Do Hard Things

a particular voice reaches awareness, it’s because it has a stronger feeling or sensation behind

Upekkha

didn’t resort to powering through. I processed through. True toughness is about navigating. It’s paying attention to the voices in my head, and making adjustments to address or overcome them. Not

the atmosphere was supportive and fostered autonomy and a sense of belonging, then the athletes were tougher and performed better.

means that you learn how to be comfortable with the uncomfortable.

Tough people are self-aware, and they get there by embracing reality and understanding who they are.

Practice Having a Calm Conversation Experience the sensations. Practice nonreactivity to them, interpreting them as information. See where your thoughts try to go. Watch them arise and let the negative ones float away. Try to calmly respond with positive dialogue. Feel the urge to quit or stop. Once you feel the urge to quit, try different strategi

our identity becomes set in stone, then any sort of threat to our inner narrative is interpreted as an attack.

For too long, our definition of toughness revolved around a belief that the toughest individuals are ones who have thick skin, fear nothing, constrain any emotional reaction, and hide all signs of vulnerability. In other words, they are callous.