Learn to value the journey and the lessons it brings, as they are just as important as the end result. Elite endurance athletes see their inner voice and the feelings that come with it as information, not a personal sign of who they are. After finishing it I bought several copies to share with others, because what this book contains is too important to keep to oneself. By accepting that our inner doubts and anxieties are a part of life, we learn to use them as information. For too long, we have lauded stories of coaches and leaders who practice the ‘weed-out’ school of toughness—subject a bunch of people to something unpleasant, and those who survive must have become high performers because of it.

I guess I was hoping more for some concrete ideas rather than the greatest hits of performance studies from the last 60 years or so. Magness breaks the book into four core pillars that we should be utilizing to find our inner strength. We’ve forgotten that those who shout the loudest, those who need to put up pictures or run political ads showing their strength, often are the most insecure.Compounding our confusion, we’ve resorted to tying toughness to masculinity and an ethos of machismo. it was written by teens for teens and while it's all great to learn from adults talking about adult stuff to their adult audience there's something freaking special to hear this message from someone like you meant for YOU. When we satisfy basic needs, we create an environment where people play to win, instead of playing not to lose. This book has launched me on a journey to tear down my comfort zone, something I'm both excited and scared about.

And not just for those wanting to launch successfully into adulthood, but also for discontent twenty- and thirty-somethings who long to be catapulted into significance. In Do Hard Things, Magness teaches us how we can work with our body - how experiencing discomfort, leaning in, paying attention, and creating space to take thoughtful action can be the true indications of cultivating inner strength. V. it's dream worthy and it's practical and they address your fears and the problems you'll face and they point you back at God again and again.Written by teens for teens, Do Hard Things is packed with humorous personal anecdotes, practical examples, and stories of real-life rebelutionaries in action. As sports psychologist Brian Zuleger told me: “Telling people to relax doesn’t work unless you’ve taught people how actually to relax.

Mentors can provide guidance, support, and valuable insights that can accelerate your progress towards your goals. Learning how to navigate, not avoid or bulldoze through, works in the psychologist’s office just like it does out on the athletic fields or military training grounds. Each chapter is chocked-full of interesting anecdotes (some personal, in-the-trenches experience), and the latest scientific discourse packaged in an engaging and digestible way. Throughout the book Magness discusses not only dealing with physical pain and barriers but with mental barriers to performance.Despite the title sounding somewhat like it would be talking mostly about grit, it is more of a broad-based look, that focuses on self-betterment and performance; across all endeavours. We lose our minds, freaking out when someone holds a different view or asks us to do something that, ultimately, is a minor inconvenience. If you are interested in self-betterment, and/or high performance - then this one needs to be on your to-read list. I never realized how much of my life was spent complaining about the small things my parents asked of me.

When life feels like it’s spinning out of control, or like the task you have in front of you is insurmountable, it’s easy to default to hopelessness. It was mostly a compilation of studies to show you how some people are lil babies and others are not.

I have been a fan of Steve Magness' perspective on Twitter for a long time and respect how he spoke out against Alberto Salazar and left Nike back when that scandal was going down.