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Resilience is defined as “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.”

There’s no surprise that it’s a characteristic of some of the world’s most successful people. It’s also a required trait to endure and succeed in some of the toughest specialties in the U.S. military.

Over on Task and Purpose (a site for members of the U.S. military) and Fatherly (a site for–well, fathers), a former U.S. Navy SEAL named Eric Greitens (now a candidate for Missouri governor, by the way) shared his tips for raising children to be more resilient–rules that also apply to anyone who wants to increase their mental toughness.

(Got ideas for a future column? Contact me and let me know. You might also check out my colleague Chris Matyszczyk’s column about Navy SEALs, leadership, and getting up in the morning.)

Here’s our take on the plan Greitens outlined (you can read his original remarks hereand here):

1. Set a great example.

Like any self-improvement program, increasing resiliency requires demonstrating a commitment. And if you hope to inspire others, such as your children, it’s doubly important.

“To paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson, who you are will speak more loudly to your children than anything you say,” says Greitens. “If they see you always able to pick yourself up when you’ve been knocked down, that’s behavior they’re going to adopt intuitively.”

2. Take responsibility.

Responsibility here means over everything that you can control in your life. There are things you can’t control, sure–but know the difference.

“Teach your children early not to pass the blame or make excuses, but to take responsibility for their actions” says Greitens.

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