine:

Be clear on your commitments:
Define what you want to achieve and commit to it fully. Knowing your ‘why’ helps maintain focus when motivation lowers.
Embrace discomfort:
Acknowledge that discomfort is part of the process. Instead of avoiding it, realize that it is a sign that you’re in a zone of growth. (The Stoics say ‘Be grateful for it!’, but you don’t have to go that far 🙂)
Practice discipline (daily):
Build small, consistent habits that reinforce your goals. Even on tough days, commit to doing something, no matter how small, that moves you closer to your goal.
Plan ahead:
You know life will get in the way, and the hallmark of a successful person is his or her flexibility. Anticipate the days when you know motivation will dip and adjust accordingly.

3. Build them in a system:

(using the science of habit and willpower to make it consistent)

Keeping a journal is the best way to build a system for increasing your emotional stamina. Here’s a process to keep it alive:

Journal in the morning to align with your deeper goals and make micro-commitments for the day.
Reflect in the evening to celebrate one thing you did that day, even though you were not fully in the mood for it — What happened? What kept you going?
Celebrate that win. The more you celebrate the more this way of acting becomes part of your identity, feeding your emotional stamina.

Building emotional stamina is about training your mind and heart.

It’s not just about getting through the hard days — it’s about becoming stronger because of them.

Thanks for reading!

P.S. I'm creating a journal that turns these insights (and others I share with you here) into daily, actionable steps with prompts and reminders. If you'd like to check it out, just reply with ‘I'm interested’, and I'll keep you updated on its progress. 🙌

Have a Super Sunday! ⚡️

With much joy,

Hashim