Resiliency: Does your mind run your body? Published Sept. 16, 2014 By Lt. Col. Matthew Husemann 9 A DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- "Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up... but the body is never tired if the mind is not tired... you've always got to make the mind take over and keep going." General George S. Patton How is your body and mind? Are you prepared to attack every day and perform at the level required to deliver excellence? How do you prepare? Finally, are you physically and mentally prepared to take care of the Airmen you work for? These are just some of the questions to consider when analyzing your physical fitness. Physical fitness is a perfect opportunity to train your body and mind concurrently. During a recent "90+" workout with the Fitness Center Staff I attacked a 30 minute workout with fervor. All through this workout I experienced moments of success, especially at the beginning, followed by multiple failed repetitions. When I failed, I ended up hitting the gym floor, my body succumbed to muscular fatigue and I failed to successfully execute the next repetition. But like General Patton discussed, this is when the training begins, the mind has to take over and run the body. I must train myself to continue to attempt the exercise despite my muscular fatigue. A physical training program helps me develop my physical, and most importantly my mental strength. With each workout session my body and mind grow stronger to overcome fatigue and accomplish a few more excellent repetitions. General Patton's thoughts do not strictly pertain to physical fitness, but directly relate to resiliency, the ability to overcome challenges and bounce back. We are all training to be more resilient Airmen. As leaders, PT is an excellent opportunity to lead by example and demonstrate resiliency. Every Airman is a leader and physical training sessions are a great opportunity to lead by example. We must show up, have a great attitude, and be willing to get to work and sweat. A good workout program will force all fitness levels to failure and allow a demonstration of how the mind must run the body. When our bodies reach the point of failure, what are our next actions? Do we stop the workout and walk away or do we overcome physical failure with mental toughness and demonstrate our ability to win any battle? Winning the battle might simply be accomplishing one more repetition in the fitness center, but this directly translates to our daily life and attacking another day with a positive attitude despite the circumstances of the previous day! Finally, as leaders we have a unique opportunity to work for the greatest Airmen in the world. Being in the trenches with them battling physical fitness is imperative to taking care of them and it is a primary building block for trust and transparency. During a workout we all show weakness and vulnerabilities, and how we recover from our failures reveals our character and resiliency. The trust and transparency leaders gain in a workout session will result in excellence. As an Airman, seize every opportunity to train your mind to take over and run your body, be resilient, and we will win any battle!