"You have to be at your strongest when you feel at your weakest."

In one of my favorite videos of all-time, Admiral William McRaven’s iconic commencement speech at the University of Texas, McRaven shares the 10 life lessons he learned from basic Navy Seal training. Lesson 8 is, “if you want to change the world, you must be your very best in your darkest moments".

I see this as very related to our quote today because it also acknowledges the importance of performing at your best when the situation is not the best. To me, it’s a separation between the task at hand and the mentality you approach the task with. If you tell yourself something is hard, it is going to be even harder, and you give yourself an easy way out before it has even begun. But, the alternative is preparing your brain and body for action in those difficult times with a belief that your best will come out. This will help you live up to the challenge and even overcome it. Basically, if you can prime your brain to perform at it’s best in these trying moments, you will succeed more often.

The best way to prime your brain is through positivity, by seeing the opportunity in the situation, and being grateful for the challenge because we know that through challenges we experience growth. Approaching tasks with positivity will rewrite your reality and allows you to be more effective in whatever environment you find yourself in. So, in order to be at your strongest when you feel at your weakest, use a positive perspective to help you perform at your best.