On Building Mental Toughness…

Rock Bottom Was the Wake-Up Call

I had hit rock bottom.

Right before the pandemic, I was the heaviest I’d ever been—212 pounds. I remember standing in front of the mirror, sobbing, completely disgusted with how far I had let myself go. Honestly, it was probably more than that, because after a certain point, I stopped stepping on the scale altogether. I started deleting photos of myself, pretending I was fine, ignoring the real problem at hand—my mindset.

My confidence? Gone.
My self-esteem? Nonexistent.

I was prepping for my second ACL and meniscus surgery, getting ready to be married later that year… and then, of course, the world shut down. The pandemic flipped everything upside down.

But funny enough, one of the best things that came out of that time—aside from recovery—was TikTok.

Hours of scrolling through videos eventually led me to a post about the 75 Hard program by Andy Frisella. Something about it hit me instantly. The challenge. The structure. The discipline. It lit something in me I hadn’t felt in years. As a former high school and college athlete, that fire of competition and growth never truly leaves you—it just gets buried under life.

And let me tell you, this woke it up.

One of my favorite movies of all time is G.I. Jane—a woman who embodies pure resilience and grit. Watching her conquer the impossible always made me want to be that version of myself. So when I discovered 75 Hard, I knew this was it. I was going all in.

I started reading everything I could about mental toughness and found myself in the vortex of people who lived it—David Goggins. Jocko Willink. Michael Jordan. Kobe Bryant. Their stories became fuel. I studied how they executed under pressure, how they showed up no matter what, and how they refused to make excuses.

And that’s when everything clicked:

“You already know what to do. You just have to do it.”

Because let’s be real—when you want to change your life, there’s a 99.99% chance you already know what needs to be done. The workouts. The meals. The habits. The late nights. The early mornings. The real barrier isn’t knowledge—it’s your mindset.

That’s where mental toughness comes in.

I learned that mental toughness is a skill that’s earned. You’re not born with it—you build it. You are in complete control of your life, whether you want to believe it or not.

That realization hit me like a ton of bricks.
If I wanted change, I had to control what I could control—my emotions, my focus, my resilience, my discipline. No one was coming to save me.

So I showed up. Every day.
No shortcuts. No excuses.

And slowly, I built momentum. I started stacking wins. I began reaching levels I never thought I could, and the more I grew, the more I realized the work never ends. You just keep pushing—callusing your mind—and somewhere along the way, you become unshakable.

That’s the key to everything.
Everything you want in life is on the other side of becoming mentally tough.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve made it this far—thank you. Truly.

If you’re reading this and you’re struggling—maybe you feel stuck, lost, or like you’ve hit your own rock bottom—don’t stop here. Keep following along. Stay connected. This community is built for people just like you—people who want to rise, rebuild, and redefine what’s possible.

Follow me on Instagram @TheMentalToughnessRN for daily doses of Mindset, Toughness, Relentlessness, and No Excuses—the Core-4 that built the foundation for everything I stand for.

And don’t forget to subscribe to the MTRN Newsletter so you never miss new blog posts, tools, and mental toughness challenges designed to keep you evolving every single day.

This is just the beginning.
Welcome to the movement.

It begins with a purpose…

I’ve always felt like I was meant for more. Even in a career built on caring for others—pouring my heart into every shift as an emergency department nurse—it still didn’t feel like enough. I wanted a purpose that was bigger than me. Bigger than anything I could imagine—and then 10x that.

I wanted to build something from the ground up. Something that one day I could look back on and say, “Yeah, I built that shit.”

But where do you even start?
What steps do you take?
Is it even possible? Reachable?

Here’s what I’ve learned: if you want to do something—just start. Execute. Figure it out as you go. Change, adapt, edit, pivot—as many times as you need to until it clicks.

Look around. People have built extraordinary companies and movements who once had zero clue what they were doing. No internet. No social media. No YouTube. Nothing. And here we are in 2025—with everything at our fingertips. You can learn anything. You have AI. You have podcasts. You have access to knowledge that generations before us couldn’t even dream of.

So honestly, there are no excuses left.

That’s what this is all about. I took my passions and built something I truly believe can shift culture—a movement that reminds people that you have to work hard to get somewhere in life. You have to change your mindset, go against the grain, and be relentless. No shortcuts. No excuses. Because excuses will get you nowhere fast.

And the best part? This is only the beginning.

If you’re reading this, thank you. I mean that. You being here means everything. I know that with time, this movement will spark a cultural revolution around all things Mental Toughness.

I’m here to translate it—to show you that mental toughness is the key to everything you’ve ever wanted. It’s uncomfortable. It’s gritty. It’s fucking hard. But it’s worth it.

If you’re ready to stop taking shortcuts, if you’re done making excuses, and you want to start stacking days of discipline and hard work—then you’re in the right place.

Follow me on Instagram @TheMentalToughnessRN where the Core-4—Mindset, Toughness, Relentlessness, and No Excuses—is delivered every single day.

Be ready. Be inspired.
And get ready to set a new standard for yourself.

Because once you do, you’ll look back and say,
“I’m never going back to that place again.”
And that’s when the rest becomes history.