Excerpt from Turning on the Lights: Part II.4.c Mental Toughness
Mental toughness is everything!
Another example of mental toughness is seen in the 1987 science fiction action movie Predator, about a technologically-advanced alien. During a firefight in guerrilla-held territory in a Central American rainforest, the characters Poncho and Blain are at the base of a hill, and they’re being fired at from an enemy bunker high up on the hillside above them. It is a life and death moment, when Poncho suddenly notices that Blain has been shot on the arm, and he urgently says to him, “You’re hit. You’re bleeding, man.” Without even reacting and keeping his focus on the enemy bunker, a very serious Blain replies, “I ain’t got time to bleed.” This is an extreme example of mental toughness in the face of a difficult challenge, but it serves to highlight the importance of mental toughness. When a MESA Creator is facing a similarly difficult challenge, I will use the “ain’t got time to bleed” example to help keep them focused on their goals while overcoming their challenge.
This happened for MESA Creator Oscar, who had been accepted for transfer to San Diego State University (SDSU) for the spring semester. Oscar was a Latino student majoring in mechanical engineering. Being accepted for transfer was a very exciting moment for him because he was a former university dropout, and he was working his way back to the university. After graduating from high school, he began his university studies at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) in International Studies. At the beginning of his journey, he didn’t have the maturity or readiness for college, which caused him to have personal problems and depression due to a lack of direction and fear of the future. This was a time when he needed guidance, and UCSD also did not train him in the learning culture. As a result, Oscar did not succeed academically, and he dropped out of school after only one year. This began a twelve year period in which he looked to find his passion by working in jobs in different career areas, until he found it – his passion was mechanical engineering! Next, Oscar enrolled at San Diego City College (SDCC), and he joined the MESA Program, where he was trained in the learning culture. As an older student with many life experiences, he was truly re-born within the learning culture. It was exactly what he needed. He had the wisdom to embrace the learning culture, and he became a rising scholar and leader at SDCC. While balancing academics, work and personal commitments, Oscar proved to himself that he had what it takes to succeed. He excelled in very challenging STEM courses and earned acceptance for transfer to SDSU. Then one week before his fall semester finals prior to transfer, Oscar was informed by SDSU that he lacked the minimum GPA required for transfer, which terminated his acceptance to the university. This happened because his overall GPA was affected by the very low GPA that he earned at UCSD in a past life years ago, and Oscar did not realize that this would happen. It was very unfortunate because this was a new Oscar, who was now in control of his learning in the bright light of the learning culture. He was so close to achieving his dream, but it seemed that everything was again taken away from him. He was devastated, and he called his Corner Man for advice. I too was very surprised and upset, but I also understood that Oscar needed to keep his focus on his finals, with the goal of finishing strong. He needed to focus on what he could control, and he needed to let his Corner Man advocate for him with SDSU. I shared the ain’t got time to bleed story to re‑focus him, and he loved it! Meanwhile, SDSU agreed to give Oscar another chance by re-considering his transfer application based on his fall grades. This was the opportunity he needed. A very motivated Oscar crushed his finals like a MESA Creator, and he earned a 4.0 GPA in very challenging courses, including Computational Methods for Engineering, Properties of Materials, Electric Circuits and Dynamics. SDSU rewarded Oscar by re-admitting him for transfer in spring! He did it; he proved to himself that he had the mental toughness needed to succeed, and I was very proud of him. When I congratulated Oscar for his accomplishment in being re-admitted for transfer, he thanked me for my support, smiled, and proudly shared, “Corner Man, when I was fighting to pass my finals, the only thought in my mind was I ain’t got time to bleed!”
Oscar is an SDSU mechanical engineering graduate and a masters scholar in mechanical engineering at SDSU. Click here to enjoy Oscar’s “my learning culture story” video.