Steve Magness - Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and the Surprising Science of Real Toughness

In Do Hard Things, Steve Magness beautifully and persuasively reimagines our understanding of toughness. This is a must read for parents and coaches and anyone else looking to prepare for lifes biggest challenges.

Malcolm Gladwell, New York Times bestselling author of Outliers and Talking to Strangers and host of the Revisionist History podcast

Steve delivers a critical message for our current age of posing and performance: real toughness is not about callous bravado, but instead about the ability to navigate difficulty with grace and an unwavering focus on what matters.

Cal Newport, New York Times bestselling author of Deep Work and Digital Minimalism

A thoughtful examination of what it really means to have the right stuff.

Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLife

Steve Magness is one of the giants of modern thinking about high performance across domains, blending a broad knowledge of cutting-edge psychology with hard-earned practical experience from the world-class athletes and other experts he coaches. In his new book, he takes on an age-old questionwho triumphs, and why, when the going gets tough?and reveals that many of our cherished instincts and assumptions are wrong. A crucial read for anyone who cares about delivering their best when the stakes are highest.

Alex Hutchinson, New York Times bestselling author of Endure

We celebrate stories of coaches and leaders who practice the weed-out school of toughness, but research shows that is precisely the wrong way to cultivate fortitude. It is past time to bring the stories in line with the science, and thats what Steve Magness does in Do Hard Things.

David Epstein, New York Times bestselling author of Range and The Sports Gene

In Do Hard Things, Steve Magness dismantles the widely endorsed but damaging suggestion that toughness is about bulldozing your way through difficult situations. Magnesss version of toughnessreal toughnessis more nuanced, forgiving, flexible, and learnable. Real toughness means processing stressors thoughtfully, deliberately, and with vulnerability, rather than superficially and rigidly. Do Hard Things changed how I think about stoicism and strength, both on the sports field and more broadly, and I cant recommend it highly enough.

Adam Alter, professor of marketing and psychology at New York Universitys Stern School of Business and New York Times bestselling author of Irresistible and Drunk Tank Pink

Do Hard Things will change your mind about what it means to be tough. Steve Magness makes a beautiful and compelling case for the value of inner strength over outer strength and humility over bluster. A must read!

Annie Duke, author of Thinking in Bets

Steve Magness possesses an incredible range of wisdom and knowledge about the science, psychology, and practical sides of sport performance. Do Hard Things is a master class in how to develop resilience, persistence, and confidence under pressure.

Christie Aschwanden, New York Times bestselling author of Good to Go

A must-read book on a timely and timeless topic, written by the perfect person to explore what it actually means to be tough. Steves been thinking about these issues for years, and this book presents a fascinating and, more importantly, extremely helpful new perspective on toughness and how to build it.

Brad Stulberg, bestselling author of The Practice of Groundedness

Steve Magness has established himself as a leading voice in performance optimization and achieving ones personal bestnessarete, as the Greeks say. In Do Hard Things, Magness questions long-standing beliefs that toughness is developed through hubris and infallibility. What he reveals is both hopeful and reassuring. Do Hard Things is essential reading for anyone looking to cultivate inner strength in a genuine and authentic way.

Dean Karnazes, ultramarathoner and New York Times bestselling author

Do Hard Things is an incredibly deep and completely new approach that examines why and how people overcome the toughest situations. Explaining different stories in a very entertaining lecture for the readers, Steve Magness, one of the most recognized authors and thinkers in sports science, gives us a master class on how to develop resilience and skills to perform at our best in difficult situations.

Kilian Jornet, author of Above the Clouds

The Science of Running

Peak Performance with Brad Stulberg

The Passion Paradox with Brad Stulberg

DO HARD THINGS . Copyright 2022 by Stephen Magness. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

FIRST EDITION

Cover design: Pete Garceau

Cover art: Shutterstock

Digital Edition JUNE 2022 ISBN: 978-0-06-309863-3

Version 04302022

Print ISBN: 978-0-06-309861-9

For Hillary, who continually shows me what love and

compassion are. You are the most genuine, kindhearted

person. Your dedication to all those around you is a

constant inspiration. I love you.

In loving memory of Tom Abbey, who taught me humility,

open-mindedness, and relentless optimism.

In loving memory of Matt Cobb, who taught me what it

means to dedicate yourself to exploring your limits.

H ard-nosed. Gritty. Playing through pain. Stoic. Exhibiting emotional fortitude. Showing no signs of distress. Persevering. When college students were asked to describe what it meant to be tough, these words and phrases came to mind. Among 160 elite athletes, perseverance came out on top. For most of us, as we read these descriptors, a particular image arises. Perhaps its a football player popping his dislocated shoulder back into place and demanding to be put back into the game, or maybe its Craig MacTavish, who retired in 1997 as the last player in the NHL to play without a helmet. For others, the image might be a wounded military hero or a mother fighting through discomfort to care for her child. Chances are that visions of individuals overcoming adversity and some sort of pain or suffering lead the way. Thats how we traditionally view toughness: overcoming obstacles with a combination of perseverance, discipline, and stoicism. And if were honest, when the word toughness is mentioned, many of us picture a strong brute of a man.

In a coaching career that spanned five decades and three universities, Bobby Knight amassed an impressive rsum. He won more than nine hundred games, the third most all-time in college basketball; reached the Final Four five times; and took home three NCAA national championships. Of all his successes, his 1976 Indiana basketball team stands out. They won every game they played, sweeping through the NCAA tournament with a win over Michigan to seal the perfect season and Knights first national championship. In the decades since, no team has been able to match their record. Looking back years later, Knight described what set them apart: That was a team that was almost impossible to beat, because of its toughness, its strength, its size.