We also have strong personal narratives – those we tell ourselves about our lives and identity – maybe that we’re a failure and our lives have come to naught, or that we’re special enough that the limits that apply to others don’t apply to us, or that human beings are so fundamentally evil that anyone’s bold, imaginative thinking about a positive

The most resilient people in the face of uncertainty—the ones who feel the least anxiety, the ones who are more likely to take the most worthwhile risks, the ones who get back on the horse when they get knocked off—adopt the perspective that the goal of life is internal and that the results are partly outside their control.

Mental toughness is required for enduring success, and it’s principally derived from having a positive self-story. To build your self-story, you need evidence, and that evidence is derived from the choices you make in the face of adversity. Be wary of counter-evidence and the insidious long-term impact it can have on your self-belief and behaviour.