Hardiness

Learn to embrace the 3 C's of psychological hardiness to overcome stress and increase personal growth

Life is full of questions. How you answer these questions can determine which path your life takes. Think about how many questions you are faced with every day. It can be overwhelming. From the mundane to the profound, questions help you navigate everything from your daily routine to your career choices and relationships. Sometimes, asking the right question is just as important as the answer: What do you want out of life? Is it financial success? A loving family? Career achievement? Maybe you are coping with a serious illness. Whatever your goal may be, you have undoubtedly encountered barriers that slow your progress. One of the biggest of these barriers is stress. Scientific research has found that your ability to resist the damaging effects of stress--your hardiness--can reduce stress-related illness and strengthen your ability to thrive under pressure.

Hardiness, written by respected clinical and research psychologists, will help develop your psychological hardiness which, in turn, enables you to enjoy more of life's rewards. Mastering the 3 C's of hardiness--commitment, control, and challenge--is essential to increasing hardiness and responding effectively to stressful situations. This invaluable guide provides exercises and activities, based on 30 years of research, specifically designed to increase your hardiness in all areas of your personal and professional life. This book will help you:

• Understand how hardiness is assessed to evaluate and improve your response to stress

• Unlock your new potential made possible by a better understanding of hardiness

• Examine real-life examples and case studies of psychological hardiness

• Increase your engagement in the surrounding world

• Capitalize on opportunities for your personal growth

Hardiness: Making Stress Work for You to Achieve Your Life Goals can help you move toward becoming healthier, more self-actualized, and increasingly satisfied with your life and future.

Autorentext

STEVEN J. STEIN, PHD, is a clinical psychologist and the Founder and Executive Chair of Multi-Health Systems (MHS), a leading behavior analytics firm. His work on human performance has been featured in top media outlets worldwide. He teaches at the Directors College of Canada. PAUL T. BARTONE, PHD, is a Visiting Research Fellow at the National Defense University's Institute for National Security Policy. During his U.S. Army career, Colonel Bartone served as the Army's senior research psychologist and deployed worldwide. He also taught leadership at West Point and at the National Defense University. Bartone has been studying hardiness, health, and performance for nearly forty years.

Klappentext
PRAISE FOR HARDINESS "Hardiness is the gift that keeps on giving. Steve and Paul have done a masterful job summarizing and integrating almost fifty years of research into one, easy-to-read, simple-to-apply manual on how to construct a life well-lived." SCOTT A. SNOOK, PHD, MBA Class of 1958, Senior Lecturer of Business Administration, Harvard Business School "I'm rushing out to buy a large stash of this book so I can give it away to everyone important to memy kids, my friends, and the business leaders I coach. Steve Stein and Paul Bartone have created a gift for anyone who encounters stress in their life." ALLEN MOORE, PHD, Global Lead for Executive Coaching, Korn Ferry "This book is essential reading for executives wanting to improve the resilience of their people and themselves. Hardiness is full of highly practical tips and techniques on how to do just that!" PEDRO ANGULO, Head of Leadership Development, AIB Bank (Allied Irish Banks) "Steven Stein and Paul Bartone have brought the topic (of resilience) into focus and provided insights to help leaders understand and promote a culture of resiliency with the goal of improved productivity, health, and the bottom line. It is a must-read!" MAJOR GENERAL RANDY MANNER, US Army, Retired, Executive Coach "As a retired U.S. Navy SEAL and now a Team and Leader Development Consultant, Hardiness: Making Stress Work for You to Achieve Your Life Goals was an excellent read. Stein and Bartone do an excellent job using data and research to correlate the hardiness components of commitment, control, and challenge to years of experience, education, and assessments. Hardiness and its components may be the linchpin development specialists have been looking for to obtain a competitive advantage. I look forward to using Hardiness to bring about clarity for my future clients." DR. CHRIS AUGER, LCDR (ret) U.S. Navy SEAL "Stress is an unavoidable part of life, and your health, success, and happiness depend on your ability to manage, not avoid it. With convincing evidence, practical tools, and real-life examples, Dr. Stein and Dr. Bartone show how building a hardier mindset helps overcome the most difficult circumstances and leads to higher performance." MICHAEL KATCHEN, Cofounder and CEO of Wealthsimple, a leading financial services innovator operating in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K.

Inhalt
Introduction xiii

Chapter 1 Stress: What's All the Fuss? 1

Stress: It's Unavoidable 4

Your Body's Response to Stress 6

Hardiness Can Make a Big Difference in How You Cope with Stress 9

Introducing the Three Cs 10

Chapter 2 Commitment: Why Pursuing Purpose in Life Matters 15

What is the Theory Behind Commitment? 16

What We Can Learn About Commitment from Prisoners of War 17

Surviving Post-traumatic Stress: Hardiness-Commitment Versus Short-Term Pleasures 18

Increasing Commitment in Your Life 20

Victor Frankl: Purpose, Commitment, and Meaning 21

The Role of Commitment in Success: Jim Carrey 23

When Commitment Leads to Calling: The Success Factor for Musicians 25

Chapter 3 Building Commitment 29

Take Time to Think About What is Important and Interesting to You 29

Are You Plagued by the Work/Balance Conundrum? 31

Increase Your Skills and Competence in an Area That is Important to You 32

Take Pride in Your Past Successes and Achievements 34

Remember the Good Things in Your Life, and Count Your Blessings 36

Spend Time with Family, Friends, and People You Care About 38

Pay Attention to What's Going On in the World Around You 39

Try Out New Things 41

Chapter 4 The Role of Hardiness-Challenge 45

A Tale of Two Accountants 46

How Challenge Prepares You for Change 47

Understanding Your Mindset 48

Expanding the Mindset Concept Beyond Abilities 50

Why Traditional Coping Methods Don't Always Work 52

Examining the Work of Worrying Theory 54

Stress Mindset Versus Hardiness-Challenge 57

How Can We Change Mindsets? 58

Physiological Differences as a Result of Your Mindset 60

Hardiness-Challenge and Madonna 61

Chapter 5 Building a Challenge Mindset 63

Changes are Always an Opportunity to Learn and Get Better 64

Do Not Live Every Day by a Rigid Schedule 69

Be Willing to Change Your Plans to Meet Changing Conditions 70

Whenever You Fail at Something, Ask: What Can I Learn from This? 71

Try Out New Things, Take Reasonable Risks 73

Imagine Future Positive Outcomes 75

Do Not Dwell on Past Disappointments: Learn, Forgive, and Look Ahead 78

Chapter 6 Understanding Hardiness-Control 81

Taking Control When Your Body Can't: Michael J. Fox 82

Managing Your Internal Drives 83

Planning an Orderly Future 84

Control: Too Much or Too Little 85

Can Mental Health Problems Be Related to Control Issues? 87

Can Higher Control Have Benefits at Work? 89

How Control Can Make You More Effective at Work 90

How Can You Start to Improve Your Control? 91

Chapter 7 Getting Yourself More in Control 93

Focus Your Time and Energy on Things You Can Contr…