EMU'S DR. ANTHONY MORENO'S THOUGHTS ON "TOUGHNESS"

Dr. Anthony Moreno is a Professor at EMU in the Health and Human Services Department. Dr. Moreno has been instrumental in getting our internship program started here at Chelsea.  After returning from Poland recently he contributed his thoughts on "Toughness".   Go check him and the program out at http://www.emich.edu/hphp/orthotics_facview.php?a=141 .

Poles are "tough" people. When your country has been overrun by Mongols, Germanic tribes, Russians, etc etc for centuries yet you still survive...you are resilient. Toughness to me is resilience. The only way to become "tough" is to be exposed to tough situations and learning how to mentally cope with those situations. Physical preparedness helps but ask any Navy SEAL, Marine, or Special Ops guy and I think they will tell you that toughness comes from a "will" to withstand any circumstance at all costs. There are a lot of tough physically strong people in this world that can be broken down, but to be mentally tough requires a mindset that refuses to lose at all costs. You can't take a man's or woman's pride...it's embedded in their will. When someone loses the will to continue to fight...they have lost their mental toughness. Once the mind quits it doesn't matter what the body will do....conversely there are many tales of survival where the body was broken, but the will to survive kept them going.

Anthony Moreno

PhD CSCS

Associate Professor

PhD, Kinesiology - Michigan State University
MS, Physical Education - University of Nevada
BS, Physical Education - California State - Fullerton