Sorry for the rant. As I said, I like the idea of this book and would love to see teens (and even adults) be challenged to do "hard things" and be pushed out of their comfort zone, but these two holier than thou types aren't going to inspire any self respecting adolescents to do anything. Author Steve Magness is a world-renowned expert on performance, coauthor of Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, and The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, and the author of The Science of Running: How to find your limit and train to maximize your performance. Collectively his books have sold more than a quarter-million copies in print, ebook, and audio formats. If you are looking for inspiration on how to get more honest with yourself than ever thought possible... readthisbook.” In one of my classes, we read an old prayer each week. It has unfamiliar words that can be odd and hard to say. Few people ever volunteer to read it. Last week, this book kept nagging me to just do it and read the prayer. I was nervous but when the teacher asked for a volunteer, I immediately raised my hand. It went well and I am glad I did it, but had it not been for this book, I never would have read that prayer to the class. Life's challenges provide everyone the potential to grow. Some challenges advantage the young, some the old, some the small, some the large, some the naive, some the wise, some the introvert, some the extrovert.

In a world dominated by social media and the appearance of connection, rather than actual relationships, the need for genuine connection is even more paramount According to the old-school definition, it’s “tough” to ignore your feelings and emotions. But actually, when you ignore your feelings, you’re wasting a huge opportunity to become more resilient. Think of emotions as the brain’s first line of defense. They’re giving you a signal that something is up. And the better you’re able to sit with and listen to your emotions, the tougher you’ll become. As part of an experiment by the University of Wisconsin, two groups of people were subjected to a hot probe placed on the sensitive skin below the wrist. It sounds sadistic, but it was all in the name of science. See, the experiment was designed to measure how we experience pain. And while one group was selected at random, the other group consisted of elite-level meditators. Both groups gave the same rating to the intensity of the pain. But the meditators rated the experience as about three times less unpleasant than the non-meditators. Every challenging and worthwhile endeavor brings a heavy dose of discomfort. When discomfort strikes, the amygdala – a small region in the brain that scientists call the body’s alarm system – is activated. People who burnout have an overactivated amygdala they cannot calm down.

Here is a three-part method to reliably return your amygdala to baseline and maintain a state of equanimity (evenness and composure in stressful situations):

Do Hard Things is an extraordinary book. In fact, I believe it will prove to be one of the most life-changing, family-changing, church-changing, and culture-changing books of this generation. I'd love for every teenager to read this book, but I'm just as eager for every parent, church leader, and educator to read it." Humans have three psychological needs: autonomy, competency, and belonging. If you can cultivate a feeling of autonomy, competency, and belonging during a difficult endeavor, you will dramatically increase your odds of finishing that endeavor. This book has totally changed the way I think. I recommend it to any and every teen who has a desire to turn their life around and make a difference." Adult expectations for youth are too low. And these twins are out to raise them. Don’t adapt to the low cultural expectations for youth. Set high ones. Youth can become examples for adults. Think that way. Dream that way. Or as the Harris brothers would say, ‘Rebel against low expectations.’” In DO HARD THINGS, Steve Magness dismantles the widely endorsed but damaging suggestion that toughness is about bulldozing your way through difficult situations. Magness' version of toughness—"real toughness"—is 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 can't recommend it highly enough"They don't shy away from the less popular aspects of living as a Christian, such as having unpopular opinions on pre-marital sex, homosexuality, abortion and R-rated movies. Do Hard Things is so important. It is challenging teenagers to rebel against the low expectations placed on them. And the voices that are asking teens to rise to meet this challenge are voices from their own generation. That thrills me.” As well as simply finding many of the scientific studies really interesting, the main ideas I'll take away are: This book is a wake up call to a generation that is down in the dumps. It's like a coach screaming from the sidelines, 'You can do it!!!'. I'd recommend it to anyone, young or old."