Hardcover – 320 pages

From beloved performance expert and bestselling author of Peak Performance comes a revolutionary science-based new definition of toughnessone that focuses on assessing a challenge on a physiological and psychological level.

Steve Magness is one of the giants of modern thinking about high performance across domains. . . .Real Toughnessis a crucial read for anyone who cares about delivering their best when the stakes are highest.Alex Hutchinson,New York Timesbestselling author of Endure

Toughness has long been held as a fundamental key to achieving peak performance. For generations, weve been taught toughness means bulldozing throughpushing to the point of breakdownand that showing any sign of weakness is failure. This model of toughness has long been glorified and celebrated. But the truth is, it doesnt work.

Steve Magness, a performance scientist who coaches Olympic athletes, now offers a new kind of toughnessreal toughnessthat can help anyone navigate adversity and challenge. Grounded in the latest sports science and psychology, real toughness is about paying attention to your physiological, emotional, and psychological responses (from pain to anger) and working with them to overcome a challenge. Real toughness works with our biology and psychology; fake toughness fights against them.

Real toughness is based on four core pillars which cultivate genuine inner strength:

• Pillar 1Ditch the Faade, Embrace Reality
• Pillar 2Listen to Your Body
• Pillar 3Respond, Instead of React
• Pillar 4Transcend Discomfort

LikeEndureandThe Talent Code, Real Toughnessflips the script on what it means to be tough, pointing to new research that shows how our understanding of resilienceone that ignores discomfortis wrong. Magness draws from mindfulness, military case studies, sports psychology, neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy to show how real toughness makes us more successful, happier, and better people.