There are a ton of organizations that can get your physically tough. Whether you are looking to do a marathon, a Tough Mudder, a Spartan Race, a triathlon, become a greater competitor in your sport, or simply level up your fitness from vegging on the couch, there is a company for you.
They will train you to make your body your instrument for production through physical training, hours of effort, better fuel and habits, and a tough mentality.
Speaking of mentality, there are also a lot of newer organizations and some old ones that are all about mental toughness. This has actually been the most exciting area for me to explore as I have been looking to grow as an individual especially since the COVID era with confidence and conviction no matter what comes next. During the past few years, we all had to fight for what we thought was right. We may not have agreed over that time, but mental toughness was an essential part of standing firm in what you believed in and what you stood for most. I think this has caused a good rush of individuals who have risen up during that time of testing and found out they are leaders, willing to stand when others didn’t know what to do. I too felt pressed and pounded, but I realized that I could not nor would not go against conscience or conviction. I was ready to lead regardless of the consequences. That is mental toughness. It is necessary for physical training, mental battles, the willpower to do the right thing or the best thing in the moment, and the fortitude to endure through the highs AND the lows.
Speaking of highs and lows, there are also a lot of groups and companies that focus on emotional resilience. This is a newer term, but the idea is as old as time. This concept focuses on building the ability to not be caught up in a swell of emotion all the time. Instead, through training and practice, you can learn to regulate emotion to a certain extent, and even more, learn how to respond to the emotions appropriately. We all feel all the time. The question is, what do you do with that feeling? How do you cope? How do you react? Will you stay there, or will you walk through a process that will change your feelings more quickly to a much more comfortable and desirable emotion? This is emotional resilience.
All of these skills are essential to a balanced and productive life. They are needed and so are the organizations, groups and companies that focus on these three. However, there is another area that transcends even these three important areas of who we are, the mental, physical and emotional, and that is the spiritual. Our soul matters infinitely more.
This leads me to an area I feel is largely untouched in the modern arena. Here at Underground, we hope to change that. SPIRITUAL TOUGHNESS is the #1 goal of this movement, community and organization. Don't get me wrong, we WILL focus on physical toughness, mental toughness, emotional resilience, but they will remain servants to the deeper foundation, spiritual toughness.
Spiritual toughness must be more than an addendum or an appendage to your life plan and daily routine. Think about it critically. If all you had was mental toughness, what happens when willpower is not enough? If all you have is physical toughness, what happens when the lactic acid has filled your muscles and you can't go on? If all you have is emotional resilience, will you be able to stop the pain and brokenness in the world that necessitated the need for that resilience in the first place? No, those are wonderful tools to have but they are not enough without spiritual toughness. If you have nothing under the ground of your identity, eventually everything above the surface will crumble and fall. There will be nothing left.
However, "If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:32-29).
How can a human say things like that? How can he be so confident even in the face of death, demons, doubt, and the depths of despair? Because of SPIRITUAL TOUGHNESS that comes from being GROUNDED IN TRUTH and POWERED BY CHRIST.
That is what UNDERGROUND is here to help you do, gain that kind of foundation, so that you have NOTHING to fear in life or in the afterlife. When you know Jesus and the life he has won for you, you will never be the same. A spiritual foundation powered by Jesus and continually grounded in THE truth will make your mental, physical and emotional toughness that much more empowered and effective. It makes you a conqueror every day, friend!
We can’t wait to see what God is going to do in you. We also can’t wait to roll out more content, challenges, events, community space and communication so that God can spiritually strengthen all of us for the challenges ahead. With Jesus Christ as our foundation and power source though, we can’t lose!
Titus Buelow
[Pastor & Founder of Underground]